2010-08-18, 07:50 | Link #101 |
うるとらぺど
Join Date: Oct 2004
Age: 44
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Here's something to illustrate my point earlier.
A certain game is now out in Japan titled Another Century Episode R :- It's an High Speed Action Game featuring a crossover of some really popular Robot Anime like Gundam SeeD Destiny, Code Geass, Macross F, Full Metal Panic amonst others with all the Seiyuu Cast of the anime series rephrasing their role in this game. Problem is it's retailing for 8000 yen in Japan brand new. So let's say if there's a surprise release now in America tomorrow with everything in English sans the voices. But they peg it to the Japanese retali price and sell it for US$80. Think it will break the 10,000 copies sold mark ? More importantly, will you buy it ? Or just junk it for the more acclaimed Mafia 2 next week ? To tell the truth, as a mech anime fan, I want to play it. But as a gamer, the price is a turn off and I'm going to ditch it for Mafia 2 on the PC. |
2010-08-18, 09:21 | Link #103 | |
うるとらぺど
Join Date: Oct 2004
Age: 44
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Now, why does it always have to be a appealing to mass market in order for a turnabout in profit for the western gaming market to work since Anime had always been a niched circle anyway ? Just how does following the Japanese example of appealing to that circle while keeping the price at a reasonably high rate a failure on the other side of the Pacific ? |
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2010-08-18, 13:07 | Link #104 | |
Le fou, c'est moi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 34
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Are there those who would prioritize mecha crossovers and visual novels over more "mainstream" Japanese games? Yes, all five of them per city or some such. Reduce that to one or two for those willing to pay premium in the manner of Japanese otaku. Unfortunately that's not nearly enough to establish a consistent presence in the already heavily pressured "retail shelf space" of North American video game retail market. Is it possible to establish a successful niche for a video game? Definitely. This game sold very little compared to the next Halo but it made a tidy profit for its creators and won them a devoted niche. These guys straddle the line between mainstream and niche -- their media presence and sales numbers had grown but still also little in context. But as you can see their topics of interest are different, they have established successful online distribution models and word of mouth (an international "niche" maintained through the Internet is freed from the pressure of having to rely on the shelf space), and most importantly they are selling their game and not the related popular culture appeal. The people who are bringing more obscure Japanese titles over are both fighting a losing battle and doing it wrong. On one hand the related Japanese popular culture appeal isn't nearly as strong in the West as it would in Japan; on the other hand if they're doing it like they would in bringing another Tales game over then they would end up competing head to head with said Tales games and even bigger titles, and that's not going to cut it. You need to create a niche in the first place before you'd even think of fleecing them -- err, establish a different business model with them. In some sense the geography itself is an enemy. All the otaku in, say, the greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area could with relative ease gather at one locale to shop, meaning that even if the percentage of the population that would follow such a model is similar, a shop in Akihabara specializing in such goods can stay afloat. Following such a thing in suburban, car-based America? Not going to happen. P.S. This has nothing to do with the Sankaku nonsense. |
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2010-08-19, 09:23 | Link #105 | |
Wise Otaku Seeker
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Philippines
Age: 34
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2010-08-20, 07:56 | Link #106 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Earth
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I think Yu gi oh's nds game is quite good lol...the AI is relatively ok and the most important thing is that you can get all the cards XD
Anime games can be quite good, especially to those who hate FPS games (me)
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2010-08-20, 19:23 | Link #107 | |
~Official Slacker~
Author
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Xanadu
Age: 29
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But even though I play a variety of games (FPS, RTS, MMORPG, etc) I would enjoy any anime games if I can find them in stores these days..
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2010-08-21, 03:14 | Link #108 | |
AniMexican!
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Monterrey N.L. Mexico
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Selection of games is also limited, where RPGs are often ignored by stores in favor of action and sports games.
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2010-08-21, 07:07 | Link #109 | |
Le fou, c'est moi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 34
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Japan is a different case though. They're paying premium not because publishers don't care about their market but because of the hardcore fan "extras/collector's edition" based business model and a host of other reasons. |
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2010-08-21, 21:32 | Link #110 | |
~Official Slacker~
Author
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Xanadu
Age: 29
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2010-08-22, 00:30 | Link #111 | |
Otaku Apprentice
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“Why are Characters in Japanese RPGs Always Children?”
Western gamers asking why it is the characters in Japanese RPGs seem always to consist of a party of children have sparked an interesting set of responses from Japanese gamers. 2ch’s response to the question after it was translated and posted in a thread is instructive: Quote:
With the average salaryman forced work long hours and to turn much of his leisure time over to his company, it is interesting to speculate whether this is having an effect on the inability of Japanese publishers to make much headway into the mainstream of adult gamers overseas. Censorship decisions made in Japan seem to indicate console publishers are very uncomfortable with marketing games covering more mature themes in Japan, and whilst the “mature gamer” is a cherished demographic overseas, in Japan it seems to be considered an inconvenient niche market (given the dismal sales of western blockbusters in Japan, this may well be a realistic asssessment however). Japanese RPG developers (and for that matter, anime studios) might well find dumping their endless succession of adolescent casts and school settings has a positive effect on their increasingly tarnished reputation for originality overseas, although with most of the major Japanese RPG franchises having become the Japanese equivalent of EA Sports titles any significant change now seems unlikely. Link: NSFW
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