Sony’s been talking about how they’ve overtaken the Xbox 360 here in the States, perhaps this is because Microsoft shifted their attention to pwning them in Japan? Xbox 360 sold 25,000 units to PlayStation 3‘s minor 9,673 units according to Edge Online, that’s 2.5 times more if you’re into that math thing.
Seriously though, Microsoft didn’t really shift any effort, they just got a Japanese style game called Tales of Vesperia from Namco Bandai. Go figure, when a Japanese focused game arrives for a console Japanese gamer will go out and buy it.
The big barrier to the 360 in Japan is the games and their contents. Microsoft is in tune with the needs and demands of the United States gamers, it usually involves FPS titles and excessive killing. Japanese gamers are not exactly huge FPS fans, we’ve seen the Asian community dominate in RTS style games (Starcraft is a great example) and they’ve always had interest in MMO’s, especially micro-transaction based games and we all know that’s the land of Final Fantasy. Is it so surprising the Xbox 360 moves off Japanese shelves when they have a game or two the gamers actually want to play?
This is only partly Microsoft’s fault, Microsoft doesn’t specialize in Japanese games anymore than Square Enix excels at western style games. The big difference? Square Enix doesn’t manufacturer its own console hardware. It is Microsoft’s console and they should have an interest in making games the Japanese people will like, thankfully Namco Bandai came through for them this time!
@Wii U priced at $300 for basic, $350 for deluxe
I heard a lot of criticism towards the console after the pricing was announced. This doesn’t look good.
@Obsidian unveils Kickstarter title Project Eternity, raise $1M in 24 hours
I don’t get it, Dr. Evil … Studios going to Kickstarter for money instead of going to producers? I take it they no longer want to cope with the pressure of the producer?
Thing is, “One million dollars” doesn’t keep a studio running for too long, so what’s going on there?
@“no disc based games” next-gen
That’s quite some bandwidth required right there. For this reason alone (and the fact that I’m using a 3G modem) I say that CD/DVD is good, me likes them 🙂
@QOTW:
Not much. I played Shadowrun for SNES during my Internet-less vacation, and I found that game to be surprisingly entertaining.
@Wii U
Not sure. I also think having 2 versions is stupid, considering the Deluxe version is way superior to Basic. The price is not so bad. But in the current economic situation I don’t expect it to sell out like the Wii. Personally, I will play it safe and get it early next year. I will wait for reviews, new title announcements and to see how popular it will get. Don’t need another Nintendo branded brick on my hands.
Especially if it mostly plays Xbox 360 games
@Guild Wars 2
I kind off fell out of the whole MMO world. Level grinding is just not my thing. Usually I get to LvL 20 and loose interest. That’s why I play F2P stuff. Not sure if I should invest into Guild Wars. It has no subscription but does it provide enough content to make me play it long enough? MMOs are just to repetitive these days.
@QOTW
Just finished Yakuza on PS2. Currently playing Witcher. It’s funny. Jonah says he is playing Mass Effect and completing all the quests. I have done that on my first playthrough. Then I did it for the second time as an asshole. I usually play games very thoroughly. I only reached chapter 3 on Witcher but already played over 30 hours. I prefer to do everything on the first attempt. Although, in an RPG that means that I max level half way the game and then kill the final boss with a backhand slap.
@Wii U priced at $300 for basic, $350 for deluxe
good job on the guess guys! i think this price is ok for a console of that caliber, it might be “a couple of wiis taped together” but it will fufill the gamer’s needs for a few years without a doubt (i hope)
@Obsidian unveils Kickstarter title Project Eternity, raise $1M in 24 hours
well, they really do have a history with good games! they deserve it!
@QOTW
mostly Borderlands 2 and Battlefield 3: armored kill. as of now, i am a lvl 19 assassin focused fully on the melee tree… oh god, the carnage! :3
now time for my question: wich classes and wich builds are you guys doing on BL2? and wich you made for BL1? i made mordekai as a kick ass sniper, also 100% focused on the sniper tree.