Analysts Predict Bad Times For Xbox 360
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
Technically the Nintendo DS has the strongest JRPG library this generation, which is ultimately pretty damn pathetic. Of course, other than Square-Enix, most developers of JRPG's don't have the money or budget to produce on next-gen systems (I mean, Operation Darkness looks like it belongs on the original Xbox, though the demo was actually pretty fun), so they stick to PS2 or DS. Square-Enix, meanwhile, simply loves money, hence why they have a million and one DS projects and three or four console projects.Joeshie said:
Also, while we can all sit here and say these analysts are stupid, I still wonder what sales are like all over Europe to know what they're talking about. Given Germany's constant paranoia and censorship, I wouldn't be surprised if both the 360 and PS3 are doing horribly there. Germany isn't even getting Ninja Gaiden 2 due to the dismemberments and decapitations, and I imagine plenty of other games have had trouble getting over there. Sometimes Germany is just as much a pain in the ass to try and localize for as Japan is.
I love Lost Odyssey as much as the next guy but it isn't worth buying a console over, that being said I wouldn't buy a PS3 just for FF13 given the fact that all recent Final Fantasies (Im looking at you 10, 10-2, 12) were only so-so in my opinion. Not only that but there have even been rumours that FF13 will be delayed until 2010.Lt. Sera said:
Doesn't matter at this point anyway, they have a large enough base now to sell software and DLC with 20+ million sold, and more than 11 million+ active Xbox Live users, I think it will be hard to keep the 360 down at this point. If Microsoft need to sort anything out, its the consoles reliability when it comes to RROD.
If you?d just let me analyse the analysts in much the same exaggerated way as they?ve done, I?ve found that there are two broadly two types of bad analyses in this biz: the ones who take the reverse common sense view; and the ones who explode the common sense view to ridiculous proportions.
What we have here is the latter. Thanks to Blu-Ray?s victory- and the PS3 actually getting some damn games- Sony?s console will be gaining ground very soon, if not already. The Wii is an irrepressible ball of energy. The 360, though, despite pleasing me verily with just the kinds of games that appeal to my demographic- i.e. have violence and bloody victory of some form as the object of the game- has largely peaked and will probably coast respectably to the finish line; it might scrape a close draw with the PS3 but that?s the best MS should hope for. These trends are near undeniable, and all the shouting and forecasting will be about how much the tide will change. I suspect that in a search to get a splash- and look like geniuses if they?re right- this group has exaggerated the story. People will sit up, take notice, then quickly forget the prediction before it?s proven wrong- but remember if it?s right!
It?d be inspired if I hadn?t seen it before.
What we have here is the latter. Thanks to Blu-Ray?s victory- and the PS3 actually getting some damn games- Sony?s console will be gaining ground very soon, if not already. The Wii is an irrepressible ball of energy. The 360, though, despite pleasing me verily with just the kinds of games that appeal to my demographic- i.e. have violence and bloody victory of some form as the object of the game- has largely peaked and will probably coast respectably to the finish line; it might scrape a close draw with the PS3 but that?s the best MS should hope for. These trends are near undeniable, and all the shouting and forecasting will be about how much the tide will change. I suspect that in a search to get a splash- and look like geniuses if they?re right- this group has exaggerated the story. People will sit up, take notice, then quickly forget the prediction before it?s proven wrong- but remember if it?s right!
It?d be inspired if I hadn?t seen it before.
Err...I don't see where this is coming from myself. All my friends here in england have a 360, in fact I only know 3 people who have ps3's, and they always get the mick taken for it.
I seriously doubt ps3 is ever going to over take 360, all it has going for it now is MGS4, and after that...well.
Whatever happens the Wiis going to remain at the top. Gamers don't like it...everyone else loves it. Girls, Parents, even Granparents who would never concisder picking up a game ever are now hogging the wii remote. It'll probley last longer than either the 360 or the ps3 as well, its going to out the ps2 soon.
I seriously doubt ps3 is ever going to over take 360, all it has going for it now is MGS4, and after that...well.
Whatever happens the Wiis going to remain at the top. Gamers don't like it...everyone else loves it. Girls, Parents, even Granparents who would never concisder picking up a game ever are now hogging the wii remote. It'll probley last longer than either the 360 or the ps3 as well, its going to out the ps2 soon.
there are really not any good platform games on the 360 and I started gaming from titles like spyro, crash, rayman and then moved titles like ratchet and clank, jak and daxter and sly thrillogy. All of these games I'm a fan of. I'm really jealous the ps3 has R&C tools of destruction and 360 doesn't. Good bye Ratchet, goodbye Clank...sob... ;(PS: don't give a shit about mario, so don't really have the craving to own a wii.
Folks, let's just keep in mind what the first four letters of "analyst" spell to remember exactly what they are.
I'm sorry, I wasn't listening to those analysts. I was too busy having fun with Crackdown and Oblivion.
Well I'm in Europe, and since A: NG 2 isn't released here yet and B: I'm afraid I'd get bored with that game way too soon, I'm not going to buy it.ccesarano said:
Well yeah 50% of my 360 games are shooters, and mind you, Oblivion also has a crosshair
. However, I myself am not only interested in shooters. It's just that there aren't alot of really great adventure/action/whatever games coming out for the 360. I mean look at what we had for XBox: Jade Empire, Morrowind, Fable, Prince of Persia, Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes. The only shooter I had for the XBox was Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, and that's not even THAT much of a shooter.Now we have Assassin's Creed which was way too short and had no replay value whatsoever, Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom which was just an insult, seriously. Bioware even made Mass Effect into a part shooter. I'm beginning to think Microsoft is getting a bit too trigger-happy; they're mixing RPG with FPS (Bioshock) and not even doing a good job (yeah I know it's not Microsoft making the games, but the 360 is the only one making them available). It's like Microsoft has found the one thing most of America is interested in according to them; shooting stuff, and they stick with that and try to combine every other genre with it so people who wouldn't initially play shooters join the bandwagon. It makes the games accessible to anyone so the real die hards from one particular genre get insulted (like me, fuck you KUF: Circle of Doom) and don't buy any more games for the 360 save for the occasional shooter.
Where are all the immersing RPGs? Why the fuck did you make Mass Effect, Bioware and not a sequel to Jade Empire? Why did Bethesda fuck up Oblivion to make it more next gen and accessible only to lose half their TES fanbase? (I'm talking about the fact that the lore and backstory of the whole world is as shallow as Paris Hilton)
Genres exist for a reason, and that's that everyone likes a certain type of game. Start mixing them together and you'll fuck up the whole genre. You don't see a goth wearing bling and driving a muscle car with hydraulics now do you?
Honestly, I don't look at Bioshock as "having RPG elements" at all. It seems like a straight on FPS game, just with some added exploration and such. There's not much of an RPG in there at all.
As for Mass Effect, if I looked at that game as a shooter, I'd hate it. As a shooter, it is a horrible, horrible system. Of course, if you don't use your tech/magic abilities, then you will really have trouble with the game. It's not meant, in my mind, to be played as a shooter, and it's real fun comes from most of the other elements of the game.
The game endlessly kicks my ass and yet I keep coming back for more. It is a genuinely awesome and fun game, but yeah, it's hard. So it depends on if you're the kind of gamer that doesn't mind having to see "Game Over" a few times to a dozen times each level or not.
Y'know, everyone bitched that Fable had no replay value as well, but I went through that fucker three times and enjoying it. I haven't given Assassin's Creed a second playthrough yet, but that's mostly because I'd like to try and get a bunch of the achievements for it, and it doesn't require you to replay to collect everything. As for being too short, well, guess that depends on what you did, as I tried to see and do everything I could in the game. I still find it to be one of the most overly criticized games out there.
Didn't they announce they were making a sequel to Jade Empire at some point? I could've sworn they did.
I hope you're right about the sequel on Jade Empire..
As for AC: I did everything you could do except gather all the flags, that's NOT how I want to spend my evening. I played Fable to death as well, that game has more replay value than AC for all it's worth.
All I'm saying is that they stamped the FPS RPG on Bioshock themselves, if it doesn't play like an RPG they lied, and didn't mix the 2 genres well like I said (not that anyone should EVER try it).
As for NG 2: No I'm not afraid to see alot of game over screens, but the thing is... ok nevermind I forgot what the thing really was, I was going to say the last hack 'n slash game I played I expected NOT to be a hack 'n slash game, but since NG 2 is in fact one, there goes my argument. I did like the first NG, good way of relieving stress, so when it comes out I may have a look, it's time I had a challenge again.
It actually just comes down to me wanting a game with a decent storyline again. It would be kind of nice to be able to grow onto certain characters again instead of going from cutscene to cutscene and having people tell me to kill that and that and that.
As for AC: I did everything you could do except gather all the flags, that's NOT how I want to spend my evening. I played Fable to death as well, that game has more replay value than AC for all it's worth.
All I'm saying is that they stamped the FPS RPG on Bioshock themselves, if it doesn't play like an RPG they lied, and didn't mix the 2 genres well like I said (not that anyone should EVER try it).
As for NG 2: No I'm not afraid to see alot of game over screens, but the thing is... ok nevermind I forgot what the thing really was, I was going to say the last hack 'n slash game I played I expected NOT to be a hack 'n slash game, but since NG 2 is in fact one, there goes my argument. I did like the first NG, good way of relieving stress, so when it comes out I may have a look, it's time I had a challenge again.
It actually just comes down to me wanting a game with a decent storyline again. It would be kind of nice to be able to grow onto certain characters again instead of going from cutscene to cutscene and having people tell me to kill that and that and that.
Microsoft's game library is very well suited to markets like America, and not very well suited to markets like Japan. From all the articles I've read, and all the 360 games I've played (I've got one right next to me, so don't think I'm unhappy with the console), Microsoft [http://maps.google.com.au/maps?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLJ_enAU258AU258&q=United+States&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title] just doesn't seem to be pushing anything remotely literary [http://www.bookrags.com/articles/21.html] with their games. By which I mean that their games focus on the gameplay [http://www.freetetris.org/], and not the literary elements like characterisation, plot structure, etc, etc, etc. Mass Effect [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science fiction] was a let down, really. It just mixed a pathetic shootey system with bland dialogue-trees. Two to Three choices is not an open-ended masterwork story, and generic [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybermen] sci-fi [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borg_%28Star_Trek%29] plotline [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicator_%28Stargate%29] #4 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylon_%281978%29] isn't a masterwork story full of groundbreakingly tough decisions for players. Seriously, "stop the ancient mysterious robot supremacist race"? Try harder. Oblivion [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/75-Oblivion] was rubbish (if shiny rubbish), and I'm not going to go into why here. Fable 2 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fable] will pretty much be a hack'n'slash with bonus RPG fluff that won't get a dot of attention in Japan. It might pick up in Europe, but I really couldn't claim to know what your average French or German gamer wants. Note: I reckon Fable 2 will be awesome fun [http://xkcd.com/150/], but that's not the point - the point is that it's targetted at me, who's already got a 360, instead of someone who doesn't have one yet [http://theslackerz.com/index.php?Page=67].
So while the 360 does Hack'n'Slash pretty well (Devil May Cry 4 [http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=XCV2k5a8-YA], Ninja Gaiden 2 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodstains_as_evidence], Too Human [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo II], etc), and has FPS [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo 3] covered [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call of Duty 4] from here until Ragnarok [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too Human] and the death of the Gods [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Wright_%28game_designer%29], there just isn't enough on the console to appeal to people who aren't into "Shoot everything that moves" or "Slice everything that moves". There aren't the platformers to draw people like fix-the-spade or rayman 101. They don't have the big name [http://www.digital-images.net/temp/HollywoodSign_HS4421.jpg], story-based games [http://www.konami.jp/mgs4/us/top.html] (especially RPG's [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=Dnd/welcome]) that the PS3 has/will have. Final Fantasy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII] is an absurdly huge draw for people. White Knight Chronicles [http://www.gametrailers.com/game/3241.html] looks very promising. Disgaea 3 [http://au.ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/950618/disgaea-3/videos/disgaea3_060508.html] will be truly insane [http://www.funnyjunk.com/pages/insanity_test.htm]. As mentioned by others above, Ratchet and Clank [http://www.ratchetandclankgadgets.com/], LittleBigPlanet [http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=MuoRp32W5l0], etc, aren't on 360.
So for the people wondering what "The trouble with Xbox 360 is it hasn't managed to shake off this urban, irreverent adult male feel" means, well, basically, if you're an irreverent [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inviolability] adult [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescence] male [http://maddox.xmission.com/] who's into violent games [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide]/racing games [http://www.nascar.com/index2.html], you'll love the 360. If you're someone else, you won't. And that's where this analysis is coming from.
So while the 360 does Hack'n'Slash pretty well (Devil May Cry 4 [http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=XCV2k5a8-YA], Ninja Gaiden 2 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodstains_as_evidence], Too Human [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo II], etc), and has FPS [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo 3] covered [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call of Duty 4] from here until Ragnarok [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too Human] and the death of the Gods [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Wright_%28game_designer%29], there just isn't enough on the console to appeal to people who aren't into "Shoot everything that moves" or "Slice everything that moves". There aren't the platformers to draw people like fix-the-spade or rayman 101. They don't have the big name [http://www.digital-images.net/temp/HollywoodSign_HS4421.jpg], story-based games [http://www.konami.jp/mgs4/us/top.html] (especially RPG's [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=Dnd/welcome]) that the PS3 has/will have. Final Fantasy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII] is an absurdly huge draw for people. White Knight Chronicles [http://www.gametrailers.com/game/3241.html] looks very promising. Disgaea 3 [http://au.ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/950618/disgaea-3/videos/disgaea3_060508.html] will be truly insane [http://www.funnyjunk.com/pages/insanity_test.htm]. As mentioned by others above, Ratchet and Clank [http://www.ratchetandclankgadgets.com/], LittleBigPlanet [http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=MuoRp32W5l0], etc, aren't on 360.
So for the people wondering what "The trouble with Xbox 360 is it hasn't managed to shake off this urban, irreverent adult male feel" means, well, basically, if you're an irreverent [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inviolability] adult [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescence] male [http://maddox.xmission.com/] who's into violent games [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide]/racing games [http://www.nascar.com/index2.html], you'll love the 360. If you're someone else, you won't. And that's where this analysis is coming from.
Yeah, it would, wouldn't it?Sennz0r said:
fps success i can understand that but the possiblity however slim of a 360 wii mote could arguably make it more of a success. 360 hasn't done nearly as bad as PS3 for me. Ive gien mine to my bro for 6 months since there is nothing 360 isnt ding better gran turismo prologue please pgr3 is better than proogue much more involving as a gaming experience although prologue looks better but then so does looking at cars in real life only i feel mre connected to them than playing the over priced prologue.
I think it's funny that they think the PS3 will cater for the casual gamers more than the 360. It's almost still twice as expensive and market it self on games like Haze and MGS4, where especially the latter is the fourth installment in a franchise several years old.Evilbunny said:
When it comes to RPG's, as stated before, none of the next-gen consoles are going to have them in spades but the Nintendo DS and maybe the Wii. However, I look at the 360 and PS3 as being on even ground, though everyone's disappointment in Blue Dragon I find to be unwarranted. I mean, it makes an excellent beginner's RPG, really, and everyone else was hoping it would be something far more grand. A "Final Fantasy killer", if you will. I figured that is what Lost Odyssey was for, but haven't yet been able to play that so can't really comment on it. I got to try the demo for Operation Darkness, and now that title seems pretty interesting to me (and while it's the overused WWII, it's at least a tactical JRPG, and also covers more mystical mythologies towards it...plus it is being written by Japanese, so you're bound to have a different take on it than what you usually get from WWII games over here). I can't come up with many more JRPG's since I've honestly had my fill of most of them, but I know I've heard enough announced (and Microsoft will have more announced in Japan this Tuesday, in fact) that the 360 is no weaker than the PS3 is.Fenixius said:
Again, if you really want JRPG's, buy a DS. It's where they are all going, for the most part.
As for platformers, those were slowly seeing their end the last generation, and I am not at all surprised. With few exceptions, any new platformer franchise that came out last year tended to be garbage. Even if it had potential, like Vexx, there were too many issues that ruined the gameplay. Plus, they all began to mimic each other instead of trying anything new.
I do feel, however, that we could probably use a real revival of the genre. Kameo had an interesting take, a platformer with elements of Zelda in a way, that I highly enjoyed. Rare is also coming out with Banjo Three. However, other than the new Ratchet & Clank, I can't think of any new platformer games to come out that look promising (unless Mushroom Men on the Wii counts as a platformer). The major problem with platformers is also an image problem, though. It is assumed that platformer means kiddie game, despite the fact that games like Gex were certainly targeted to an older audience back on the Playstation.
I guess it is just a change of the times. The Playstation and N64 had a ton of platformers to try and capitalize on the success of Mario 64 (I'm pretty sure platformers came before it, but Mario 64 was the first to gain such mainstream appeal), and then the Xbox came out with Halo being the next big thing, and people have been trying to capitalize on that. I think what we have this generation is a combination of the attempts to capitalize, as well as a bunch of developers just wanting to make the games that they want.
As for story, well, I actually liked the story to Assassin's Creed, though most people disagree. Bioshock is also an obvious one to point out. I'm hoping that Alone in the Dark will have a good story when it comes out at the end of the month, though who can tell when the monsters in the game are called "humanz". Dead Space is going to at least have a very awesome atmosphere, and I eagerly await that game, but I hope the "comics" being released online aren't any indication of the writing we can expect from the game. I'd love for Dead Space to have a great story as well as a great atmosphere and gameplay. I mean, when your character is named after both Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, you'd BETTER have a good story. I'm also expecting a good story from Too Human, particularly after Eternal Darkness.
I think some games also get overlooked, though, and there are plenty that are trying to have good stories at least. Dark Sector is a game I haven't completely formed an opinion on, but I can at least tell that they were trying to have a story that was above average. I honestly don't think they succeeded, though, because I'm the sort of gameplay that, while story is important, if the gameplay has issues then I won't get into the story. While Dark Sector isn't necessarily bad, it has problems, and because the gameplay has issues I tend to not care about the story. It's an interesting combination, and I've had this issue with other games as well.
I honestly could care less about Japan when it comes to the 360's success, though I can definitely see what you guys mean. While I feel like I have a variety of genres to pick from, it isn't necessarily the case for all people. Platformers are certainly almost extinct in this day and age, and could use a revival by someone that isn't Nintendo or Rare. JRPG's are pretty absent on next-gen systems. And good stories would be better to have in any genre.
However, when I look at Japanese games or anime, they are all full of shallow stereotypes with overdone plots (more overdone than tyrannical space robots) and hordes of melodrama. They don't want "better stories", they want stories that will appeal to them. Unfortunately, I'm tired of the kinds of stories that appeal to the Japanese, so most of their games I play for the gameplay.....which pretty much means I'm playing little from Japan unless it is made by Capcom.
In my mind, it's more a matter of finding out what these other European countries want that isn't being supplied. Japan is a lost cause that, honestly, is straying behind in the game development department. Inafune of Capcom and Itagaki formerly of Team Ninja have both said this, and they are both developers I have a lot of respect for.
Oh, hooray, someone actually read something I posted. All too often people just look at how long my posts are and ignore me
Also, apologies in advance for A) Extreme (and by my own admission verging on absurd) Post Length, and B) Possible disjointedness or incoherency. It's very late.
And that's why I don't see a lot of potential for a revival of platformers. Running and jumping and collecting items is simply an old mechanic that's fallen behind. People stopped innovating, and it died. I played a demo of Vexx, back on the Xbox. And yeah, it was alright. But I couldn't stop thinking about how very similar it was to old Mario 64. I mean, that game was released years before, and yet, the level design was approximately the same. The exact same challenges were present. But 3D Platformers just don't do it for me anymore. And I have a feeling that lots of people think the same way.
And that's what I think of your post. I apologise again for absurd length and possible logical flaws, but, as I said, it's late, and I won't have a lot of opportunities to be posting on Escapist for the next week. Though I absolutely will read any comments on this post, as I've favourited the thread.
Also, apologies in advance for A) Extreme (and by my own admission verging on absurd) Post Length, and B) Possible disjointedness or incoherency. It's very late.
I've not heard of this "Operation Darkness". WWII... and Japanese? How unexpected. I shall certainly endeavour to check it out. Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey... I've not had a chance to play either. I'm on break from Uni soon, so I think I'll be examining Lost Odyssey very closely. I'm a fan of the JRPG, and it's one of the few on the Xbox 360, so it's been on my List for a while, but I've just not had an opportunity.ccesarano said:
But the thing is that they're not going to get the same attention as, say, Final Fantasy or Disgaea. Simply because they're well known, entrenched franchises, they'll sell. And that's what it's about - selling units. It's not about satisfying my personal lust for the genre, as I'm sure I can find something to entertain me on the console. But we're commenting on the "analysis" by the Nordic Game Panel, and the chances of the 360 in the Great Seventh Generation Console War. And Japan is an important theatre in the War.ccesarano said:
The decline of platformers, to me, seems indicative of the change in demographic that plays games. Games used to be kiddy. When we were younger. But we're growing up. And so are the games that we're having made, based on our desires, and inclination to spend money on. Of course I acknowledge that there are many older gamers out there already, but the perception is still that games are kiddy. Just the publishers aren't seeing it that way anymore. That's what I think of the decline of platformers, anyway. Didn't help that they didn't really have potential exciting multiplayer options, and had little use for the Internet. They're archaic, basically. Old-school games.ccesarano said:
And that's why I don't see a lot of potential for a revival of platformers. Running and jumping and collecting items is simply an old mechanic that's fallen behind. People stopped innovating, and it died. I played a demo of Vexx, back on the Xbox. And yeah, it was alright. But I couldn't stop thinking about how very similar it was to old Mario 64. I mean, that game was released years before, and yet, the level design was approximately the same. The exact same challenges were present. But 3D Platformers just don't do it for me anymore. And I have a feeling that lots of people think the same way.
Which seems to be a move in a more complex direction for games. Games where you have to make more complex choices, think a little more, rather than just time the jumps right. But, evidently, some people still like the old Platformer. Otherwise people wouldn't complain that the 360 has a lack of them, would they? But it's not where the big money is anymore, so devs aren't going there.ccesarano said:
The thing is that, and I'm just talking about Japan here: it's still an FPS with a macho hero. And the Japanese don't go for that. I forget where I read it, but someone said they didn't want Duke Nukem, or Sam Fisher, they want heroes like Cloud Strife and Gackt. And it shows up in their purchasing. I don't know if Bioshock or Assassin's Creed were released over there, but Bioshock features an amnesiac bred-killer, and Altair is pretty bloodthirsty himself. Alone in the Dark is a story about a guy in the middle of a deserted city fighting monsters, so I don't think he's going to be showing his softer side. Not only that, though, but there's another reason those games won't go off in Japan, despite their stories being at least worth a look. And that's that they're still FPS/super action games, which isn't what they're after, I think. There was an article here on Escapist [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/84339-Survey-Says-Japanese-Dislike-Shooters] that mentioned a statistic from Famitsu - only 38.1% of the Japanese gaming market enjoys FPS. Just over a third. So you can't expect those games you mentioned to make a splash. They just don't resonate strongly enough with the Japanese audience.ccesarano said:
Of course, I have absolutely no idea what makes a European gamer kick. British I'm going to guess have fairly similar tastes to us Australians, which means we have a more varied taste in games. But that's odd, really. Once I think about it, I don't know what's popular in France or Germany or Spain or Italy when it comes to gaming. I know Germany at least has a big gaming market, since I constantly hear about their classifications board being tight. And we know that Eastern Europe likes their MMO's (powerlevelling, anyone?). But yeah, be interesting to know how well the consoles are doing over there, what's working, and what's not.ccesarano said:
I have one single thing to say about Dark Sector. It's banned in Australia. Refused classification. I was keeping an eye on it, but apparently, I've got the mental capacity of a 10 year old child, so it's too much for me to handle.ccesarano said:
I think you need to find some better anime, by friend. I recommend Fullmetal Alchemist or Ghost in the Shell. But you're right - they do love their melodrama, and a LOT of their stuff is far more cliché than Bioware's latest spacefaring outing. But they do have hits to go with their misses, especially if you like that sort of thing. I'm not tired of giant robots [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundam 00]. I'm tired of people going on and on about the revolutionary game design in games that are run of the mill. Often good, but still nothing special in terms of innovation. My next comments are still relevant to the comments I quoted just above this paragraph, though.ccesarano said:
Straying behind or no, they're still paying for games, which keeps them relevant. For better or worse. Because I can pretty much guarantee you that Nintendo and Sony aren't going to snub Japan and their wants. Which means that Microsoft can ill afford to.ccesarano said:
And that's what I think of your post. I apologise again for absurd length and possible logical flaws, but, as I said, it's late, and I won't have a lot of opportunities to be posting on Escapist for the next week. Though I absolutely will read any comments on this post, as I've favourited the thread.
Everybody complaining about the "shooter box" forgets about the Live Arcade. Don't like FPS/hack-n-slash? Try Settlers of Catan, UNO, N+, Lumines Live, Marble Blast, Wits & Wagers, Zuma... and that's not the whole list. It might be a good idea for MS to promote that aspect in Europe to counter any such misunderstandings.
Also, I'd like to point out that I've never heard of either Parker or Cole. I'm not exactly "plugged in" to the heart of the games industry, so maybe there's a circle wherein the two are well noted, but from my vantage point it's just two consultants beating the drums to attract new business by their "hip" and "outside-the-box" analysis.
Again from my vantage point (and if we're taking advice from the faceless here, then I'm willing to pitch mine in too) Xbox shouldn't stress itself too much to win over Japan as it's not going to happen. The gaming market there seems to be horribly nativist, and even without the "danged furriner" label it's tough to compete with both Sony and Nintendo in their own back yards. I'd be perfectly happy with the Xbox treading water in Japan if it was also succeeding (even modestly) in Europe and the rest of Asia. (And maintaining its success in North America.)
-- Steve
Also, I'd like to point out that I've never heard of either Parker or Cole. I'm not exactly "plugged in" to the heart of the games industry, so maybe there's a circle wherein the two are well noted, but from my vantage point it's just two consultants beating the drums to attract new business by their "hip" and "outside-the-box" analysis.
Again from my vantage point (and if we're taking advice from the faceless here, then I'm willing to pitch mine in too) Xbox shouldn't stress itself too much to win over Japan as it's not going to happen. The gaming market there seems to be horribly nativist, and even without the "danged furriner" label it's tough to compete with both Sony and Nintendo in their own back yards. I'd be perfectly happy with the Xbox treading water in Japan if it was also succeeding (even modestly) in Europe and the rest of Asia. (And maintaining its success in North America.)
-- Steve