Survey Says Japanese Dislike Shooters

[Logan Frederick]

Survey Says Japanese Dislike Shooters

Famitsu has catalogued a few reasons for the poor reception shooters receive in Japan.

The latest issue of Japanese gaming periodical Famitsu features an eight-page examination of the lackluster sales of first-person and third-person shooters in Japan.

Only 74.8 percent of readers surveyed stated they had experienced an FPS or TPS, and only 51 percent of that group demographic said they wanted to play shooters. Only 38.1 percent of the Japanese gaming market enjoys one of the most profitable genres in North America.

User submitted reasons read:
[ul]
[li]"I'm not interested"[/li]
[li]"The games seem difficult"[/li]
[li]"I don't know what the point of these games is"[/li] [li]"I'm worried about playing them because I'm a beginner."[/li]
[/ul]

Not a single submitter stated that nausea or sickness, an inaccurate yet widespread explanation for the low penetration of FPS games in Asia, was a turn off from shooters.

Source: Famitsu via Next-Gen [http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10810&Itemid=2]

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[UpInSmoke]

why didn't they include the options: "I'm a xenophobic asshole who won't touch anything designed outside of my tiny island nation" or "I'm too busy watching a cartoon octopus fornicate with a captive young girl"?

 

[UpInSmoke]

While many Americans are xenophobic, but it's considered a negative/low-class/uneducated trait in our society. Japanese proudly and openly mistrust and refuse to buy anything non-Japanese. It's a cultural norm that we don't share.

So where is the irony?

 

[Brognus]

I'm guessing it's because of the lack of exposure to guns (both cultural and legally) combined with the decades of exposure to rpg's.

Compared to the American Idolization of guns (Cowboy movies, Right to Bear arms, Hunting, Ect.)

But I guess blaming any difference in cultural attitude is just the better way to go about it, after all, judging a culture inferior to yours is SO much easier than actually trying to understand, right?

 

[tendo82]

Japanese like the incumbant hero, and they are definitely not interested in a Western aesthetics. So to breakthrough with a FPS, all a developer needs to do is include a boyish faced protagonist, robot, or work within a cultural institution, like Gundam.

I honestly think the aesthetic is the major sticking point. Japanese can't see themselves in Marcus Phoenix; that's not their idealized vision of themselves. Dante of DMC is. I lost my desire to play JRPGs sometime in my late teens for the same reason.

 

[Uskis]

I'm guessing it's because of the lack of exposure to guns (both cultural and legally) combined with the decades of exposure to rpg's.

Compared to the American Idolization of guns (Cowboy movies, Right to Bear arms, Hunting, Ect.)

But I guess blaming any difference in cultural attitude is just the better way to go about it, after all, judging a culture inferior to yours is SO much easier than actually trying to understand, right?

I was pretty much thinking something along the lines of that, and what tendo82 was saying.

 

[smallharmlesskitten]

sooo thats why the xbox failed in Japan

 

[Brognus]

Heck the only guns a Japanese person can even THINK about acquiring a gun in Japan are shotguns and even then they have to go through extensive licensing procedures, combined with a cultural attitude that frowns on guns and a remarkably low gun-crime rate makes it obvious as to why FPS games aren't popular in Japan. Makes you wonder why American Developers didn't do through market research.

Also consider how Yahtzee (British) hates Jrpg's and loves FPS games, wouldn't it make sense for Japanese People to Love Jrpg's and hate FPS?

 

[smallharmlesskitten]

I'm worried about playing them because i am a beginner

fail. i know they have a different culture and all but still....

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

Heck the only guns a Japanese person can even THINK about acquiring a gun in Japan are shotguns and even then they have to go through extensive licensing procedures, combined with a cultural attitude that frowns on guns and a remarkably low gun-crime rate makes it obvious as to why FPS games aren't popular in Japan. Makes you wonder why American Developers didn't do through market research.

FPS's are plenty popular in Canada though, and we don't REALLY have access to handguns or assault weapons.

 

[UpInSmoke]

WW2 scared them silly in regards to anything involving realistic combat. Giant robots are OK though.

 

[Brognus]

Yes but what we DO have is a large amount of American Cultural influence. Consider how many American T.V. shows and movies, and games we have in Canada, and it's really not surprising.

 

[UpInSmoke]

Heck the only guns a Japanese person can even THINK about acquiring a gun in Japan are shotguns and even then they have to go through extensive licensing procedures, combined with a cultural attitude that frowns on guns and a remarkably low gun-crime rate makes it obvious as to why FPS games aren't popular in Japan. Makes you wonder why American Developers didn't do through market research.

FPS's are plenty popular in Canada though, and we don't REALLY have access to handguns or assault weapons.

He's making a garbage point. The Japanese don't have access to giant enchanted swords and magical spells either, but those games seem to flourish over there.

 

[tendo82]

I didn't even consider the gun fetish angle. Excellent point Brognus.

 

[Logan Frederick]

WW2 scared them silly in regards to anything involving realistic combat. Giant robots are OK though.

This sentiment worries me as to what they're gonna do in World War 3.

 

[Brognus]

Yeah and all Americans are Gun-Toting freaks who get off from violence.

Isn't Stereotyping other cultures fun, kids?!

 

[wiredk]

You're assumption that they don't have a love of guns is false.

I will direct you to some of the Artwork of Masamune Shirow, which consists mostly of Gun-trabation. For a non-anime entertainment culture example, I will direct you to a movie called Versus. Lots of silly gun stuff there.


I will also direct you to the very very large Airsoft community there.

 

[slaygore]

WW2 scared them silly in regards to anything involving realistic combat. Giant robots are OK though.

Yes because we all know that they're secretively making one to overthrow the world. *cough*codegeasspropaganda*cough*

 

[Johnn Johnston]

Cultural influence doesn't explain the amount of western RPG players. There's nothing stopping a good JFPS except the Japanese designers don't want to make one.