Just as a warning to y'all - Wonderboy III: Dragon Trap is already on the Wii VC in superior form. It is called Dragon's Curse for Turbografx-16. Exact same game, but of course the Turbografx one looks better and doesn't have any flickering or anything. #wiiware
In retrospect, though, Electroplankton feels like a cheap iPhone app. A really cool cheap iPhone app, but a cheap iPhone app just the same, so Electroplankton just feels right at home lending itself to this business model.
@(Starman) Cookie_Monster: Nintendo had a chance to rock us all with the Virtual Console, and they pissed it away. As far as cult fan favorites go, we got Sin and Punishment and Ys Book 1+2. No Terranigma, no Mother 2. XBL and PSN go all out to make their users squeal with delight by getting HD updates for games and fan favorites from a couple of generations ago. Nintendo just wants to take the path of least resistance: whatever they can make money off of the quickest without having to go out of their way to add a fan-cherished game to their collection. At this rate, I think I might not even care enough to get Cave Story HD when it hits in 2036. #wiiware
@mintycrys is HOT for Bayonetta: While the graphics are not in HD, the Wii has the best offering of retro games, period. If I recall the games that were on consoles before the advent of 720p were pretty good. #wiiware
@ProfWho: I think you missed the point. It's got nothing to do with graphics and everything to do with Nintendo's nonexistent willingness to go that extra mile for their user base, as opposed to Microsoft and Sony. This was about Nintendo squandering the opportunity they had to make amends for the treatment of their fans for the previous several years. You see, a large library does not a good library make. Nintendo knows full well what games (unless they really are that braindead) its community would like to see, and if you look at game developer's communities asking them if they plan to add 'X' in their installment, they'll play coy or maybe toss the fans a tidbit. Nintendo just flat out says "NO", "there are no plans", etc.
The Virtual Console was a chance at recapturing the fans that left for greener pastures by flashing bits of nostalgic digital skin. Instead, they didn't even turn the red light on. They missed an easy layup with this one.
@mintycrys is HOT for Bayonetta: But besides Earthbound and Super Mario All-Stars I cannot think of too many retro games that are not available.
Also, yes a large library does equal a good library. The Wii has more quality retro games on it than does the PS3 or 360. And on an added note, the PS3 and 360 retro games (either Xbox originals or PS1 ports) have no new features adn are straight ports as well. #wiiware
@mintycrys is HOT for Bayonetta: Yeah, because Nintendo has complete reign over what comes out on VC. Oh wait they don't.
They have plenty of awesome games on there. Get over it. They didn't kill your dog by not putting Terranigma on there, which you only know about and enjoy because you've already played it via emulator so I'm trying to figure out why you even care anyway. #wiiware
@Ueziel: Maybe if you took the time to read my profile page, you'd know that Nintendo already killed my dog, Boney! They gave me this needy blob as compensation, and I'm still angry about it. I don't even LIKE jellybeans! #wiiware
@mintycrys is HOT for Bayonetta: It should be noted that, unlike Sony and MS, every Virtual Console game on the Wii works without any game-breaking glitches(not supporting N64 Pak data aside).
Meanwhile, I get to play Wild Arms without any summons at all. That's quite a chunk of the battle system's fun. D:
Nintendo goes out of its way to ensure the experience is just the same, which does limit how many games come out so soon.
Oh, can't forget licensing issues with some games. #wiiware
@DrakeDatsun: It came out in Japan like two weeks ago. It can't possibly take that long to translate, it has like five lines of text in the entire game, and the voice acting is already in English. #wiiware
High Speed Indeed promoted this comment
Jagzthebest is a communist lost in a capitalist world was starred
Jagzthebest is a communist lost in a capitalist world was unstarred
And yet recent popular 360 multiplat releases sell nearly half as many copies as the PS3 release at launch. That shows that in spite of all of the 360's disadvantages, the massive discrepancy in install base and the PS3's advantages in everything from technology to marketing and retail space, hardcore gamers are still choosing the 360 for more than just the few exclusives it gets here and there. #xbox360
If they sell *half* as many copies as the PS3 version...than wouldn't it be better to say "The PS3 is doing better in Japan because their multi-platform titles sell twice as many copies as the 360 versions?" #xbox360
Compare the pic of the floor space that Sony has to the one of the meager 360 section. Then consider that there are 5 times as many PS3s than 360s sold in Japan. #xbox360
@Madeira: Funny you should mention Blazblue, because it is a multiplat game, that actually sold better on the PS3 on a worldwide basis.
Ok, revise 1 game to 2. There still isn't a trend. Unless you want me to use this Blazblue example as proof that multiplat games are seeing higher sales on the PS3. #xbox360
"And yet recent popular 360 multiplat releases sell nearly half as many copies as the PS3 release at launch. That shows that in spite of all of the 360's disadvantages, the massive discrepancy in install base and the PS3's advantages in everything from technology to marketing and retail space, hardcore gamers are still choosing the 360 for more than just the few exclusives it gets here and there."
You named 2 games, I can name 100 that didn't follow this trend.
@Slagathorian: Soul Calibur IV, Street Fighter IV...
I'm talking about hardcore gamers. I'm not trying to say that the 360 is a mainstream console in Japan, or that the occasional console gamer who shows up for blockbusters like Biohazard chooses the 360 platform. My point is that there is still a niche for the 360 among hardcore gamers, and BlazBlue and Bayonetta's first week sales show that. #xbox360
@Madeira: You're right on this last point. I think hardcore gamers will always be a market themselves. And that they are always dependable to support their niche.
@Suzaku: The 360 is not a mainstream console in Japan and shouldn't be compared to the PS3 as such- the audience for the 360 is primarily hardcore gamers. Hardcore gamers represent maybe a quarter of the console buying public, at best.
From the post: "...let's talk about a store that has just renovated its game section. Think of it as a reassessment of where the Xbox 360 is in Japan... the Xbox 360 aisle is near to the toilet."
The PS3 dominates in install base, yet a few recent multiplat releases for a console going literally and figuratively near the toilet still sold nearly half of what the PS3 version did (Bayonetta, BlazBlue). BlazBlue's first week numbers were around 23k on the 360 and 36k on the PS3.
When do we start viewing the 360 in Japan for what it is- a primarily hardcore only console- instead of ridiculing it for not meeting illogical, impossible standards? #xbox360
Microsoft has failed it's retailer relations for years in Japan. This does not shock me. What shocks me is how SCEA follows by and large what it's parent says and Nintendo is the same, but there seems to be almost no direction at all for Microsoft's Japan branch.
At this point, I think only Yamauchi's 80 something years of skill of dealing with the Japanese marketplace could save them. The irony would be great. #xbox360
@Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.: I wouldn't say they have no direction, just a bad one. They tried to sell the 360 as a HD PS2, they should have realized it wouldn't work by 2007.
Natal could really give them an interesting twist, but Sony also has their motion control device in the works. #xbox360
@Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.: I honestly have no idea what it is Microsoft is going in Japan with the xbox, aside from repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot (making a bundle with games no one wants, not making bundles with games like Bayonetta, getting exclusives but completely halfassing the advertising...). It's like they've completely written off the Japanese market and are just making token efforts. #xbox360
@fmadmonk: Yeah, xenophobia, yo! That's TOTALLY why Apple is crashing and burning in Japan with the iPhone and iPod and...oh, wait.
Blaming Japan's xenophobia is a good way of ignoring a failure on Microsoft's side. Japanese people have no problems buying foreign electronics--SoftBank went from being the third ranked cell phone company to the first ranked on the strength of iPhone sales alone, and both Sony and Nintendo are starting to see the iPhone as a threat to their mobile gaming market. And more people have iPods than have Sony's mp3 player--if xenophobia was this big, huge problem, Apple never would have gotten the foothold they have. Writing it off as just "xenophobia" means completely ignoring other major factors--bad advertising, not making a big deal out of exclusives, not pushing your strengths, bundles with games no one wants, image of being for FPS which people in Japan don't tend to like--that have a much, much, muuuuuuuuch bigger impact. #xbox360
@Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.: I still am WTFing over the "bundle" they were trying to sell with some random flight simulator and FPS game. My first thought was, "...who wants to play that?!" and on the Japanese game blog I first saw it on, a lot of people were saying, "Who wants to play that?" Sony and Nintendo have been doing bundles right; Microsoft has just been a failure.
They had all these exclusive RPGs--which are popular in Japan--and never bothered to do bundles, which probably would have increased their sales and helped them at least get a foot in the door. Now the "exclusives" they had are being ported (and improved/expanded) to the PS3, and so 360 "exclusives" are just not being taken seriously (jokes about the 360 versions being beta abound on Japanese forums).
If Microsoft really wanted to turn things around, I think maybe they could...but it would take a big shift in how they portray the 360 and its games, and how they push its features. At this point, they very well might need to wait for Natal and then do a complete reimaging--it can be their do-over. #xbox360
@STG7: I did not suggest it was the sole reason. I even mentioned I was overstating it's effect (this means that "crippling" was the word I used to specifically overstate "xenophobia"). I believe Microsoft has fucked up often enough to be almost completely responsible for their own demise in Japan this generation. But still I say "almost."
Yet, you can't ignore western (read: American) technologies taking longer to find a hold if they ever do in Japan. This has been seen--outside of gaming--countless times. Please don't use one example (Apple) as a counterpoint because it's one of the few good ones you will find. It's much easier to find examples of Western companies failing in Japan. Hell, there are Korean and Chinese companies, German companies, and British companies that have succeeded in Europe and the US but fail in Japan. This isn't a coincidence.
It's not all cultural differences (a part), bad marketing (a part), or xenophobia, but instead a unique blend of these things. Japan is a very different market from much of the rest of the first world.
Thanks for your comment though. I'm not being sarcastic. #xbox360
@fmadmonk: I won't deny it takes longer, no--or that it doesn't require a marketing shift to get a foothold in the Japanese market. It does tend to be very closed, that is very true.
It just seems like a lot of people use the "xenophobia" excuse instead of actually looking at why some products don't do well in Japan--I use Apple as the counter example because they have done a good job, proving that xenophobia alone is not the big be-all, end-all a lot of people claim it is for why foreign companies don't do well. Foreign companies can do well if they try...it's just that they have to actually try, because yes, they are fighting an uphill battle, for many, many reasons (and probably why Apple has done well is because they're used to working from the underdog position--they don't tend to take sales for granted, and doing that is the kiss of death in almost any market). Saying it's xenophobia is too simplistic an answer, but one that a lot of people leap on and take as gospel truth as being the sole, defining reason.
So thank you as well, for recognizing that it really is a more complex issue than it looks like on the surface. #xbox360
@Foxstar is in love with Kotaku's two Brians.: It's more likely due to the fact that the game retailers don't do trade-in with PC games than it does with anything relating to piracy.
Publisher/dev gets none of the money from used sales, it all goes straight to the store, making console sales much bigger business for the retail store than new sales, which is why you see the sometimes outrageous offers you can get if you trade in your used games. They want those games, they're pure gold for them.
Add to that that if you look at most PC game shelves in such stores, the majority of titles are weird horse- and pet-titles for 5 year old girls, and there's never really any of the big titles in stock or advertised you have a depressing picture. But then, I never shop games in retail, the internet stores are so much cheaper.
Another factor is PC games require your staff to be better educated, as customers could have issues with their games and request assistance. Saying "blow on the disc and try again" doesn't really work for PC troubles. #xbox360
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@kitsuneconundrum: Nobody? #r4
04:40 AM
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Excitebike crosses the finish line first this week, too.
11/09/09
Gimme a break.
In retrospect, though, Electroplankton feels like a cheap iPhone app. A really cool cheap iPhone app, but a cheap iPhone app just the same, so Electroplankton just feels right at home lending itself to this business model.
11/09/09
At least they're releasing a new WiiWare ExciteBike game...
And jeez, there's not really anything going on in VC anymore... #wiiware
11/09/09
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The Virtual Console was a chance at recapturing the fans that left for greener pastures by flashing bits of nostalgic digital skin. Instead, they didn't even turn the red light on. They missed an easy layup with this one.
11/09/09
@mintycrys is HOT for Bayonetta: There there, minty, there there.
At least we still have emulators to play with! ^_^ #wiiware
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Also, yes a large library does equal a good library. The Wii has more quality retro games on it than does the PS3 or 360. And on an added note, the PS3 and 360 retro games (either Xbox originals or PS1 ports) have no new features adn are straight ports as well. #wiiware
11/09/09
They have plenty of awesome games on there. Get over it. They didn't kill your dog by not putting Terranigma on there, which you only know about and enjoy because you've already played it via emulator so I'm trying to figure out why you even care anyway. #wiiware
11/09/09
01:23 AM
Meanwhile, I get to play Wild Arms without any summons at all. That's quite a chunk of the battle system's fun. D:
Nintendo goes out of its way to ensure the experience is just the same, which does limit how many games come out so soon.
Oh, can't forget licensing issues with some games. #wiiware
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Oh, you thought I meant...
Oh... #virtualconsole
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Grow a sense of humor.
P.S.
I wasn't trying to justify it at all. Time to have your sarcasm detector recalibrated. #virtualconsole
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06:21 AM
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If they sell *half* as many copies as the PS3 version...than wouldn't it be better to say "The PS3 is doing better in Japan because their multi-platform titles sell twice as many copies as the 360 versions?" #xbox360
11/09/09
Compare the pic of the floor space that Sony has to the one of the meager 360 section. Then consider that there are 5 times as many PS3s than 360s sold in Japan. #xbox360
11/09/09
If by "recent popular 360 multiplat games" You mean one game: Bayonetta, then yes recent popular 360 multiplat releases sell nearly half. #xbox360
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Ok, revise 1 game to 2. There still isn't a trend. Unless you want me to use this Blazblue example as proof that multiplat games are seeing higher sales on the PS3. #xbox360
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"And yet recent popular 360 multiplat releases sell nearly half as many copies as the PS3 release at launch. That shows that in spite of all of the 360's disadvantages, the massive discrepancy in install base and the PS3's advantages in everything from technology to marketing and retail space, hardcore gamers are still choosing the 360 for more than just the few exclusives it gets here and there."
You named 2 games, I can name 100 that didn't follow this trend.
Ergo.... No trend. #xbox360
11/09/09
I'm talking about hardcore gamers. I'm not trying to say that the 360 is a mainstream console in Japan, or that the occasional console gamer who shows up for blockbusters like Biohazard chooses the 360 platform. My point is that there is still a niche for the 360 among hardcore gamers, and BlazBlue and Bayonetta's first week sales show that. #xbox360
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11/09/09
01:07 AM
Seems to me that you're trying to say that 360 games selling poorly is a sign that it's doing well?
Or are you trying to say that, "360 games are only selling half as well as PS3 games, which is much better than only a quarter or a tenth?"
Either way, you're not doing a very good job of trying to portray a negative as a positive. #xbox360
06:26 AM
From the post: "...let's talk about a store that has just renovated its game section. Think of it as a reassessment of where the Xbox 360 is in Japan... the Xbox 360 aisle is near to the toilet."
The PS3 dominates in install base, yet a few recent multiplat releases for a console going literally and figuratively near the toilet still sold nearly half of what the PS3 version did (Bayonetta, BlazBlue). BlazBlue's first week numbers were around 23k on the 360 and 36k on the PS3.
When do we start viewing the 360 in Japan for what it is- a primarily hardcore only console- instead of ridiculing it for not meeting illogical, impossible standards? #xbox360
11/09/09
The Xbox teabagged the PS3 and has been put in Time Out. #xbox360
11/09/09
At this point, I think only Yamauchi's 80 something years of skill of dealing with the Japanese marketplace could save them. The irony would be great. #xbox360
11/09/09
Natal could really give them an interesting twist, but Sony also has their motion control device in the works. #xbox360
11/09/09
Yeah I'm overstating it a tad, but it is a noticeable factor at least. #xbox360
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11/09/09
Blaming Japan's xenophobia is a good way of ignoring a failure on Microsoft's side. Japanese people have no problems buying foreign electronics--SoftBank went from being the third ranked cell phone company to the first ranked on the strength of iPhone sales alone, and both Sony and Nintendo are starting to see the iPhone as a threat to their mobile gaming market. And more people have iPods than have Sony's mp3 player--if xenophobia was this big, huge problem, Apple never would have gotten the foothold they have. Writing it off as just "xenophobia" means completely ignoring other major factors--bad advertising, not making a big deal out of exclusives, not pushing your strengths, bundles with games no one wants, image of being for FPS which people in Japan don't tend to like--that have a much, much, muuuuuuuuch bigger impact. #xbox360
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They had all these exclusive RPGs--which are popular in Japan--and never bothered to do bundles, which probably would have increased their sales and helped them at least get a foot in the door. Now the "exclusives" they had are being ported (and improved/expanded) to the PS3, and so 360 "exclusives" are just not being taken seriously (jokes about the 360 versions being beta abound on Japanese forums).
If Microsoft really wanted to turn things around, I think maybe they could...but it would take a big shift in how they portray the 360 and its games, and how they push its features. At this point, they very well might need to wait for Natal and then do a complete reimaging--it can be their do-over. #xbox360
11/09/09
Yet, you can't ignore western (read: American) technologies taking longer to find a hold if they ever do in Japan. This has been seen--outside of gaming--countless times. Please don't use one example (Apple) as a counterpoint because it's one of the few good ones you will find. It's much easier to find examples of Western companies failing in Japan. Hell, there are Korean and Chinese companies, German companies, and British companies that have succeeded in Europe and the US but fail in Japan. This isn't a coincidence.
It's not all cultural differences (a part), bad marketing (a part), or xenophobia, but instead a unique blend of these things. Japan is a very different market from much of the rest of the first world.
Thanks for your comment though. I'm not being sarcastic. #xbox360
11/09/09
It just seems like a lot of people use the "xenophobia" excuse instead of actually looking at why some products don't do well in Japan--I use Apple as the counter example because they have done a good job, proving that xenophobia alone is not the big be-all, end-all a lot of people claim it is for why foreign companies don't do well. Foreign companies can do well if they try...it's just that they have to actually try, because yes, they are fighting an uphill battle, for many, many reasons (and probably why Apple has done well is because they're used to working from the underdog position--they don't tend to take sales for granted, and doing that is the kiss of death in almost any market). Saying it's xenophobia is too simplistic an answer, but one that a lot of people leap on and take as gospel truth as being the sole, defining reason.
So thank you as well, for recognizing that it really is a more complex issue than it looks like on the surface. #xbox360
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Waaaay too much crap that only 1/1,000 people will care about. #xbox360
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Publisher/dev gets none of the money from used sales, it all goes straight to the store, making console sales much bigger business for the retail store than new sales, which is why you see the sometimes outrageous offers you can get if you trade in your used games. They want those games, they're pure gold for them.
Add to that that if you look at most PC game shelves in such stores, the majority of titles are weird horse- and pet-titles for 5 year old girls, and there's never really any of the big titles in stock or advertised you have a depressing picture. But then, I never shop games in retail, the internet stores are so much cheaper.
Another factor is PC games require your staff to be better educated, as customers could have issues with their games and request assistance. Saying "blow on the disc and try again" doesn't really work for PC troubles. #xbox360
11/09/09