Blue Dragon, could it save Japan?

Didn't Blue Dragon make it to #8 on Famitsu's Most Wanted list ahead of Zelda and some other high profile games?

I think if the game is as good as it COULD be it will be a system seller.

Then Microsoft better buy Mistwalker.

obilivion could save japan.

The first of two epic RPG projects for Microsoft by Mistwalker, the studio founded by Square-Enix's Hironobu Sakaguchi. Blue Dragon features characters by designer Akira Toriyama, and tells the story of a young boy named Shu who has special adventure with hs two friends and a mythical blue dragon.

Graphics look sweet (in game engine). Sounds are good. Wont know the gameplay of course until its reviewed. Dont know if its the game but rather whether Japanese gamers can "think outside the box" and give it a chance...

I would doubt this game can "save" the 360 as you put it. I don't know if you could call me a Japanese gamer but I am a gamer who lives in Japan. The trouble is that the 360 isn't even on the radar here. I talk to my students outside of class and they are often suprised to hear that I play videogames (or as they call them terebi-gemu). They always ask what games I have and when I give them some names they look at me funny and say they've never heard of them (Halo, DOA etc). I tell them I have an Xbox, or more recently a 360 and they say the same thing again... "What's that?" Outside of the hardest of the hardcore no one knows what a 360 is. MS has had all kinds of TV ads and such but people still don't get the message. Heck most of the ads don't show any kind of game or gameplay at all. They are "emote" or "cool" ads like the Jump In commercial with the double dutch group. I hate to say it but unless MS can come up with 3 or four quadruple A titles over here within a year's timespan they are sunk. One of the other commenters mentioned Oblivion. There is a petition over here to get it translated and published. That is a good sign because aside from that no intrest has been shown for any ot the other existing properties. It is tough being a 360 fan over here.

I don't know anything about what's going on in Japan, but if they aren't using gameplay footage in commercials, then they're wasting their money.

I'm really surprised that the visuals are so good. They actually convey the sense of Toriyama's art very well. They're not anything like his manga technically, but they have the right feel.

That's an accomplishment in and of itself. I'm very excited about this game.

Who can save Japan from these crappy Anime games!

P.S. The game does look kind of cool, but still come on japan! We nuked you over 60 years ago. Get over it and start buying American products!

Wow, another idiotic/ignorant post by DJphat. You should take away his star and give it to Goodwin there, all of his posts seem to be actually contributing something.

I guess the good news is in 3 weeks middle school kids will be going back, so we won't have to hear from DJphatfuck anymore.

i think it has the potential to at least encourage a big pickup of sales. as i recall, DS sales weren't so hot until Nintendogs came along, and then like a bolt from the blue, DSes were selling left and right.

however, i think it's probably going to take an amazing showing at TGS this year, and either some creative marketting from MS, or some amazing word of mouth. it's not a portable, so people on the subway can't just point and ask what all these people are suddenly playing a DS for.

if pushed with Trusty Bell, Lumines Live, and even Street Fighter 2 on Live, then maybe they could get the point across.

Blue Dragon alone won't "save" the 360 in Japan - no single game can. But it can bolster sales, and demonstrate (however briefly) that Microsoft can deliver the kinds of games Japan wants. It's the first big push that can start a snowball rolling downhill, but there need to be others.

Together with Sakaguchi's other RPG, and a handful of other titles, it could actually give the system some decent momentum. The 360 will never "win" Japan, and it doesn't have to, but it can avoid bombing and put in a respectable showing in this generation if there are half a dozen titles of this caliber in Japan between November and May (Biohazard, stuff like that).

Fuck Japan. Seriously. They want to play JRPGs, and specifically FF and DQ, and Microsoft is never going to be able to unseat those. They like super-kawaii games, which is great, but MS has to sell games in the states, too, where our unibrowed, slack-jawed, cousin-fuckers are likely to shriek "fagget" at anything that doesn't involve shooting someone in the face. Again, MS can't win that market.

In short, MS can't win the Japanese market, but that's okay, because they are rapidly sliding into obsolesence. When India, China, and N. Korea come online, Japan will find itself in the unenviable position of being the smallest Asian market. They should enjoy temselves now, because the next generation will belong to Europe, Australia, and the U.S., all of whom prefer player-directed stories as opposed to programmer-directed stories. And the generation after that will belong to the real Asian powerhouses.

If Blue Dragon is marketed well and it scores very high 9.5+ then it could help kick off the 360 sales. The key is trying to deliver games that the Japanese prefer and outdo what Sony is doing. Steal their franchises and create new ones that are more exciting.

Put gameplay in ads. The ads here in the U.S. have sucked. The ads that stick out to me are the games that show off a ton of footage (Oblivion, Dead Rising, NCAA 2007). The Dead Rising ads have been the best by far.

Give gamers a reason to buy a 360. The social aspect isn't working. Footage is.

Mark Felps is my new hero. Thank God someone agrees with me. Who cares about Japan? Their games suck and if they don't realise how awesome the xbox360 is then its not my problem.

Well you dont NEED japan... but if you want your console to win you have to do well in ALL territories.. including the emerging ones in China, India, etc. Having USA and Europe is good but you need them all to be considered the leader.

So they dont NEED japan to survive... but if they want to WIN they do NEED japan. So Good luck MS.

Every country has different tastes, so you HAVE to change your offering for each country, thats the only way to 'win' over each one.

For instance look at multinational restaurants, depending ont he country, they have to change they way they market products or even the products themselves to survive. That's just common sense, one thing want always work everywhere, you ahve to diversify. So in terms of systems, that means some games may only work in japan, or china, or india, you can just assume everything that works here in america will work everywhere. I think thats the one mistake MS makes. They need to cater more to each of their audiences.

"save the 360"... i'm curious but the issue is that MS task, since the launch of the original xbox, is to step up to the table with the established companys. A uphill task from the begining especially with the backwards capability of the ps2 essentially exploding that consoles game library from launch. It's a matter of seeing two new consoles, one with 8 games and the other with 250 titles, all of which are cheaper.

This same concept can apply to a demographic of gamers. Applicable titles being the ones that you would perfer. It's hard selling a 1st person shooter to someone who hates them. Likewise to sell a system that only offers a fewer number of genre games.

so the list:
PGR3
Perfect dark zero
Kameo:elements of power
NSMW
nba live 06
nhl 2k6
fifa 06
amped 3
tiger woods
quake 4
tony hawk
ridge racer 6
nba 2k6
Condemned: Criminal Origins™
gun
madden nfl 06
king kon
cal of duty 2

Broken down we have into genres...
genre | #games | % of total(at or near launch)
Racing 3 16%
Shooter 6 33%
Rpg 1 05%
Sports 6 33%
Stunts 2 11%

And now with a petition to get Oblivion to japan can we really say the demographic doesn't buy 360s because it's not a japanese/chinese company? Well, it's just not ONLY that. It's also an abissmal selection of games at least availible at launch that would not tempt someone to spend $400 to play Kameo when they could just slap down less then $200 for a ps2 and a few games or a DS even with larger game librarys and thus larger selections.

Yes it's a culture of loyalty but we would be nieve to think that the 18-26 demographic isn't willing to break potential cultural bonds for a game that looks bad ass and cool. It's about the games people. It always has been and it always will. That's why the PS3 is so dangerous right now. Because the price for development as well as the consumer start up price will shrink the industry and the consumer base. That's why i am proud that Nintendo is going the route they are and that MS is still around to compete with Sony on the field of Graphics and Tech Power.

The PS3 WILL sell out, there will be "shortages," you would be a fool to think otherwise(does anyone remember the ps2 launch?). It's what comes AFTER that will matter. What will late spring and summer 07 bring? Hopefully many deverse games for the 360, pc, and Wii. Hopefully.


/rant

Please tell me this is also coming stateside...
Does anyone know if it is? I love Akira Toriyama.

The only thing that could save Japan right now is Godzilla.

@ Shawn
Based on the amount of buzz this game has gotten in this country, (and the likely cost to MS to get it in the first place) it would be shocking if it didn't come out stateside at some point.

Back on topic:
I think that soco may have hit the nail on the head...it'll be games that attract the much larger "non-hardcore" gamers (that YardArm51 is talking about) that will secure a place for the 360 in Japan. They need a game that can transcend video gaming and get out into the culture at large. That's why Nintendo is currently doing so well with the DS and why they are likely to do well with the Wii in Japan -- their mantra is about transcending games and gamers and making games for the "everyman".

Lets face it. They need some game with half-naked anime characters on the box art. Dont even TRY to tell me that isnt what wins Japan.

@Andrew

Japan had a few exclusive games at launch that were not released in the US, and some of the US/EU launch games are just now getting released there. like Condemned and COD2. Kameo and PGR3 both got released in japan a few months after launch. PDZ was the only FPS on launch. they had Tetris and Every party sa well, and of course DOA4 missed launch by like 3 weeks or something. my bet is the MS held off on releasing PGR3 to give Namco space in their home market, and Kameo just because they didn't want a flood of American games, especially ones that didn't showcase live.

within the first 3-4 months they had 2 RPGs (excluding FFXI), that also haven't hit here. also oblivion is apparently released, just not in Japanese, from what i've read, but MS can't do a whole lot about that since they're not the publisher.

sorry i'm just a stickler for details ;D

The 360 needs a few games like this to take off in Japan.

Also the software selection isn't that great. I bought a 360 in March and all I own is PGR3 and Table Tennis, along with SF2:HF and Galaga.


It's failure in japan has nothing to do with bigotry or culture

I don't think any one game could save the 360 in Japan. They just aren't interested in anything that Microsoft has to offer. They never really have.

Such is the bane for them to not be focused out of Japan. Japan has a greater love to its own companies than it does to western companies, it always has. They're just elitists like that, ya know?

Mark Felps cutted the wood and nailed the coffin on the subject of Japan's eternal aversion to ANY non japanese console and soco trew the flowers and the dirt. It's over. Japanese consumer will never even give a chance to any console that's not 100% japanese. And I'm not talking about made in japan or by japanese, here's the catch 22: It has to be 100% japanese in it's soul. Something that anything coming from a self centered culture like the USA has very, very little chances of happening. The USA is Good, with capital G, on imposing and selling his own culture. Adapting it's own culture to another on a melting pot style is something that americans are also very good. But assimilating to a point of totally deny it's own culture (pre-requisite #1 for any console to win in Japan) is something that is percepted as cancer to the american culture. And that's why I love the american culture. God bless America, Ever.

soco

I knew i was forgetting something. Been out of it for awhile and had to refresh my memory on the launch titles. thanks kindly... off to wiki

lazy:

Half naked anime characters weren't enough to save the PCFX.

Anyone remember what that retailed for when it launched in Japan?

And I challenge you to find a MORE Japanese console than the PCFX.

I wouldnt go that far Liberty City King.. after all there's alot of american products that do TREMENDOUSLY well over there, so lets not get into this whole, us and them, argument... we're moving towards a global economy bit by bit anyway so where stuff is made, is hardly a big issue anymore.

I think the problem is the selection of games when ya get down to it. They simply ahve different tastes in games than we do. They dont line up to by the next madden or NBA live like we do over here. When ANY company goes into a foreign market they have to remember you cant treat every country like america, because values are different around the world. You have to adapt to that.

So god bless EVERY country where humans live =)

I have to agree with the win the Japaness over crowd. Without some support in the Japaness market for the Xbox 360, the system is bound to fail not only in Japan, but continue to lack the credit it needs to win the world. The Japaness market is too precious of a jewel to be left as spoils for Sony to feast on.

The Japan represents a billion dollar market if we get a toe hold into, and whole alot more if we push our foot in the door. If Japan was to start buying Xboxes 360 in reasonable quantites, we could lower the price of the Xbox 360 and its video games by a considerable precentage. And thats money you save because more people are buying the games, and the system. And that is good for everyone from Microsoft, to me, to you, and even ever disagreeable Mark Felps.

If the American Video game market is to have any place outside the United States, It cannot be anything less then the best. And to the best, it gots to kick @$$ like the best from here to Japan, through China, across europe, and back again. We must make waves Japan, because ripples are easily forgotten.

So let me ask you again, Do you want to keep paying fifty to sixty dollars a game because Sony cooly controls two of the biggest markets in the world, or do you want Sony to sweat hard for your hard earn dollars?

Microsoft,

All you need to do to exponentially increase your success in Japan is make sure that three goals are achieved:

1. Make sure that at least one NEW Dragon Quest game appears for the Xbox 360. It would be nice to see an offline version as well as an online version. Gamers would also like to see some of the older 8-bit and 16-bit versions of Dragon Quest available on the Xbox Live Arcade. Dragon Quest is the top selling game franchise in Japan. There is a rule in Japan that says a Dragon Quest game cannot be released on a weekday, because of the huge lines the demand for the game will create! If Microsoft doesn't get Square Enix to develop a Dragon Quest game for the Xbox 360, then the Xbox 360 deserves to sell poorly in Japan...That is the bottom line!!!

2. Make sure that at least one NEW Final Fantasy game appears on the Xbox 360. The Playstation 3 is getting TWO Final Fantasy XIII games! It would be nice to see an Xbox 360 offline version as well as an online version. Gamers would also like to see some of the older 8-bit and 16-bit versions of Final Fantasy available on the Xbox Live Arcade. Final Fantasy is the second most popular videogame franchise in Japan. If Microsoft doesn't get Square Enix to develop a NEW Final Fantasy game for the Xbox 360 (rather than a three year old game like Final Fantasy XI), then the Xbox 360 deserves to sell poorly in Japan.

3. Make sure that a version of Virtua Fighter appears for the Xbox 360. It would be nice to see a version of Virtua Fighter that allows players to play online against each other--unlike the Playstation 3 version of Virtua Fighter 5 that does not allow online play. Gamers would also like to see some of the older Model 1, Model 2, and Model 3 versions of Virtua Fighter available on the Xbox Live Arcade or as a bonus with the NEW Xbox 360 Virtua Fighter. Virtua Fighter is the top selling 3D Fighting game genre franchise in Japan. If Microsoft doesn't get Sega to develop a Virtua Fighter game for the Xbox 360, then the Xbox 360 deserves to sell poorly in Japan...That is the bottom line!!!

By the way, Blue Dragon for the Xbox 360 is now at #6 in the Top Ten Most Wanted Games in Famitsu Magazine. Ever since that happened, 45% of people polled say that they are interested in the Xbox 360. This is interesting, because after Sony put on such a poor show at the 2006 E3, only 42% of people polled by Famitsu are interested in the Playstation 3. With the combination of Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Enchanted Arms, Lost Planet, Resident Evil 5, a new RPG franchise from Square Enix, and several other games designed specifically for the Japanese market, the Xbox 360 may end up doing pretty well over there in the end, afterall!!!

Just a question here: Are we measuring "winning" the console war in terms of untis sold or profit earned? Or maybe something else?

I guess it doesn't matter a whole lot since I don't know the stats for either situation. >_>

Blue Dragon has been repeatedly listed in the Most Wanted games from Famitsu, and i believe just after E3, Halo 3 was in there, and was the only Western Game to have made the list in a long while.

i think some people misinterpretted some of my comments. i wasn't hitting nails into coffins, as i think MS still has a decent chance and i just chuckle when others say it's dead. i just think there's some things MS needs to change.

the first is i think they need to allow 2d games to be published on the system, and they need to allow japanese management to select games for the Japanese arcade. i think they also need to allow smaller developers to digitally distribute their smaller works (

wow that totally just ripped off half of my response, and i don't have it anymore :( oh well. i think it was because i used a less than symbol to say "less than 2GB", and it thought it was an html tag.

the basic idea was that MS should not allow Canesta to dictate what's available for XBLA in Japan, and to allow larger games since all 360s there have harddrives. seriously, do they have any mahjong games on XBLA? what about Strip Mahjong Alpha EX 4?

they should have a team in Japan actively scouting smaller devs, and evaluating titles for XBLA in Japan. they shouldn't just be waiting for people to approach them, since it seems the only folks MS is going after are the big guns there. that way, they're going to miss a lot of stuff, that's going to go to Sony or Nintendo first, whereas it could've appeard on XBLA with little loss to them.

perhaps they should start a studio in japan and find their own new star devs for quirky games, because they're not likely to get them by just raking in Capcom, Konami, and Square. i think some of the DS titles have sold almost as well, and maybe even better than, some of the Final Fantasy games there. "More Brain Age" has sold 2.8 million copies alone...

@ Shiro, thats hard to say, with the rosy reports that the news and manufactures provides. But the reports from the ground so far are not good.

From what I take of the situation, Microsoft just does not have anything in the way of a clear 'must buy' video game for the japaness market. And a must buy product for the console market is vary important. Just look at what Halo did for the first Xbox. Up till Halo's release, the Xbox's future was not clear, and microsoft was basicly giving half empty promises of success to software developers just keep up with Sony, Nintendo, and now defuct Sega platforms. But once Halo showed that there was products for Xbox no other console maker could make, It cemented Xbox's place in the gaming universe.

So, because the console makers don't make a profit on the console, (but instead on the the video game contracts for the console,) the war so far is not going as well for Microsoft as it can be. They really need something game wise Sony, and Nintendo don't have.

In a way, it the market could actually turn on Microsoft because Microsoft is making the first move here. By introducing the Xbox 360, they are laying the cards on the table. They are saying white box, that can be stood on the side, with wireless controlers, and removeable hard drives are in. But Nintendo and Sony are now free to copy those feature (which they are to a great deal..) and reach into there extensive collection of previously released title to raise the stakes. (Sorry kids, I know that just thinking about this probably does not give you guys and girls much to think happy thoughts about...)

But what you have to remember is this. In order for Microsoft to get that foothold in the Japaness market, they don't just need to make a hell of a console, (which they did.) They need to make a library of title for the Japaness market to lock into. And that does require alot of the types & title that have been mentioned above to some degree.

And to that list I have to add horror games, racing games, and adult themed games. To some degree the Japaness market is much like the american market in that there is games for kids, games for teens, and games for adults. If you Remember "Question for gaymers: Is the 360 lacking diversity?," the immage provided with the discussion is one such game for the Japaness market, the Cho Aniki Series.

The Cho Aniki Series, seems preatty rough by our standards. Basicly, you play a pair of muscle bound, thong wearing, brothers that shoot white speam shaped beams out of the holes in there heads, and fight even more gay sound enemies are usually naked, wearing thongs, and prancing about like a some intergalactic gay bar.

Now the first time I ever saw picture for this title, I puked a little in my mouth. It was sick, I was still quite homophobic in my youth, and could not understand how the same country that gave us Mario cart, Street fighter 2, and Metal gear solid 2 could put this horrible abomination out for console video game systems!

But after that, I found out this was not the only sex based game out on the Japaness market, (and I began puking alot thinking the Japaness had some sort of sick pevertion for needing video game technology to horribly simulate homosexual sex.) Eventualy I would finaly stop tearing my stomic linning out when I figure out that not all of the games where gay, and that the Japaness market just lets this stuff exsists because they have a vary diffrent additude about sex then most americans do.

Now Im still not sure if japaness games, and/or culture is at all homophobic, as Americans in general can be.. (and at this point I find myself wondering how nice it be to be part of a asexual which does not place any intrest what so ever in sex,) but I can easily see from my position as a outside observer, that it's fair to say that any plans Microsoft has for the Japaness market will have to include these sorts of games (lets just call them sticky controler games...) because that what Japan demands from it its home systems...

And with that said, It's probably shrude marketing move on microsoft's part to paint the Xbox 360 in white.

Yes, the Xbox 360 has a mahjong game in Japan (Tsuushin Taisen Mahjong: Touryuumon).

It also has a convenience store simulation.

My analysis is that the Japanese market isn't ignoring the Xbox360 because it's Japanese, they are ignoring it because it's a bandwagon market. They will only start paying attention once people are paying attention. Getting new mindshare is a very difficult task, particularly when you're up against two very entrenched brands.

It's a chicken and egg thing. No one wants it because no one has one. No one has one because no one wants it. Good titles and a sensible pricing strategy, along with advertising that shows the good titles and sensible pricing will help, but it will take a lot of time.

@11

Your right, Japanese gamers will only buy Japanese games that are CG stories with a few instances of gameplay. Pretty soon the Asian market won't be just Japan and they'll find themselves alone drowing in their own games because they won't sell outside Japan. Developers already know the 360 is easy to program for but if consumers only buy the Playstation it won't matte.

VIVA PINATA!!!!!

Will Save Xbox360 in Japan...

Hooray!!!!

Oh man, regardless of whether it will save japan, i think that looks frickin' sweet!