Japan gobbling up Gears of War?

good.

Well shouldnt we wait until #'s are actually released before we say there's a grand sell out on any title?

If they only shipped say 5000 copies, and they sold out of 5000 copies its not that big a deal.

But if it was like half of all the 360's they've sold over there, then yeah thats good news then.

I can give you an estimation. Under 278,560 GOW units were sold in Japan. Since... that's how many 360's exist in Japanese homes.

It's not a f#&%in FPS, it's a TPS! (third person shooter)

Who would have thought that the Japanese were so into curb-stomping.

He doesn't call it a f#&%in FPS

Response to BklynKid

"4. It's not a f#&%in FPS, it's a TPS! (third person shooter)"


....But having pulled the camera back over the player's shoulder, Epic has used a formula more conducive to a worldwide hit....

Thanks, were all aware that its a TPS especially since the post by joystiq explained that. Thanks for the info Kid!

How hard would it be to switch over the main characters (there were only about five of them) to characters representative of the country the game is released in? I'm talking Asian Phoenix for Asia, African Marcus for Africa, Canadian Marcus for Canada... you get the picture.

I guess what I'm suggesting is instead of just putting in voice overs, you put in completely different character models. Gameplay remains the same, but the character you identify with on the screen is, well, more like you.

Or you just have a character creation function at the beginning of the game. Actually, that's a better idea. Just do that and have the character model participate in the "real-time" cut-scenes. Do it... Do it.

Inaccurate. Apparently, the actual translation of the article states that it only sold out in one location.

Nice to see more exaggerating and sensationalism from these "news blogs".

Kotaku article:
http://kotaku.com/gaming/gears-of-war/the-gears-of-war-denden-town-sell-out-230314.php

Original JPN article:
http://www.senakablog.com/archives/2007/01/post_780.html

I'm telling you they didn't produce that many copies of the game, and it probably didn't move a lot of units (I'm guessing it moved maybe 500 units at best). I would say the game doesn't break the Top 10 either.

This post needs more pictures of the babe holding up the cover.

Wink wink. I'll be sure to actually read the article in its entirety next time. Sorry about that.

Mariko Okubo is gorgeous! That is all.

Who wants to guess that Microsoft bought that score from Famitsu?

KingBroly--> Oh my god you couldn't be more wrong! I have no idea whether Gears will make the top 10 or not but day 1 sales figures are very impressive - ESPECIALLY if Chris (post #1) is correct about estimated Xbox 360 units sold in Japan.

It's not a "third person shooter". It's a first person shooter where you're a ghost trying to protect a meat puppet three feet in front of you and to the side. If you can put a hole through something by looking through crosshairs at it, it's an FPS, however you want to spin it.

"Japan is notorious for its ill-reception of Western titles, especially FPS games. But having pulled the camera back over the player's shoulder, Epic has used a formula more conducive to a worldwide hit."

Third person shooters don't generally do much better there, and why would they? The Japanese aren't idiots - they know what they like and don't like, and just moving the camera back isn't going to make any difference.

Look at it this way. In most driving games, you can switch the view between first and third person at will. Does playing one way or the other fundamentally change anything about the type of game it is?

Anyway, I predict GoW sold ~20,000 units in Japan, which will break the top 30, but not the top 10. The Kotaku article was correct in that there is a subset of Japanese gamers who actually really like western genre games and go out of their way to play them, just as the reverse exists here. But it's not a large number.

Damn, I didn't know it got a 37! That's pretty good for a FPS... I wasn't very impressed with it when I tried it in a game store the other day, but it was mostly due to the control scheme (basically a complaint I have with all console FPS games... And something I hope the Wii will be able to fix). I'm not a big FPS fan but a 37 is nothing to be sneezed at! Hopefully you can remap the controls, I'll have to get it when I get a 360 (and by that point it'll be in the bargain bin, whoo!)

It is Hideo Kojima's comment that interests me... He is fascinated by Gears of War, which can only have positive repercussions for ongoing sales of the title in Japan...

yyeah...I'm gonna need you to come in on Saaturday...yyeah. File some TPS reports...yyeah.

c'mon--you were all thinking it

Hm, who'd of thought? I guess being a third person shooter WAS enough to get past Japanese bias. Good for Microsoft and Epic.

so robert..

im curious to know wat an "american", " canadian",or "african" fenix looks like to you...

thats besides the point..thw whole point of creating a lead character is to create a universal recognizable symbol/iconic figure...it isnt like this is some MMORPG in which the main character is completely personal...

Add Mii's.

You want to know what really helped sells besides the behind the back and CERO: Z rating?

It's in Japanese!
Amazing move there, actually translating a game into the language of the land, who knew it would help people buy it?

I hope this is something more Western developers start doing.

Of course that said it isn't sold out everywhere, I can easily go and find numerous copies at most stores.

It's also not the only Shooter to sell well, it's just getting more attention because it did well in the States first with all it's hype.

Kenofthedead, finally someone who actually seems to have actual information. Thanks for the input.

Oh, and regarding the localization of appearances in the translation of a game...to some extent I can see your point, but it seems like an awful lot of work for something that to me isn't that big of a deal. Final Fantasy anyone? Mario, Castlevania, Street Fighter series, Soul Calibur, etc. All of them a popular series where the character's look is ambiguous enough to look past to the gameplay or whatever it is that does it for you. Yes, I really identify with ICO. Not that this shouldn't be something to work towards, i'm sure.

ummm, am I off topic yet?

We all know the Japanese love the Cole Train!

@16

You tell'em. Also, I greatly enjoy playing a second person shooter. Isn't that what you call a co-op game? Incidentally, I quit school after 1st grade and have no ability to differentiate between myself and other people. I'm first person typing right now.