Parappa designer raps PS3 for being 'too big', plans Wii game
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ May 15th 2007 at 11:00PM }
In what's either a stunning triumph of naiveté or a startling display of practical knowledge, Parappa the Rapper creator, Masaya Matsuura, has opined that the PlayStation 3's sluggish sales in Japan are largely to blame on its physical size. Speaking to GamesIndustry.Biz at the Nordic Game Conference (they have those, you know), Matsuura describes Sony's black behemoth as being "too big for the Japanese."
It's not the only technological powerhouse having trouble finding a home -- the Xbox 360's critical flaw is "not the size of the hardware but of the AC adapter." Matsuura's obsession with size doesn't extend to his Wii though, as he's currently planning a title for Nintendo's comparatively diminutive box. He calls it a "very good piece of hardware," noting that the unique controls pose quite a challenge from the designer's point of view. He confidently asserts that development on the game begins "soon,maybe."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jake @ May 15th 2007 11:04PM
I don't buy it. Price and games is what it is all about. The size of the box is secondary.
Judd @ May 15th 2007 11:05PM
The guys right. Just look at sales of the DS Lite compared to the original. The Japanese love things that are small. Plus it makes their penises look bigger.
Negativecool @ May 15th 2007 11:07PM
"...obsession with size doesn't extend to his Wii..."
GOLD Jerry! Solid GOLD!
LOLROFLCAKES
Matt B @ May 15th 2007 11:08PM
Those are some finicky Japanese. Not buying a console due to size seams rash to me.
Defenestrator2.0 @ May 15th 2007 11:13PM
Score! I always wanted to play Parappa the Rapper.
sheppy @ May 15th 2007 11:15PM
Xbox has issues just because, in Japan, X is bad, mm'kay?
As for the topic, this means good news. Wii will either get a Vib Ribbon game.... or Parappa. Seriously, that's his one-two punch. 6 games, three of each in both series.
Ian Von Porter @ May 15th 2007 11:28PM
Meh, GameCube was tiny.. it was still a flop in Japan. The only difference is the marketing.
Craigo @ May 15th 2007 11:30PM
I don't that the size has as much of an effect as he seems to think, but it's definitely not helping. The average Japanese person has far less living space than a comparable American or European.
If someone is very precariously balanced between a purchase and walking away, they might look at the size and say "Nah." (Or however you say that in Japanese.) But it's a little silly to cite it as a primary factor.
AM Night @ May 16th 2007 1:05AM
#4. Those are some finicky Japanese. Not buying a console due to size seams rash to me.
What about americans, not buying a console because it doesn't have ultra super hyper realistic graphics.
Alex K. @ May 16th 2007 1:10AM
the gamecube was not a flop in japan, it was a solid #2, although PS2 still had a whopping advantage.
I don't think japanese people buy the xbox 360 because of its game library. most of its games are geared towards western audiences. notice how xbox 360 sold almost at the rate of the wii when blue dragon was released for a couple of weeks. it's the games that count.
Louis S. @ May 16th 2007 1:13AM
@AM Night
... the hell you talking about?
Last time I checked, DS and Wii Dominated the U.S. sales charts.
mo @ May 16th 2007 1:22AM
@9
content is for pussy's....
TOPolk @ May 16th 2007 1:50AM
Matsuura describes Sony's black behemoth as being "too big for the Japanese."
....That's what she said.
/Michael Scott
Slaziman @ May 16th 2007 3:02AM
And here we were thinking it was the huge price tag...
Ethan Duffy @ May 16th 2007 3:02AM
Can't be too large for America though can it? There's a demographic there who'll love large.
Otis Whitaker @ May 16th 2007 7:50AM
"Those are some finicky Japanese. Not buying a console due to size seams rash to me."
have you seen Japan? It's like one big sardine can with flashing lights!
ZippyDSMlee @ May 16th 2007 7:25PM
oy vay............
Ignatius @ May 16th 2007 8:58AM
Well, I guess it's kind of like the comparison with American cars and Japanese cars. The Hummer versus say, the Honda Insight. :P
Steve @ May 16th 2007 9:25AM
Am I really supposed to believe that Japanese homes are so tight on space that they can't afford to waste a cubic foot of space in their entertainment centers? What do these Wii owners do with this extra space? Store clothing or toiletry supplies?
If the Wii were the size of two microwaves duct-taped together it really wouldn't matter to me, and I doubt I'm alone on this.
megaStryke @ May 16th 2007 9:27AM
Actual lyrics from one of the songs in the upcoming PaRappa sequel for the Wii:
"Check and turn your Wiimote to the left...
(Check and turn you Wiimote to the left...)
Now WAGGLE to the left!
(Now waggle to the left!)"
Aberu @ May 16th 2007 9:43AM
As a PS3 owner and former student of Japanese language and culture, I do completely agree with this guy. Japan's hardware sales are all about fads, or what's cute in some way. That is, unless they are must-buys like the PS1/2. And even then, the Gamecube did comparably well in Japan when held up against Japanese PS2 sales. The N64 didn't though, it was really huge if you do remember.
Japanese consumerism isn't always about function when it comes down to it. But neither is American consumerism, this comes as no surprise.
tcc3 @ May 16th 2007 11:10AM
I kept hearing this about Xbox too. Are the japanese really that shallow?
I dont care if its made out of old orange peels if it plays exciting games.
Codex-exe @ May 16th 2007 11:30AM
I dont think that a Japanese dudes Entertainment part of a room is that small so it wouldn't fit a Wii, Ps3 AND a 360 at the same time....
I mean, even if i too know that a Japanese guy lives pretty stacked up with his neighbors, no one, has such a small home that he couldn't get one or two more consoles into the living room.
rinks @ May 16th 2007 2:44PM
"Too big for the Japanese".
That joke writes itself.
segadult @ May 16th 2007 5:48PM
Actually, Rodney Greenblat created Parappa the Rapper. What you said is like saying the Director of the first Superman movie is the "creator of Superman".
syco @ May 16th 2007 5:56PM
It's true. PS3 is huge like Xbox. I don't really have a place for something that big in my living room, and my living room is bigger than most japanese apartments. Maybe if you set it up vertically, but I would never put a Sony product upright like that. Extreme caution is the only reason my PS2 still works.
Mr Khan @ May 16th 2007 6:11PM
I think he was joking, or making a broad metaphor, something like the fact that Sony figured they had cornered the Japanese market, they saw (as the entire gaming media did) that the only viable competition this generation would be the 360, so they built a console that was "all Xbox was and a bag of chips" they went for power, size, imposition, and sheer hardware finesse
a marketing strategy that (except for the Saturn) has always proven disastrous in Japan