Mirror's Edge and Mercenaries 2 fail to excite Japan
by JC Fletcher 
{ Feb 20th 2009 at 4:00PM }
Anecdotal evidence suggests that neither Mirror's Edge nor Mercenaries 2 took off in Japan. This picture shows stacks of new copies of both games on sale for ¥1,980 ($21). Mirror's Edge was released on December 11 in Japan, and Mercenaries 2 followed one week later. Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions are marked down, so the blame for poor sales doesn't fall solely on 360's lowly reputation in Japan.Japan has no rental services, so people tend to buy games, complete them immediately, and then sell them back to stores asap, before the prices are slashed, leading to a precipitous drop in used prices of popular games. Even that isn't the case here -- these games are new, and retailer Sofmap's website shows used copies of Mirror's Edge at ¥4,780 for PS3 and 360, while new copies are marked down to a mere ¥1,980.
Would Mirror's Edge have benefited from a lead character redesigned for Asian audiences? Maybe, if that redesign had also encompassed not making the game a first-person shooter.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Quattro @ Feb 20th 2009 4:05PM
Not really much of a surprise. I wouldn't expect games like Mirror's Edge or Mercenaries to do well there.
Roto13 @ Feb 20th 2009 4:09PM
It's not really a first person shooter so much as it is a first person platformer with some shooting in it.
But yeah. Japan. Too wussy to play first person games without getting sick. :P
Miles @ Feb 20th 2009 4:11PM
that's exactly it. This one is probably worst than most.
Roto13 @ Feb 20th 2009 4:13PM
Yeah. Mirror's Edge causes motion sickness in people who aren't even usually bothered by First Person games. They had to add a little dot to the center of the screen just because of that. :P
Sir Buzz Killington( The Artist formerly known as Jakka) @ Feb 20th 2009 4:13PM
Oh my gawd, Japan doesn't like Western games!
No offence, but Boo-Fucking-Hoo.
Geist @ Feb 20th 2009 4:14PM
Maybe the games weren't very fun? I've heard numerous complaints about Mercenaries 2, notably its bug-filled gameplay and dulled gameplay. Mirror's Edge, while I somewhat liked, also has some serious flaws to it that make it a pain to play.
When a game doesn't sell in Japan, it's not always because it's not "Japanese" enough.
Jerk Face @ Feb 20th 2009 4:33PM
Dude, yes it is. : )
Eh @ Feb 20th 2009 6:22PM
I didnt feel any pain when playing mirrors edge, its gameplay was practically perfect with just the right amount of difficulty in the jumps.
Geist @ Feb 20th 2009 8:52PM
The jumps weren't the problem, the combat and its prevalence was.
ShadowOp @ Feb 20th 2009 4:34PM
zing
or
boom.
roasted...
joeybeast @ Feb 20th 2009 4:41PM
Both games have playable Asian chicks and still didn't sell.
I get why Mercs 2 didn't sell and Japanese gamers must all suffered epilepsy when playing Mirror's Edge.
cassandra @ Feb 20th 2009 5:07PM
what do u expect, a fps with an ugly ass character, when they have hot ass anime chicks in games as a standard..
and the other is a retarded hillbilly game with out dated mohawk and attitude... i dont even like these stupid games... western games=ugly ass character design, ugly characters. hillbilly mentallity
Ignatius @ Feb 20th 2009 5:14PM
Mercenaries 2 isn't an FPS...
stevenrafaelmercadoguillermo @ Feb 20th 2009 5:33PM
This has to be the most unintelligent comment I've ever read. It's borderline offensive.
I didn't purchase either of those games, and I'll admit that I'm not fond of either one. I'll also point out that I believe people are entitled to their own opinion, but that doesn't mean they can't be criticized for those opinions if they offend.
And yes, you offend me. You remind me of a whiny little spoiled brat who can't be bothered to think before she speaks.
Western games equaling "ugly ass character designs" "ugly characters" and "hillbilly mentallity" is such a sweeping generalization, I don't think anyone needs to even go into detail about how absurd such a claim is. The God awful grammar doesn't help much either.
BxGT @ Feb 20th 2009 6:04PM
If anything mercs 2 was a lot more redneck then hillbilly.
Leobebes (BDF: Braid Defence Force) @ Feb 20th 2009 6:07PM
cassandra sounds like a soulless, basement dwelling ,pseudo-intellectual savage. You know the type, fat, crusty, cheeto infested organism with no desire to see light. The guy waits for these posts to get noticed so he can justify his sad, lonely existence.
Ignore him, but if you can't just insult him until he is forced to respond .
Josh @ Feb 20th 2009 5:36PM
"Would Mirror's Edge have benefited from a lead character redesigned for Asian audiences?"
No, it wouldn't have. Japanese have a tendency to experience motion sickness with first-person games.
As for Mercenaries, I think the main reason it failed is because gun-shoot-blow-up games are more of a distinctly US taste than anything else.
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Feb 20th 2009 7:07PM
But if they gave Faith a larger bust, and restructured her face a bit, I'm sure it'd help push a few more sales in Japan...
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Feb 20th 2009 7:09PM
Oh, forgot to mention that it isn't uncommon for characters to be designed differently depending on the region.
For example? The Spyro, Crash, Ratchet & Clank, and Jack & Daxter series have all redesigned characters for Japan. Weird, but it's true.
Josh @ Feb 20th 2009 7:15PM
Well, there's no way of really knowing, but I still don't think it would have made much of a difference, if at all.
LegendaryRedass @ Feb 20th 2009 6:09PM
At steveraphael sumthin sumthin : yes! You are correct. Anyway, those games didn't even interest me, Im not suprised they didn't go over in the land of the rising sun.
mendo @ Feb 20th 2009 6:24PM
Mirror's edge's price was cut to 20/25 euros in Europe at the end of Jannuary. It's wasn't a big hit here either :D
Tamyu @ Feb 20th 2009 7:07PM
I think that Mirror`s Edge totally failed with the marketing here by putting out trailers that people found appealing - then being a totally different game in style and design.
Most gamers I know found the early trailers at the very least worthy of attention - but were disappointed at the final game when a real demo came out.
As for Mercenaries 2 - The opinion seemed that it was too over the top.
I don`t particularly think that Japanese are any more prone to motion sickness than, well, anyone else in the world. They just don`t like FPS, which just end up being clones of one another with minor changes - and not often not even a decent story to hold the thing together. The view here is that games are to relax by, not to train twitch reflexes.
batstimpy @ Feb 20th 2009 8:01PM
Anyone else notice that Mercenaries is apparently for the PS2??
Neuromancer @ Feb 20th 2009 9:07PM
There was a Mercenaries 2 for the PS2, from what I hear it was horrendous.
Neuromancer @ Feb 20th 2009 9:07PM
Like, a 49 on Metacritic horrendous.
François @ Feb 21st 2009 9:30AM
I don't think that being from Japan inherently makes you intolerant of a first-person camera. Many people new to first-person games complain about motion sickness. If more people in Japan began playing these games, less would complain about motion sickness.
Marketing has some power to introduce new tastes to a market, but it takes time. I bet EA spent very little marketing these games in Japan. They would rather invest in audiences already indoctrinated.
Anyhow, I think Mirror's Edge could be successful in Japan, if it were better advertised. Mercenaries would have a harder time on account of the mediocre production quality.
burandon @ Feb 22nd 2009 3:26AM
I agree that better advertising would've helped ME's sales, both in the U.S. and in Japan. The fact that it's not doing well in Japan isn't horribly surprising--FPSes aren't the most popular genre in the Japanese market.
Oh and for what it's worth, Japan actually *does* have games for rent. In fact, there were several different places that rented out games around where I used to live. Large chains such as Tsutaya and Geo don't, but there are some smaller places that do.