Western-developed games have rarely found success in Japan. However, Square Enix head Yoichi Wada doesn't believe it's because of inherent nationalism. "In the past, Japanese retailers have said that Japanese gamers have their own idiosyncrasies and tastes, and that that is the reason why the audience is not accepting of overseas titles," Wada told Ars Technica. "But I believe that is not the case, it was just a matter of poorly executed marketing."
Microsoft would probably take offense to that claim, considering it has poured considerable effort into the territory with arguably little return. Still, Capcom's success with the Grand Theft Auto franchise shows that Japanese gamers aren't entirely adverse to Western-style games. Square Enix believes it can follow suit with Modern Warfare 2, which launches in Japan in December, given the publisher's "extensive experience with the Japanese market."
We're not exactly sure what Square Enix is doing to increase Modern Warfare's appeal in Japan (the image above is not part of the campaign), but it seems to be working. Taketo Matsuo, a representative of Japanese retailer Tsutaya, has predicted Modern Warfare 2 to be one of Japan's top 10 games this holiday. Considering the rest of the list is made up of new Final Fantasy, Mario and Zelda games, that would be quite an accomplishment.
