The reason of the change in the Japanese gaming business (information)

[inthesky]

Well the Japanese economy is super sluggish too. Recent VAT hike doesn't make things better. Less free money to spend on games.

But that's only part of the picture

[George]

The thing is, their software is fine, people just want them to get with the times when it comes to online play, unified accounts and their strange DRM practices (I shouldn't have to call to get my digital games back if I break a 3DS). I think those are all valid.

Its funny that companies like Atlus have found success bringing over and making 'niche' games. They are a smart company, they will tweet a photo of a character from Persona and ask fans why they like said character. Their responses are used to shape the character and see what not to change in future installments.

While SEGA, Konami, Namco and co already know what we want... right? We want Gears of War games. 


Then consoles are doing terribly in Japan, so I guess I can see why they are appealing to the mass audience (which last generation was like hardcore shooting games). I think shooting genre is sorta slowing down. Evolve, Titanfall and even the last COD didn't do so great (COD did good but not better than before). Not to mention Hardline is looking like a bomb already.

I think most gamers (especially new ones) aren't thrilled with 'OMG LUKE AT THE GRAPKS', they just want a fun game to play and get lost in with their friends. I see why Minecraft was a huge success and I'll tell you this: It wasn't because its epic storyline and triple A graphics (realistic destruction!!!)


I know gamers don't want to hear this, but mobile is where the money is at. Low cost of entry, high gains.

[CrazyT]

It has nothing to do with the tools, well except maybe for the JP devs who refuse to use western engines. The modern day game engines are the most advanced they have ever been and super easy to use (for a developer). It's more so companies suffering from poor management and decision making.

Im sure thats the case as well. It makes me sad to hear many games underperform. Only making it harder for devs to take risks and instead decide to go mobile. Thats not what a gen with greater power should have been about.. Its almost as if they are pushing themselves into a corner. One mistake and thats it.

 Indie games(or smaller games from big publishers) are great and I see them becoming a nice replacement when boxed releases become even less. But its crazy how the new gen is leading towards less games fully utilizing the hardware. It just all seems so ironic

[MadeManG74]

I suppose I could see it with Total War but if EA bought them The Creative Assembly would be closed a long time ago, so there's the other side.

Besides I'm not really going to go into the SEGA DNA thing. Shining Force and Streets of Rage were made via third party/spunoff teams but I still liked them a lot, as long as the games good that's cool. I feel as long as they've put up the cash than it's as good a SEGA game as any other, it just happened to be they constantly made/had a hand in the best games I was a fan, rather than a encompassing SEGA style and now their quality has dipped with the occasional great game here and there.

(And yes I consider Hitman, the original Batman Asylum etc, Square Enix products)

I don't want to get into 'Sega DNA vs Non-Sega DNA' and stuff like that because it's so wishy washy it doesn't make sense. I guess I'm talking about series that were established and Sega kind of just held the wheel steady, like Total War or Company of Heroes. And as I said, the DLC practices they have now have made the games worse (many fans argue the series has gone downhill in quality for both as well).

Stuff like Ayyy Isolation is still fair enough 100% Sega though, considering they commissioned it and it was in development for eleven years or whatever. But so is Colonial Marines and AVP, sadly.

As for other publishers would have shut it down, that's a hard comparison to make, as it's supposing a lot of things going differently. I can see your point though.

[MadeManG74]

I know gamers don't want to hear this, but mobile is where the money is at. Low cost of entry, high gains.

The sad thing is, it seems like a lottery since unless you're using a big name IP or throw lots of money at it, you're just throwing a game into a pool the size of the Atlantic Ocean. Except it's full of toxic waste.

[Aki-at]

The sad thing is, it seems like a lottery since unless you're using a big name IP or throw lots of money at it, you're just throwing a game into a pool the size of the Atlantic Ocean. Except it's full of toxic waste.

Most major mobile successes have been new IPs funny enough.

Since this is officially the industry DOOM AND GLOOM thread, DriveClub dev hit with 50% layoffs.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-03-23-driveclub-developer-set-to-lose-55-staff-sources-say

[George]

Yeah in the end of the day its all about access to consumers and consoles will never beat the reach of cell phones. That is the sad truth of the matter now.

Last year the smart phone market shipped 1 billion phones in the span of a year. That is incredible and something that gaming machines won't do. I know you will ask yourself "But those aren't gamers" and I think a lot of people know that. I think that is why free to play apps are such a success because its no risk (at the start) for consumers. Its a free game, they give it a tree and love it. So they spend money.

I know a few people that play mobile games and spend money and they say "Hey, I only spend money on games I really like. I don't think its bad spending 20 dollars on a game I have been playing dozens of hours for free".

So now most games are dropping the whole sleazy 'making you wait' and thinking of smarter ways of earning people's money. I think even earlier stuff wasn't that sleazy. Like Angry birds aways had a buy to own version without and and was reasonable at a buck.

[MadeManG74]

Most major mobile successes have been new IPs funny enough.

I believe that, but I still feel it's like a lottery. Look at Flappy Bird.

[Aki-at]

I believe that, but I still feel it's like a lottery. Look at Flappy Bird.

It's definitely a lottery for the smaller developers but is it really a lottery for bigger developers like SEGA, Capcom, EA etc considering this is their (Well okay only SEGA) success rate;

[George]

Lottery? Look at the hits SEGA has on mobile and then look at the last ten years on consoles. Tell me what the real lottery is.

[MadeManG74]

I was meaning more for smaller devs trying to put out a game. When you have the marketing $$$ and knowledge Sega does it's easier to get that exposure.

[George]

But its a risk for smaller devs all the time, even on consoles.

[Aki-at]

I was meaning more for smaller devs trying to put out a game. When you have the marketing $$$ and knowledge Sega does it's easier to get that exposure.

Oh yeah it definitely is harder for smaller developers to stand out from the crowd but we only just hit a point in the industry where the likes of Microsoft or Sony will take a moment out of their AAA fueled presentation and show John Doe and his latest artsy fartsy game. That being said the risk is still there (In the case of consoles, even bigger thanks to needing to license your product) but at least the amount the competition isn't as huge as it is on mobile.

That being said George is right in saying for SEGA somehow console development is a lottery hahahaha.

[Nirmugen]

So, this thread in Neogaf resumes every about the medium-term games:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1009390

Look the responses in the first page. They have no idea what are they doing.

I what kind of world do you expect sucess with PS+ and a million downloads made for a $10 game?

Go ahead, destroy the western side of the market if you want to.

[Aki-at]

So, this thread in Neogaf resumes every about the medium-term games:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1009390

Look the responses in the first page. They have no idea what are they doing.

I what kind of world do you expect sucess with PS+ and a million downloads made for a $10 game?

Go ahead, destroy the western side of the market if you want to.

I think the responses are fine, unless you are saying the developer is being short sighted? In which case I agree with you.