Halo 2 triumphant Stateside as incredible Japanese apathy bites

Could I ask what you say about Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, Mechassault 2, or Kameo? Those are three games that are all exclusive and are coming out within what is considered the winter season. I could go deeper still and find Forza, Unreal Championship 2, Oddworld: Stranger's Rath. Do I need to go any deeper. No, and the point is that Xbox owners do have more then one big exclusive game to choose from.

Don't mind him, he meant one GOOD exclusive. (j/k)
Well, i sure as hell am curious for Halo 2, but since i don't own an xbox, i won't be playing it. And i don't plan on buying one for this game. 95% of xbox games don't really appeal to me and a lot of those that do are multiplatform, or at least out on PC. Exceptions come from the likes of Sega of course. Luckily i already own a Dreamcast and have Jet Grind Radio. I have one friend with an xbox, but he doesn't like Halo. XD I guess I'll play it if it ever comes out for PC.

Well, i'll be busy anyway this month: finish Pikmin 2, get paper Mario 2, Tales of Symphonia, Metroid Prime Echoes... I'll be busy

Wasn't Kameo the one that was recently delayed indefinitely? Going to be hard to be a Winter release when it no longer has a release date at all, unless you mean Winter 2005/6.

Xbox is a success because it's in it's home town, the big ol US of A. Halo 2 is reflectng that there and also because of the first brill game.

Lack of success in japan is MS own fault, they assume they'd be great their beacuse they are MS. What they failed to see is that the japanese taste in games are different to their own mostly PC based FPS tastes. It screams of lack of repect for a different culture mindset to expect Xbox and Halo 2 to fly of the shelves. Market research is handy in this area. Cancelling the likes of True Fantasy etc didn't help thing either, when those are the types of games Xbox needs to shift (not false pretenders like Sudeki) desperately.

I believe there might also be some anti-american feelings there because of the current Iraq biz. Remember a japanese guy did die there recently. Ask yourself if you'd buy a gung ho game like Halo 2 with what's going on and yank airbases still in japan when they aren't wanted anymore? I could be wrong, and perhaps they just don't like Hugebox and MS much. Or maybe they are saving their cash for PSP and DS etc.

You know what, SCREW JAPAN (Secretly loves them so, so much) . I mean come on, if they are soo close minded to feel that they won't buy a system because it was made in the US they need help. Everyone else in the world is buying there stupid merchandise like, Yu-Gi-Oh, Tamagotchis, Pokemon, and Beyblade. I mean they should at least try our stuff. The World is open to there weirdness (even though it took a little while) why can't they just do the same. I am not saying for they system to sell 1 billion systems but at least sell better than the PSone. If they would buy more systems they would get more content that is aimed towards them.

If they refuse to change well everyone should just not buy any electronics from Japan because were stuck up like they are. See how fast they will change there minds.

In short, Microsoft can live without Japan.

But from what I hear they are not happy and the Xenon will have Square-Enix support and be way smaller than the XBOX to appeal to Japan.

In closing, HALO 2 ROCKS! woohoo! yeah!

I totally agree. As a gamer in Japan, the only memorable exclusive that I can recall (and that grabs me when I walk into any store) is the Halo 2. There's only one other "good" game that is coming out on the Xbox that is exclusive and that is Sega's Spikeout Battle Street. Or so I hope. I flip through the gaming mags and all the killer games on Xbox are still multi-platform, and having Sega port this game to the PS2 would be a no-brainer.

Personally, even though I own an Xbox, I'm waiting for the PC version.

I didn't think it was, I might be wrong but I was still seeing a January release date. I don't know if those are true any more and I'm sorry if it was wrong. I was talking about Winter 04/05 and I hope thats what he was talking about since he was talking about Halo 2, and frankly I've got a whole bunch of other games that I want besides Halo 2 on my other systems.

I agree with you that they should give our stuff a chance, but japan is conformist and loyal to it's own perhpas to much. I love japanese games etc too, but I know that not everything from there is brilliant. Igave Pcs a chance and I love em now, I changed after LAN parties and my gaming is better for it.

Possibly the only thing that could change them is the S Koreans and perhaps the chinese, because they have embraced console and pc gaming. I'm sure once Halo 2 and Half Life 2 come out in Sth Korea they'll be all over them like vultures on a cadaver.

Japan will get used to our games for one reason i think, because they want to learn english and most japanese games don't have english dialogue or subtitles. Games expose them to this so they can learn in their own time.

Each to their own anyway.

I think there were too many mistakes made in Japan early on for it to be rectified now..

But either way claudioalex, if I were your English teacher I'd give you a firm spanking across the buttocks young man!

Hello and welcome! :-)

You must be crazy! Japan is were its all about, a mass load of games come from over there that we need to be thankfull for.Big giants like CAPCOM, KONAMI, sQUARE-ENIX, SEGA, NAMCO are based there, If it aint for the Japs, we would'nt see daylight of such brill games that these developers bring out. Japan is the heart of the gaming universe and always will be.

X-Box need to fix up more like! They can start by actually making things that wont take up the entire living room floor!

in regards to screwing japan:

i almost agree, i love japanese games, because that is all i ever played my whole life. think about it, good video games didnt really come from the US, sure we mostly started it(atari, coleco), but it was nintendo and sega that made gaming what it is(inckuding making the best game on the atari systems, i.e. donkey kong). i cant even hear the word video game with out the image of mario popong in my head.

that said, i dont see that many japaneese games that excit me like they used to. While i understand the draw of Square/Enix games i personaly have never liked them. i was much more intrigued with the promise of fable (even thought it basically fell flat) and knights of the old repblic (one of the best RPGs ever, made by canadians!). and namco? soul calibur was incredible but i honestly preffer to play sc1 to sc2 and tekken just seems like more and more of the same (not that any better fighters have come out but fighting games arent what they used to be either, in the mid 90's fighting games where king, not so much anymore). Capcom still puts out some great things here and there (viewtifull joe for one) but untill i see if the new RE game is any good i really couldnt care for that series any more... it hasnt really progressed much except grphically since the PS1 editions(stupdi stoping to turn, i should be able to aim my gun with the other stick, the only reason i ever get scared playign that game is cause im paranoid i wont be able to turn aroudn and shoot the things behind me fast enough, and no the quick turn option doesnt do it for me). Devil may cry was a really good game (no ninja gaiden mind you, which is xbox exclusive) but the sequle was mostly a let down. and nintendo... what has been there biggest games? mario did well but not fantastic... but its zelda and metroid that rule the roost these days, and if im not crazy, one of those games was made in texas! and knowing a couple of serious ninto fanboys i can tell you from my experience most of them prefer metroid. The idea that the most popular game on a nintendo system was made in texas is just rediculous.

I also think the Coments about china and korea are dead on, the xbox is doing incredibly well in the us and europe and australia and will most likely do damn good in china and s. korea when the new one comes out... japan is missing out, not us.
after all how many peopl have died as a direct

effect of playing to many video games?
1, a s. korean... playing an FPS, counter strike to be exact.

MS doesnt need them and neither do i... i will probaly buy whatever nintndo puts out next and keep it sittign next to my xenon so when im done playing halo3 and ninja gaiden 2 and whatever bioware comes out with(and maybe perfect dark if rare can ever make a decent game agian), i can take a nice relax break and play some mario party 9 or mario golf 5 or mario tennis 11, and some zelda, i do love zelda.

the days of atari are long gone, the english speaking world has done more for the evolution of video games in recent years than japan has and it doesnt show signs of slowing. take a look at the top sellign games at any given time and see how many are from japan vs. america(or any other western country for that matter)

GTA ring a bell?

even sony is buttering its bread with good old american violence. There was little doubt that the ps2 woudl rule this round of consoles, but IMO the reason they are doing it by such a large margin is for 2 reason,
A)japan is stuborn and stupid (only stupid cause they are so stubborn, not a racist remark)
B) Grand Theft Auto

oh and 1 more thing... half life2, anything with tom clancy written on it, EA games(the largest developer int he world) and blizzard.

thats a pretty hefty list next to konami capcom and square.

there is my 52 cents... go buy yourself a coke
________

"screw Japan..." this comes from a empire(sorry Country), that votes for war to solve it's problems, but has problems with Band of Brothers TV show, in case any-one phones to complain about the violence dipicted therein. The Yanks will believe any thing they are told. Yanks need war, except when they need the Brits to get them outa S**t

Microsoft = corporate games for money
Japan = games as an art form first, then money

consoles' are closed platforms......

Correction to my last post....

The film is Saving Private Ryan...

check out the story ..."www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4005693.stm"

Yeah, right. How could we do that? Oh, I know, maybe we could drop an atom bomb on them, when they are on their knees and dying to surrender... just so we can test our new weapon!.

Then lets do it again a couple days later.

What pisses me off when Americans talk about terrorism, and how mush of a tragedy 11/9 was, is that we are the worlds biggest terrorists. The only country EVER to use nuclear weapons against another country.

You say Screw Japan, I say SCREW USA.



Yeah, because no American ever acted in an insular way, or ever favoured American goods, services and products over another country's.



It's true, except the word you were looking for instead of 'stupid' was 'innovative' or 'fascinating' or maybe 'interesting'. Xbox is none of those things, it's a big, ugly, black PC laid on its side, with very few decent games for it.



Yeah, instead let's buy bigger, uglier, less well made electronics from USA. U S A. Go! U! S! A!.

C'mon, with a choice between a Panasonic or a Zenith TV, I know what I'm buying.

WIth a choice between PSTwo and Xbox, I know what I'm buying. You rednecks can buy what you like.



In computer games. No they can't.

Let me start this by saying that I like lots of Japanese games and lots of games developed in the west as well. But I think there's still a relatively big difference between them.

From the perspective of the way games are perceived by developers in both markets, it's clear to me that
the Japanese gaming market is mostly based on Console[b] and [b]Arcade[b], while the North American market and about every other market on the west are based mostly on the [b]PC.

We all know that all the best home-systems since the Atari 2600 were created in Japan. And the only console developed in the USA that's truly successful on a much more global level than the Atari 2600, the Xbox (which, ironically, is actually a box with PC components), was only released in 2001. And of course this is reflected on the games that are developed in both markets.

Most Japanese developers know how to work with closed-hardwares much better than most developers of the west. It's a simple matter of tradition.

Some clear examples of this are some of the biggest games on the Xbox : Fable and Star Wars : Knights of The Old Republic. I do like (and own) both games, but sometimes when playing these games, it's almost like the Xbox hardware has the minimum requirements to run them. (if you've played these games you know what I mean). And then we have the ultra-polished Ninja Gaiden with its incredibly detailed graphics (considered the best in a console game by many people) running at constant 60 frames per second. Ninja Gaiden is the perfect example of a CONSOLE GAME.

Want to do better in the Japanese market? Do this :

1) Start treating your console like a console;
2) Release Japanese-Rpgs (you know... the kind that are developed by, err... Japanese developers) on your platform (Why...OHH...Why did they cancel True Fantasy?).

As for Halo and FPS in Japan, I still think that's kind of a myth. The only reason why Halo 2 won't sell that much in Japan (in absolute numbers) is because not many people have Xbox's over there in the first place. For those who don't know, the original Halo was one of the best-selling Xbox titles in Japan. And maybe that's because Bungie has done a great job in creating a fantastic original console first-person shooter? Just my guess.

In related news, here are the hardware sale numbers for the first week of November in Japan (according to Media Create):

1. Playstation 2 (PStwo) : 114831
2. GBA SP : 27611
3. Xbox : 4959
4. Gamecube : 4656
5. GBA : 982

Xbox in THIRD place! Only because of ONE title : Dead Or Alive Ultimate. If you give them what they want, they will buy it!

Agreed, I think any sane person does. FF Series developed in Japan, Lemmings Developed in the west.

Street Fighter Series developed in Japan, Doom/Quake developed in the west... etc, etc, etc.



Whoa there. America MAYBE, and then for a few years in the 90s, MAYBE. But the PC has NEVER been the dominant games platform in any other western market.

While the influence of FPS games, which are fundamentally PC title, has been immense, the platform itself has never been the biggest in terms of revenue or units.

In fact, the FPS "concept" really came to fruition in Tomb Raider style explore-and-shoot-a-bit-'em-ups. Even tot he extent that the best FPSs, Halo and Half Life, have been compelled to include more narrative elements in the games.



Yes, but you can't infer too much from that. It was one of the best selling Xbox titles EVERYWHERE. The reason being that, for a long time, it was the ONLY Xbox game worth owning. Halo 2 in benefitting the same way.

Sure. I do know that. But I was talking about game development. Notice that all of the "west" titles you mentioned were originated on the PC, as PC games. I remember everytime I played Lemmings on the Master System or in other console, I used to think : "Dammit, I wish I had a mouse to click on these stupid lemmings" (kind of a bizarre sentence, if taken out of context). I'd include on the "great-games-from-the-west" list The Lost Vikings, as well as Prince of Persia. All of them developed originally as PC games (although these 2 could very well be consired console games gameplay-wise, if they were originally developed for consoles). What I'm trying to say is that most of the best ORIGINAL games from the west appeared on the PC first, and in that post I was not considering the "west" games, developed for consoles/arcade, that tried to emulate (some succeeded, some didn't) the greatness of some genres ORIGINALLY invented by Japanese developers (games such as Battletoads, Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat,... etc).





Sure, that's true. But I think that if the Japanese absolutely didn't care about FPS, all of those who bought Halo over there wouldn't consider it worth owning and wouldn't have bought it.

Everyone Took what I said completely different than what I intended. I ment that Microsoft should just say screw Japan because they can't do anything and its better off not worrying about them anymore. Japan is very closed minded in there electronics and its better off just not worrying about them for right now and focus on there other markets.When the next XBox does come out then they can try again but for now just screw it. and I Love Japan thats why I had the (secretly loves japan) subtext because I love there culture and there ideas because they have wonderful innovations there. I may have sounded rude but I was just trying to say it in a way that sounded like Japan for Microsoft was not that important at the moment. I am sorry if i hurt anyones feeling and sorry if it was something that caused an uproar. BTW I don't see how comparing a computer/console war to Hiroshima as appropriate.

P.S. I may be a jerk but I am never, never, ever going to be racist or malicious.