icycalm preaches to the choir

majik989s · Post by **majik989s** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:49 pm

icy, absolutely brilliant. I have had many people read it. None have said a word of negativity. I love the world you painted, and am very glad I was/am a part of it.
Can't seem to win here.... le sigh.

doctorx0079 · Post by **doctorx0079** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:03 am

I read the part where he describes the Hey! arcade. That part was awesome. The rest after that was pretty good. I just skimmed over the first part, didn't really read it. It's nice that he loves arcades and arcade games. So do I. I think the competition in Counterstrike is pretty heated as well. And I think a big reason why games like that aren't too popular in Japan is that many Japanese still don't have a PC. Also most people in Japan want to play with the latest gadget whereas most Americans feel they are supposed to go outside and socialize. In my experience it is a cultural difference.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:21 am

And I think a big reason why games like that aren't too popular in Japan is that many Japanese still don't have a PC.

No, it's b/c they think CS and games like it suck.

Also most people in Japan want to play with the latest gadget whereas most Americans feel they are supposed to go outside and socialize.

Is this the same America where obesity is a growing epidemic b/c people won't get off their asses? They sit around on the internet, and in terms of games, would far rather play online then go to an arcade?

Quite obviously, I would have to disagree.

doctorx0079 · Post by **doctorx0079** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:37 am

No, they go outside and sit on their asses. Probably drinking beer.

Acid King · Post by **Acid King** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:57 am

GaijinPunch wrote: No, it's b/c they think CS and games like it suck.

I think it's all the shitty J-rpgs and dating sims that do it.

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:30 am

GaijinPunch wrote:
And I think a big reason why games like that aren't too popular in Japan is that many Japanese still don't have a PC.
No, it's b/c they think CS and games like it suck.

QFT.

By the way, PCs are as common in Japan as the US. I lived in the countryside in the middle of nowhere in Japan 3-4 years ago, and even then everyone I met in the little village town I lived in had a PC at home.

Twiddle · Post by **Twiddle** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:32 am

GaijinPunch wrote:
And I think a big reason why games like that aren't too popular in Japan is that many Japanese still don't have a PC.
No, it's b/c they think CS and games like it suck.

That would be a credible argument if the PC game market wasn't dominated by hentai games.

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 4:43 am

First person shooters sell like shit in Japan, no matter if they're on PC or console. The Japanese just don't like them, simple as that.

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:07 am

I read the article a few days ago (but didn't know it had its own thread), one of the best articles I read in my life.

It's long, but it's great.

And that's why it's linked to my sig.

nem · Post by **nem** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:32 am

You really don't read a lot, do you?

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:40 am

Double ouch.

Necronom · Post by **Necronom** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:05 am

First person shooters sell like shit in Japan, no matter if they're on PC or console. The Japanese just don't like them, simple as that.

Looking at the japanese arcade version of Half Life 2, the FPS Gundam game for the Wii I highly doubt that this is the whole truth.
Sure FPS games are not as big there as...well, in the rest of the world (US, EU, Korea...) but their lack of success is more caused by wrong marketing and themes that don't go well with the average japanese customer. Make it Gundam themed and it suddenly sells. The best example here is the Gundam arcade FPS. There's (or was?) even a japanese arcade version of CS with a slightly more mangastyle look to it. Don't know whether it was successful enough though.
While studing in England I met a couple of guys from Nippon who were all into CS and UT. They told me that they never buy such games in Japan because they're too expensive. They either import or use pirated copies, that might explain a little bit;-) None of them was into shmups by the way.
FPS games are probably more of a niche in Japan but so are shmups.

HL2-JP-arcadestyle:

http://www.arcadeflyers.com/?page=thumb ... db&id=5374

CIT · Post by **CIT** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 12:38 pm

TWE wrote:First person shooters sell like shit in Japan, no matter if they're on PC or console. The Japanese just don't like them, simple as that.

Nothing is ever that simple, there is a reason behind everything.

Actually, we shouldn't ask why are FPSs not popular in Japan, we should ask why are FPSs popular in the West!

In the West playing FPSs online is currently the only real way you can experience the kind of exhilarating and social versus-play experience, that used to be offered by arcades, and still is being offered by arcades in Japan.

Ceph · Post by **Ceph** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 12:42 pm

Good observation!

PROMETHEUS · Post by **PROMETHEUS** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:16 pm

CIT wrote:In the West playing FPSs online is currently the only real way you can experience the kind of exhilarating and social versus-play experience, that used to be offered by arcades, and still is being offered by arcades in Japan.

FPSs are not the only way, RTS provide this kind of experience too and on a large scale. Also RPGs and MMORPGs feature versus play online (Diablo II, World of Warcraft...), with huge community size as well.

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:41 pm

nem wrote:You really don't read a lot, do you?

I read a lot.

The second half of the article is what I truly believe in.