Conspiracy time – is Japan about to go PS3 crazy and what is going on over at CyberConnect2?
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Sometimes the complex threads of the gaming news spectrum interweave with one another and an inferred (though, admittedly, completely speculative) vision takes shape from the numerous truths, hints and hypotheses presented.
Let’s look at the facts first. Shirokishi Monogatari (White Knight Chronicles) has helped shift more than 110,000 PS3s in Japan over the last couple of weeks. This is a stellar number if we consider that Snake’s swan-song in MGS4 didn’t help the PS3 break the 100K sales barrier in the same time period and Famitsu practically gave Level 5’s new RPG a “meh” rating of 29/40.
Is this the start of a new regime in Japan for the PS3? Check after the jump for some “evidence”.
So, Japan are finally buying the PS3 by the bucket load and it took a new RPG for them to bite. Who’d have thought? That said, sales of Valkyria Chronicles and Disgaea 3 did not set the sales charts alight when they came out. Does this mean that the distinctive aesthetic of Sega’s war-themed game or Disgaea’s flagrantly non-next gen visuals were simply just ignored by the Japanese RPGing public in favour of a more “grander” RPG they so craved? Does this suggest that sales in Disgaea 3 and Valkyria Chronicles will see a late surge now that more RPG loving fans have access to the new technology? It will definitely be interesting to keep an eye on the figures over the coming weeks to see if this ensuant bump in sales of games similar to Shirokishi Monogatari occurs.
Though the above suggests that the PS3 has enjoyed a favourable (albeit short) run in its homeland, if we consider the release schedule in Japan over the next few months a pattern begins to emerge. Taking into account the imminent titles coming Japan’s way, we believe that this recent sales uptake in Sony’s console will continue to stay high.
You may not know this (considering it kinda shocked us a little when realised if we’re being honest) but Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm (known as Naruto: Narutimate Storm in the East) gets released this Friday in Japan. We all know how much the Japanese are Naruto Nutsâ„¢, and with the high production values found in the orange ninja’s latest outing, and when you add Famitsu’s favourable review scores (9/9/9/8 or 35/40) to the equation, we’re predicting another good week for the PS3 in Japan.
Other big games previously released here in the West also find themselves finally emerging into the Japanese sunlight this week like Tomb Raider, Fallout 3 and Prince of Persia. Given, these franchises don’t traditionally invoke riots in Shinjuku, but if there’s one thing we have noticed over the last year it’s that Japanese gaming tastes have changed somewhat this generation so don’t be surprised to see these titles perform moderately well upon their respective releases.
But how long will this trend continue before the Japanese return to their PS2s? February sees the release of Sony’s Demon’s Souls, Capcom’s Street Fighter IV and Sega’s Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 (Yakuza 3). Apart from SFIV, these games are exclusive to the PS3 and will sell like the hottest of all hot-cakes. Trust us. March, well, we all know what happens in March.
Taking into consideration the PS3’s strong line-up over the coming months, we’re thinking Japan may now start to finally break their dependency on the PS2. Of course, Sony must fill the gap in the RPG market and give our Eastern brethren what they want for this to happen. If the recent hardware sales surge caused by the Shirokishi Monogatari release is anything to go by it should be proof enough to Sony that Japan do indeed want to embrace the PS3 over its predecessor. They’re just not going to do so until they’re given good reason.
Then there’s CyberConnect2, the studio who made the aforementioned Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. If you visit here you’ll notice that there’s a countdown silently decreasing to some sort of big reveal. Or is it simply the clock running down to the impending Naruto release? If it is an announcement of some merit (and not just “Hey! We have a new Naruto game!”) will it contribute to the PS3’s improved performance in the region? We don’t know but we’re sure to find out soon.
I just wanted to point out that you made a mistake where it says:
” Famitsu practically gave Factor 5’s new RPG”
It is not Factor 5, is LEVEL 5
Another thing is that the counter on CyberConnect is just for the launch of Naruto game, nothing else.
And, I hope you are right about Japan starting to dig PS3, it would be nice to see a increase in sells, so Square Enix can shut its mouth about getting Final Fantasy to 360
Thanks Kracker120. You’re dead right. I was totally mixing up my “5″ studios. Apologies for that.
I’ve read that the countdown is just for Naruto also but that there might be another announcement tied into it. We’ll just have to wait and see!
Wait a second… are you saying that Japanese Gamers are craving RPGs? Who would have thought that?
It’s a shock, isn’t it?
RPGs to Japanese Gamers are like the movie Field of Dreams. If you code them, they will come…
Well,Final Fantasy XIII is still exclusive to PS3 in Japan if I remember correctly,so that means the american trash has lost it again in Japan.
29/40 is a dodgy score for such a hyped game as White KNight Chrnociles,I wouldn’t like it to be the HAZE or Lair of 2009
That being said I still get those games anyway lol
I think the reason why MGS4 didn’t shift as many consoles was because most of the people who owned the console anyway got it for that game,and they got it way before hand.
About bloody time they made the switch to the next generation,I love the japanese,but their hold on to the PS2 was a bit ridiculous if you ask me.
Ironically Famitsu gave Haze a 34/40 (9/8/9/8)!
The thing about Famitsu is that, when it comes to reviews, they’re like Edge. You have absolutely no idea which magazine has turned up to work that day and/or what side of the bed they got out of.
Consistency is not their strongest point.
Yes, FFXIII is still exclusive in Japan. We really need a big RPG to hit before the end of the year though. Those poor Japanese will starve!
I just read on wikipedia that the only element of the game reviewed by Famitsu was the online gameplay of White Knight Chronicles.
That means there’s good reason to STILL Expect a killer RPG offline story
Jedidiah-Rose. The wikipedia page is wrong which you can see if you click on the link where it says “oddly, only the online game was reviewed†and go to the Kotaku review it references. It’s very clear in the review that the whole game was reviewed.
The majority of the gripes the reviewers had were with the online mode. I read the Famitsu review myself (badly, the Famitsu guys have a tendency to use a lot of pop references in Japanese that I just do not get,) which is online if you’re looking for it, and the wording is more in the vein of “disappointment†rather than dislike but, yes, the online section does seem to have let the game down. If you like your RPGs offline (like most people) then the marks lost would be possibly regained. Of course, the reverse could be said by suggesting that, if the online mode was just a bit better, it would have got 9s and 10s rather than 7s and 8s (7/7/8/7 in fact).
WKC has been a long time coming. There should really have been a half-decent RPG out before now. Folklore was OK, but still nothing all that special.
With the promise of combined gameplay types and the big shiny metal suit reminding me of a retro-ified Zone of the Enders in some ways, there is a lot for this game to fill in terms of RPG gaps.
The major problems will come when FF is released, which will propel gamers (particlarly in Japan) into fever pitch. It would be nice to have an online aspect to one of these games…
I actually have Folklore and have barely played it. It is very pretty and somewhat “quirky”.
Fun fact: the story takes place in the fictional town of “Doolin” in the west of Ireland. There’s actually a real town called Doolin and a place called “Doolin’s Point” where I nearly died in a freak surfing accident.
Top tip: never go surfing in 1° water with a bad cold. You just might go into shock and pass out.