Ok, so let's say that the XBOX doesn't do well in Japan ... (1 Viewer)

[Masood Ali]

Which goes to prove why the Xbox sells so well in the US (eye candy galore) and why it will need more than a Geforce3 and a high price tag to appeal to the Japanese market.

 

[Sean Oneil]

Eric, the only point that I was making is that... things change.

What I was saying does not back up Morgan's or anyone else’s view that Japanese people just out and out 'Don't like' something without even trying it. A more likely scenario is that the Japanese have never been given a really great FPS title to get excited about (and with Halo, FPS only loosely applies -it is just as much a plot driven action game).

And if it is the case that the Japanese people hate FPS games then what in the hell are Nintendo and Miyamoto expecting to happen, making Metroid Prime a FPS? Looks a lot like 'Halo' to me.

 

[BrianB]

Yes but Morgan, everyone always said that Americans hate RPG's too... until FF took off and sold millions.

Generally, yes, they hate RPGs. Go look at the sales figures for the other Squaresoft RPGs & the ones from other companies. Generally, they're /not/ huge sellers. They don't hit the millions that Final Fantasy gets.

 

[Eric Nees]

Japan isn't Metroid Prime's biggest market. Sure, they'll release it there, but Metroid has always sold much better in the US then Japan. So when they realized that they couldn't get a 3rd Person Metroid's controls perfect, they didn't sweat it (too much) when they changed to 1st person.

Sure, I suppose that some game at some time could change the Japanese market and they'll actually end up liking 1st Person Shooters. But it's not going to be Halo. The first big FPS would have to come out on a console that's already doing really well. No one is going to start buying a new console for a good game in a genre that they can't stand.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Metroid Prime is being made in America and released here first.

Final Fantasy games had a few years between FF2 SNES and FF7 PSX, but FPS games have been coming to Japan for years, so if they were to ever pick up steam, it wouldn't suddenly start with HALO. It would either start slowly or already be big by now.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Let's not forget some things about FPS games
1- FPS' grew to huge numbers here in America because of multiplayer capability. In Japan, playing games online has only recently really took off, because you got charged for every call by the minute. Now DSL is getting affordable there
2- As Morgan said, FPS games are also at the forefront of eye candy, and graphics do not a hit make (unlike in the US).
3- The Japanese tend to like games with some more strategy if they're serious, and the 1 player modes don't have that much strategy besides duck behind something and kill kill kill