Why aren't Western games that popular in Japan?

This isn't a "WESTERN GAMES ARE FAR SUPERIOR TO FEEBLE MINDED JAPANESE GAMES!!!!!!11111" this is just a question I have been wondering for some time now I mean I like games in general no matter where they come from (well I mean I have preferences of genres) but if you look at America for example you'll see the Video game market is pretty 50/50 with Western Games and Japanese Games but if you look at Japan their Video game market is like 100% Japanese Why is that? (P.S sorry if some of this post does not make sense)

Mod note: Edited to remove racial slur.

Its a different culture, same reason why Japanese games aren't that big in the west

Its a different culture, same reason why Japanese games aren't that big in the west

James161324

This isn't a "WESTERN GAMES ARE FAR SUPERIOR TO FEEBLE MINDED JAPANESE GAMES!!!!!!11111" this is just a question I have been wondering for some time now I mean I like games in general no matter where they come from (well I mean I have preferences of genres) but if you look at America for example you'll see the Video game market is pretty 50/50 with Western Games and Japanese Games but if you look at Japan their Video game market is like 100% Japanese Why is that? (P.S sorry if some of this post does not make sense) SirKelwguy

You are suffering from a misperception. Take a look at the games available at amazon.co.jp and you'll find the Japanese distributions of all of the top-rated games available in the U.S., just as you will find them in all of the game shops in Japan. COD is one of the most popular online games in Japan. The Japanese game companies release a lot of titles that are developed specifically for the Japanese market, but popular games from the U.S. are popular in Japan as well.

Mod note: Removed here as well.

[QUOTE="James161324"]

Its a different culture, same reason why Japanese games aren't that big in the west

monkeymoose5000

[QUOTE="monkeymoose5000"][QUOTE="James161324"]

Its a different culture, same reason why Japanese games aren't that big in the west

GhoX

Same thing happens with TV as well:

-Choriki Sentai Ohranger (Power Rangers Zeo) bombed in Japan but was a hit in the west, but the opposite happened to Gekiso Sentai Carranger (Power Rangers Turbo).

Anybody know of specific gmes that sold well in the west but not in Japan?

Different preferences and different cultures.

This isn't a "WESTERN GAMES ARE FAR SUPERIOR TO FEEBLE MINDED JAPANESE GAMES!!!!!!11111" this is just a question I have been wondering for some time now I mean I like games in general no matter where they come from (well I mean I have preferences of genres) but if you look at America for example you'll see the Video game market is pretty 50/50 with Western Games and Japanese Games but if you look at Japan their Video game market is like 100% Japanese Why is that? (P.S sorry if some of this post does not make sense)

Mod note: Edited to remove racial slur.

SirKelwguy

for the same reason japanesse games arent popular here, cultural division

[QUOTE="monkeymoose5000"][QUOTE="James161324"]

Its a different culture, same reason why Japanese games aren't that big in the west

GhoX

I suspect that there could be some horrible localization going on with Western games, same thing that effects us this way as well, a good localization studio's job would be to creatively bridge the cultural differences to make the Western games more accessible to Japanese gamers, and vice versa. There's lots of stuff online about English speaking Westerners pointing out the "Engrish" they see in Japan, horribly translated English, exists quite frequently, and if you look around the net you can see some pretty amusing translations, but I think this shows that if they have trouble translating to English they can just easily do a bad job translating from English, and if game localization from Western countries to Japan takes place with games like this, I could see how many Japanese gamers don't want to play Western games. If Western gaming companies want to break ground in Japan, they're going to need a great and creatively talented bilingual localization studio of voice talent staff and writers and all that stuff that goes into it. Anyhow, from what I hear video game studios in Japan generally don't have as much money behind them as Western companies, if someone is going to bridge that gap I think it'll have to come from a Western company in the form of publisher support.lamprey263

The question posed by the OP is invalid. Western games are popular in Japan. There are Japanese-specific distributions of just about every top-rated game in the U.S.

because Japan has a weird fetish for animated characters that look and sound like they're 12 years oldlonewolf604

The graphics style of Japanese games and anime is borrowed from the art style of Japanese manga, or comic books. The problem is not that Japan has a weird fetish for animated characters that look and sound like they're 12 years old, the problem is that too many people outside of Japan have the knowledge and understanding of a 12-year-old when it comes to things Japanese.

The question posed by the OP is invalid. Western games are popular in Japan. There are Japanese-specific distributions of just about every top-rated game in the U.S.capaho

Its a different culture, same reason why Japanese games aren't that big in the west

James161324

now that you mention that I just remember once I decided to use Google translation to read Amazon.jp user reviews of various Western games, though those auto-translations are horrible you get a good idea of what they're trying to say, and yeah at the very least they do get a great amount of positive critical reception, though commercial success is another thing entirely, I was always under the impression Western games weren't hot sellers but I'm happy to be wrong if what you say is rightlamprey263

You can find some actual sales stats here:

http://www.vgchartz.com/weekly.php?reg=Japan

Japan games are better then westren ones in my opinion, but mainly has to do with culture

cultural differences.

A lot of Japanese games end up selling more than they do in Japan simply because there is more people. Also the common popular shooters in the states are also popular in Japan like Call of Duty.

Success is relative, and while some J-games sell more in the US, proportionally they do worse, thus are not as successful.

But yeah, major games like CoD or Final Fantasy tend to do well in the other countries, as has been pointed out.

Ohaidere

Differences between the types of games that sell well in Japan as opposed to the U.S. are more likely influenced by age demographics than cultural differences. The average age of a gamer in the U.S. is 37, as video games appeal to a much broader age range. In Japan, video games are considered to be a frivolous waste of time for adults, so most Japanese abandon gaming once they leave school and enter the work force. While middle-aged and older gamers are common in the U.S., they are rare in Japan, leaving the game market there dominated by school-age children.

Because the japan games sucks, all you see are characters that you can't even tell if its a woman or a man. And most of their games have kids the age of 10-15 saving the world? seriously?

Some markets aren't as open to outside ideas or diversity as others.

The Japanese have better taste in video games. TROLLOLOLOLOLOL

But I believe that statement to be true to an extent.

Moving on...

Japanese games aren't very popular in the west. It pisses me off that so many U.S. gamers are ignorant and dismiss Japanese games as "sissy/stupid anime games."

Because the japan games sucks, all you see are characters that you can't even tell if its a woman or a man. And most of their games have kids the age of 10-15 saving the world? seriously?

Laughing_God

[QUOTE="Laughing_God"]

Because the japan games sucks, all you see are characters that you can't even tell if its a woman or a man. And most of their games have kids the age of 10-15 saving the world? seriously?

ZIVX

Artstyle can set the mood for a game, and may turn off some people, while some people might like it and look into the game.

Artstyle can set the mood for a game, and may turn off some people, while some people might like it and look into the game.

ArchonOver

Aside from the difference in age demographics (it looks like few people read more than the title of a thread before posting to it), the Japanese game market is flooded with sequels and there are too few original titles being released these days. Japanese game developers would rather milk a cash cow dry before putting any money into developing something new and original. With a Japanese game market that is dominated by children, there aren't many Japanese titles that would appeal to an adult gamer in the U.S.

I would assume alot of it has to do with cultural differences.