Is Japan now completely irrelevant?

No, they are not irrelevant. They just have a different culture. But you still see millions of consoles being sold there every quarter, and tens of millions of games. They just do things differently than we do in the west.

I still love their games, so no.

Huh... japan is still among the 5 biggest markets for gaming... how is that irrelevant?

no, PS4 ... Designed in Japan.... they are in no way irrelevant.. games, yes they may be a little poor with regards to western interests, but they are in no way irrelevent

No it's not. That is why all console manufacturers seek sales there. It's not complicated.

any state that over obsesses/Gets off on under aged girls in school girl uniforms should be completely irrelevant.

Nowadays the young people prefer to play Call Of Dutys.

This thread has never been done before. I mean, last gen we definitely saw a boom in western development studios since the Japanese were largely behind the times at the onset. However, this thing called Demon's Souls happened as well as MGS4 being one of the highest rated games of the generation.

So, here we are in this thread. Under the assumptions that pop up time and time again. SW has moved on from this debate and then you bring it back.

Uhm.....

Despite MS having near zero footing there and Sony dominating the PS3/360 came out more or less equal.

If Japan is such an important market we would probably see some kind of Japan-driven sales lead for Playstation. To my knowledge no such thing exists.

And unlike during the transition between the PS2/3 era it isn't like medium and small sized Japanese developers are still straggling along making games for consoles (that are localised at this point). The Japanese developers left who are big enough to be global almost invariably end up being multiplatform: when was the last time a major Japanese game (sales impact wise) came out that was only on one system (and wasn't first party)?

Japan is a big market. But not for home consoles so much. And they don't have the output quality or quantity any more to help make one console a clear victor. That goes double when you consider how widespread platform agnosticism is for publishers.

What? That makes no sense at all. Japan was the main reason why the PS3 caught up with the 360. In US the x360 had a comfortable lead over the PS3, in EU they were pretty much equal in the beggining, only later on the PS3 managed to surpass the 360 wich only strong market in EU was the UK, and Japan was the main market for the PS3. Wasnt for Japan and partially the EU and the PS3 would never caught up with the 360 in the 1st place. Japan is FAR from irrelevant. By your logic the US is also irrelevant cause the 360 didnt managed to have a bigger lead worldwide over the PS3 even though it sold a lot more than it in the US...

So what your saying is the size of US 360 support is around the same region as Japanese PS3 support? And this is what pushed the PS3 to be more or less equal in sales terms to the 360?

If that's the case (and still is the case) then Japan is still relevant from a market share perspective.

By your logic the US is also irrelevant cause the 360 didnt managed to have a bigger lead worldwide over the PS3 even though it sold a lot more than it in the US...

Total lifetime sales in the US is a lot bigger than it is for Japan IIRC. Which means the chunk it makes of worldwide sales is bigger and hence far more relevant.

And unlike Japan, the US is a 'trend' market for the English speaking world. What is big in the US ripples and sells overseas. This isn't true of a lot of Japanese software which was niche overseas or simply never localised at all. So the numbers don't tell the whole story because they don't show how selling well in one market can predict or influence trend in others.

But I do maintain that from a software perspective Japan is essentially non-factor in determining a winner when you look at the big picture.

I think the games coming out of Japan are better than ever. It's just too bad so few people want to play them.

as a former weaboo I do agree that Japan are currently irrelevant to the industry when it comes to games not on handhelds. Even their anime quality has dropped considerably with a bunch of cookie cutter series all based around ecchi, moe and the same old tiring cliches.

They still have a place in the market. They still make some unique IP's and very good JRPG's. Their handhelds is the largest in the market if you don't count Apple's IPhone as a gaming handheld. Japan's sales market for consoles has dropped significantly though over the last 10 years. They used to be huge, but Europe has easily surpassed them now.

I feel like the west should learn more from Japan. In very general terms, Japanese games tend to focus on gameplay and design where western games tend to focus more on presentation and story. Like I said, this is a big generalization, but I feel it's true in a lot of cases.

Some people think their focus on these aspects is them clinging to the past, but these aspects are what diferentiate gaming from other mediums. They SHOULD be a major focus in every video game. In that way, I still think they are ahead of the west. They still dominate the Hack n Slash and fighting genres.

well the Xbox 360 sold almost nothing there last gen and still came in second over the ps3 soooo, yea, Japan is pretty irrelevant.

@tymeservesfate: 360 outsold ps3 by a lot in US yet the consoles sold the same. I guess US is irrelevant too

actually the U.S. is what saved the 360. but i see your point. what really explains it is how much sold in each region...that'll show which region helped either company the most.

Japan still makes some of the best games, so no.

They have always been irrelevant or not irrelevant depending on what computers/consoles you choose to game one and which developers you followed. It is completely possible for example, to have 200 PSX games and non of them being japanese or by Accolade.

I wouldn't say "irrelevant", but it certainly does not matter like it used to. Sony sold many times the number of PS3s in the US as they did Japan, and MS sold over thirty times as many 360s in the US as Japan. The 360 statistically tied the PS3 last gen with virtually no Japanese user base.

I don't think this is a good comparison, because the Genesis sold well near the SNES without a big japanese userbase.

They aren't as relevant as they were in the 4th, 5th and 6th generation, but what a ridiculous argument to assume that they are completely irrelevant; A argument backed up by nothing, neither is it elaborated upon.

What are these JP companies that are struggling/declining? Capcom? Square? Their horrible reputation is clouding judgement wen they are brought into such a disscusion, because despite popular belief, they have continued to publish/release a ocean of great games that easily made a dent in the market. You can check wikipedia for a list.

SEGA has been doing great as well, purchasing many dev teams as well as Atlus, and releasing great games. They are trying to become what they were long ago, and i will welcome that with open arms.

Nintendo may be struggling, but the 3DS has ben a success and they still make the best games in the industry, bought and loved by fans. To whoever may think about talking about their relevance, **** your statistical data and nitpicking. The games they make are brilliant and unique.

Then there's Platinum Games, From Software, Konami (soon to release MGS V), Arc System Works (Guilty Gear, BlazBlue), Level-5 (Ni no Kuni, Professor Layton series). Motherfucking Sony, lol.

They are doing well enough, quite incredible actually, for one single country. Once you drop this popular, but ridiculously stupid notion of comparing Japan to the entire western word, you'll see what i am talking about.

Or trying to assume that CoD/GTA sales = the norm. Lol.

On non-Nintendo consoles, yes. I cant remember the last Japanese game I enjoyed on a consoles that wasn't a Nintendo game. Vanquish maybe?

I love JP games the most because I appreciate how they approach game development, *Cough* Not any of the final fantasy 13 Titles, holy shit are those awful *Cough*

I really hope this generation we see a large resurgence, I think there's a strong possibility in that given with how well received the PS4 is becoming. Western devs have been dominating the play board for a while now with cinematic experiences, or bro shooters. Titles that are largely one and done for me aside from the last of us.

Japans far from even being considered irrelevant however, Fromsoft is Proof enough of that.

You have to be stupid to say that Japan is irrelevant