Japan is tearin' it up

PS4 is on fire. Switch is sold out. 3DS is still going strong. Pokemon killed it. Resident Evil is back. Final Fantasy is back. Zelda is back. Heck, Shenmue is back. Nioh will be amazing. So will Mario. We get niche games like Yakuza and Gravity Rush and Ni No Kuni 2. Japan has been tearin' it up the last year or so. This is looking to be their year as well. Do you concur, SW?

I concur. :)

There are really high quality products and video games coming out of Japan. So much variety in genre and styles too. It's really great to see!

I'll agree, I'm also looking forward to Nier: Automata in March.

Its pretty hard to disagree....just give me Persona 5 and Zelda, and I'm pretty much set for 2017 :p

Yep! Japan is back in full force, and I for one am super happy that it is

Shenmue isn't back yet.

When I can go to a store and buy it with no trouble then you can say that.

I do. Just in the first half of the year, we get Gravity Rush 2, Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, Zelda, Sonic Mania, Nioh, and NieR. I don't know how I'm going to find the time to play everything.

Lol Switch being sold out isn't indicative of it selling well, look at the NES classic shortages for instances on Nintendo being shady in that regard. Also the Vita is an absolute failure, so is Wii U, and PS4 Pro. RE7 is awesome I'll agree, and the PS4 and 3DS are selling very well. Pokemon is on fire. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, those niche games sold like shit, and most people don't care about it, and some people don't even like the games. Also Japan doesn't have much more coming this year really.

@primorandomguy: You realize those "niche" games don't have the same sales expectations as games like CoD or Battlefield right? Yakuza and Tales keep selling enough to keep getting sequels so they must be doing just fine sales wise.

I do agree. Last gen was the rise of western developers and it was good to see. They've been doing admirably this gen as well. However, the last year has been conclusive proof that Japan still very much has its magic. All in all, this has been a fantastic generation so far! Memorable, even.

My collection of games strongly disagree. Japanese made games currently takes up the smallest percentage of my games. The Last Guardian and FFXV are the only two that comes to mind.

It's 2017, not 1945.

It's great for gaming to have a strong Japanese games industry, that's for sure.

KNACK IS BACK!

also ARMS™

Well this took a nasty turn.

As long as it's not weeb trash I am all for Japanese games making a comeback.

Too many people have gotten attached to the caricature of Japanese pop culture in games instead of Japanese games themselves, the anime culture infesting almost every aspect of Japanese game design is out of control.

I really wish that we were seeing more Japanese goodness on the Xbox One though. I'd love to see the Tales games, Persona 5, Nier, King of Fighters, Street Fighter V, and Yakuza to name a few on the system.

It would be nice if it had more Japanese variety, but it doesn't, spend a few bills and pick up a PS4, it's not like you're a traitor for giving yourself options.

@dynamitecop: Oh yeah I definitely do plan to pick up a PS4 Pro eventually. I've always been a multi console owner.

@Commiesdie: that's cute, but toe the CoC line please

These are all RPGs, all RPGs from everyone! Why has nobody mentioned anything good, like Tecmo Koei for example? They are killing it with Nobunaga's Ambition! Sphere of the Influence is probably one of the top 20 games of this decade! They are also succeeding really well with Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as ROTK 13 is a top-tier game of high value as well, with deep mechanics and immersive gameplay. Dead or Alive is always continuing to be loaded with content which I am very thankful for; probably in my top 5 fighting game series of all time. Just don't tell my wife I said this, hahaha!

A lot of Japanese developers are also creating ports of games from the 80s, back when gaming had the realness to it that it seems to lack today. Games handcrafted with soul, ingenuity, and intelligence. That was the classic era of gaming, up until about 1992-1993.

Koei Tecmo was mentioned though

I completely agree. It's a good thing too, a strong Japan is good for the industry since Japan contributes a lot to gaming :)

They were? It seems I haven't seen the post where they were mentioned.

@aigis said:

@hammerthrust said:

@aigis said:

@hammerthrust said:

Why has nobody mentioned anything good, like Tecmo Koei for example?

Koei Tecmo was mentioned though

They were? It seems I haven't seen the post where they were mentioned.

Oh my god. This is so frustrating for me. Sooner or later, I'm not going to be able to contain my stress.

@hammerthrust: Are you saying Tecmo Koei isnt up to your standards anymore?

I'm afraid I can't fairly answer this question. Quite frankly, I just pretend that Nioh doesn't exist!

What a wild conclusion to come to. Tecmo Koei is behind too many great games!

I disagree. Japan is no better now than it has been at any point in the past 5 years.

dont you think you owe the devs a shot then? They have given you so many great games, im sure this is their next masterpiece.

I'm going to be upfront and tell you something, my friend.

I think I'm on to what you're doing. and I do not like it. I think I know what your game is.

Trying to spread the joy of rpgs? Maybe you would like it

@primorandomguy: The Switch is absolutely sold out, and keeps selling out each time new inventory comes in.

I suspect there's a little more to it than that. You may be right; spreading joy is great! But I suspect there's a bit of a personal element to it when it concerns you and I. Do you think you could tell me what that is? I know what it is, but I'd like to see if you know.

Im not sure. Is it a father figure issue?

Maybe give me a multiple choice

Yeah the Japanese game studios must've read all the talk of them being dead. They are out to prove something and for gamers of all kinds that's good. I don't go for all they make, Nier demo did nothing for me, Ni no thank you, Tales of Ballbagia, and Grav Rush one I have on Vita and I'm in no desire or "rush" to get 2. But Nioh I'm in for among some others.

You're trying to get me to play RPGs so that I will get aggravated and post my grievances onto this forum. And believe me, I will. I am a very hot-blooded, passionate, expressive person; I need to air my grievances out to people when I am going through a negative and/or traumatizing experience. You desperately want to see me angry and upset, so you keep throwing RPGs at me in hopes that by seeing them more and more than I already do, I will eventually "grow to like them" and like them, becoming a subservient of the RPG epidemic that I despise so much. You are operating in the vein of the "frequency effect", which is the same exploitative tactic used by the tabloid and pop music industry; you like something simply because you encounter it more, therefore its sense of familiarity induces positive feelings in you. But if you are repulsed by the RPG problem such as I am, this effect is a fallacy and bears no strategical significance.

I made a thread about the comeback of several Japanese developers (and one American developer)...

Developer comebacks

Also, the following post about Pokemon's immense popularity:

Pokemon surpasses Star Wars as highest-grossing entertainment media franchise

Yes, a "weaboo" franchise is now bigger than Star Wars... but then again, Star Wars was also kind of "weaboo" to begin with (in the old-school Kurosawa kind of way).

The CE would be the BabybackBALLBAGbullshit version, bro.

I was just thinking this recently! It's great. Japan completely dominated the entire rest of the world in (console) gaming for decads which is pretty ridiculous when you think about it. But fell apart completely in the PS3/X360 gen. Looks like they've got their shit together a bit and are back to competing! The Last Guardian is something I just wouldn't expect a Western dev to ever make, at least not in that special way.

JAPANIME!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Crazy Nights, you are the Hero!!!!!

Yeah, a lot of my attention is going towards Japanese games. Yakuza 0 and Gravity Rush 2. And Nioh coming soon.

Microsoft has nothing going on. Absolutely pathetic.

That's a false equivalency if I ever saw one. How many actors, directors or screen writers that hold major clout are lining up to do the next Pokémon movie?

How many Sci Fi novels have Hugo award winners written in the Pokeyman universe?

Two completely different levels of reverence. Just like Star Wars has made more money than Schindler's List or Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Nobody with a modicum of intelligence considers Star Wars as good a film as Schindler's or as Wrath.

Ya got me

I just want to spread the rpg experience with you, I think you might have fun. What was the last rpg you played, maybe they have gotten better since the Tragedy

join us