How do you think the PS5 price increase will affect sales in Japan? PS5 software was selling horribly and PS5 hardware was selling ok. I’m guessing hardware might decline a little once stock is available, thus dooming software into further depths of despair?
The reasons and consequences of the decline of Playstation in Japan [UPDATE: New Guidelines]
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This is what I think as well, since much of the stock isn’t really selling to consumers anyway.
Thought this was interesting but Team Asobi is stating once again that they aren’t just going to making platformers
Seems like they have a lot in the works
Du Gers au Japon, le destin fou du Français Nicolas Doucet au sein...
À la tête de Team Asobi, l’un des deux studios de jeux vidéo japonais de Sony, Nicolas Doucet nous raconte son parcours hors du commun dans l’industrie du jeu vidéo, et son ascension chez...
www.cnc.fr
Seems like they have a lot in the works
Seeing Nintendo announced 3.45 million already sold for Splatoon 3, it really shows that Nintendo can draw interest to their games to the entire Japanese consumer market, while Sony and those who support Sony platforms have done nothing to achieve broad interest for their software. Whether the IPs born in the PS1 and PS2 era have become "niche" in comparison to Nintendo's games, or only see actual interest on mobile hardware. You got to wonder why isn't anyone looking at Nintendo's Japanese sales numbers and thinking "we should try to aim for something similar". Its like they have given up on attracting massive audiences in Japan, content to well... almost "otaku" levels of sales, and trying to grow with international sales.
For reasons that remain very unclear to me - no one is looking at the success of Nintendo IPs and Minecraft and saying ‘let’s make games for a wide audience’.
I think they would of still did this well. But Nintendo would have alot less market share between 3rd parties and possibly a million or so consoles sold less at this time
Thought this was interesting but Team Asobi is stating once again that they aren’t just going to making platformers
Du Gers au Japon, le destin fou du Français Nicolas Doucet au sein...
À la tête de Team Asobi, l’un des deux studios de jeux vidéo japonais de Sony, Nicolas Doucet nous raconte son parcours hors du commun dans l’industrie du jeu vidéo, et son ascension chez...www.cnc.fr
Seems like they have a lot in the works
Dreamworks, Pixar... that does not sounds or feel very Japanese actually lol.
not that it ever was a good excuse but splatoon putting out numbers like this makes the excuses that the apologists for sony's japan abandonment put out, that its a stagnating market, that console games just cannot do well, look even more off
It's the other way around.
Sony lack of competitiveness in Japan was caused by the inability to pursue the "growth path" (to cater to all ages, all sex consumers).
Nintendo's current dominant position in Japan is due to them effectively catering to a wide demographics in a way that is unmatched by any other company (not just Sony, Sony is often cited because it's historically the other major platform holder).
"20 years since NES: The game industry now and in the future" speech by Satoru Iwata happened in 2003 (at Tokyo Games Show).
We are close now to "20 years since '20 years since NES: The game industry now and in the future'" (or if you wish "20 years since NDS: The game industry now and in the future")
"The current game industry is the same as shooting games" Nintendo President Iwata gave a keynote speech
At 10:30 on September 26th today, Satoru Iwata, President and CEO of Nintendo, gave a keynote speech at the Tokyo Game Show 2003 venue. The theme of the performance is "20 years since the Famicom: The present and future of the game industry." As the most important person in the game industry gave a lecture, many attendees gathered at the venue, mainly people involved in the industry.
Mr. Iwata, who stood on the podium, first said, "In the 20 years since the release of the Famicom in July 1983, I have been involved in the creation of home video games as a developer. I was blessed with this,” and started talking about the history of the game industry from the launch of the Famicom. Below, I will introduce Mr. Iwata's remarks along the flow.
Famicom ~ Super Famicom Era "Enjoy arcade games at home"
“In 1983, the Famicom wasn’t the first hardware, and at the time of its release, it was said that ``Nintendo's entry was too late''. When it first came out, I was shocked by the clear difference in quality compared to other game consoles, and thought that the time had come when we could enjoy arcade games at home.”
Characteristics of the Famicom era
・The game software will be developed within a few months by a development team of 2-3 people.
・Most video games look fresh and attractive to users.
・Selling more than 100,000 copies is natural, and it's not uncommon to sell more than 1 million copies.
Characteristics of the Super Famicom era
・Development team of 50 people or more, development period 18 months to 2 years
・Some software priced at over 10,000 yen
・Products that sell well and those that don't sell are clearly defined, and sequels to major titles are made one after another.
■ 3D game 1st generation "The trend of being outdated without 3D was too much"
“Since 1994, all kinds of games have been converted to 3D, and flashy and gorgeous images have been touted. Nowadays, we recognize that 3D doesn’t mean it’s fun, but at the time, flashiness was the only thing that mattered. There was a tendency to give priority to garbage.This trend could be called a '3D boom,' but I felt that it was going too far."
Since 1994: Features of the first generation of 3D games
・PlayStation/SEGA Saturn/NINTENDO 64 released
・The 3D visual expression is fresh and attractive, and if it is not 3D, it is outdated.
・Rather than creating interactive play controls, flashy and gorgeous images are popular.
・More time and power required for development
・The trend toward lower software prices has taken root
■ 3D game 2nd generation "Need to think carefully about multi-functional hardware"
“The PlayStation 2 was a hit because it had a DVD player function, but I had mixed feelings about the situation where game hardware sold in a way that games weren’t the main thing. , There seems to be a tone that the more functions, the higher the probability of success, but I think you need to think about it carefully.It is true that the fusion of PlayStation 2 and DVD player was successful, but this It's nothing more than a happy combination, and if they are thinking about integrating it with a DVD recorder in the future (of course, Sony wouldn't do such an embarrassing thing), it would be impossible to record TV while playing a game at the same time. As in the case of the DVD player, it doesn't always work out so well, for example, if a mobile phone has a built-in game function and the battery runs out when a phone call comes in. It is essential that anyone can use a game console easily, and I don't think there are many such convenient combinations. I don't agree with the argument that is the answer."
2000 and beyond: 3D 2nd generation features
・PlayStation 2/NINTENDO GAMECUBE/Xbox release
・Greatly improved 3D image expression capability
・Equipped with DVD player function as standard (PS2)
■ Problems of the current game industry "The current game industry is the same as shooting games and fighting games that have declined due to complexity"
“There is probably no one in the game industry who does not feel that game software sales are not as strong as they once were. Some people thought that the shrinking software business was a temporary phenomenon until the penetration of new hardware, but I don't think so. This may be one reason, but video games are an industry that has not been affected by the economy before, and game users are getting older than before due to the introduction of PlayStation 2 and other devices.
I believe that the cause of this shrinking of the game industry is that the conventional formula for success, ``satisfying game users by increasing the size and complexity of games,'' has reached its limit and has reached saturation. All forms of entertainment are in the midst of a “war over the limited time of the user”, but games are becoming more and more massive, and more and more people feel that “recent games can’t keep up”.
On the other hand, it is also true that there are voices from the user side saying, ``If it's the same as before, you won't feel any value,'' or ``I want a game that's more complicated and more fun to play.'' And in fact, it's been the gold standard for success so far, and developers are still trying to meet it.
But consider the example of shooting games and fighting games. Both shooters and fighting games used to be very popular genres. However, they gradually became more complicated, and at some point they became something that ordinary people could not play. And it has continued to decline and is now in a state of destruction. I think the current shrinkage of the entire Japanese game industry is similar to that. Originally, video games did not have a target age range, nor did they choose who would play them. Much has been lost in exchange for progress. In order for the game industry to expand again in the future, it is necessary to create games that have a wide frontage and depth, acquire new users, and bring back users who have left the game.”
Current status of the overseas market "It is difficult to produce software that is accepted all over the world"
“The North American market is a healthy market where hit titles continue to sell for a long period of time. In Japan, most titles only sell for one to two weeks, meaning they have a short product lifespan. However, it seems that it will be difficult for the overseas market to continue to expand, because users will get used to the evolution of graphics in the future, and the surprises and appeal will weaken, and until now, it has been accepted all over the world. There is also data that shows that Japanese software that has long been popularized is not as well received overseas as it was in the past.As a factor for this, the expressive power of games has improved, and the parts that users used to supplement with their imagination (depending on the country and culture) Differences in preferences) can actually be expressed on the screen.Overseas developers have studied Japanese games, and the superiority of Japanese developers in terms of play control has been lost. However, it is not the case that games made overseas are selling explosively in Japan.The reality is that it is difficult to create software that is accepted all over the world.”
■ Software that sells all over the world ``It is necessary to have both breadth of frontage and depth of depth.''
“I said it was difficult to create software that would be accepted all over the world, but there is one exception that is selling well all over the world. That is Pokemon. , It was thought that the boom was over around the world, but when we actually sold 4.79 million units in Japan, 3.16 million units in North America, 2.11 million units in Europe, and 150,000 units in Australia. , More than 10 million units have been sold worldwide."Pokémon" is software that is "not realistic, not large-capacity, and not 3D", but it has a wide frontage and depth. It can be said that it proves that the so-called heavy and long route is not the only answer.Games develop with technological progress, and drive with cutting-edge technology centered on more realistic expressions. Many people believe that
■Regarding network games, "Monthly fee-based business won't take root"
“Some say that online games will be the new trend from now on. I don't agree with the argument that the business is new.Of course, I'm not going to deny that online games will develop as a genre of games.There will be users who find it attractive, and on new platforms I would like to support developers who are making an effort, but the remarks that are often asked these days, "If it's not an online game, it's worthless," I said a little while ago that "All dot-com companies will succeed." I think it's the same as other people, so to speak, "tech scammers".In the first place, this doesn't seem to be a problem, but it's a personal computer that is connected to the network in today's home. It's not a game machine, but the settings of a broadband router that are necessary to connect to a game machine are like things that even I have to do with manuals and guidance.I don't think anyone in the general public can do it. .
Also, with a monthly fee system, the number of people who can enjoy network games will be further restricted. In fact, the number of profitable network games with a monthly fee system is limited, and it can be said that they are smaller than packaged games. There are reports in overseas news that the number of network game members has reached hundreds of thousands, but that is only about one-tenth of the number of popular hardware, and such reports are misleading. ). However, just criticizing “tech scammers” will not open up the future. At Nintendo, we are announcing a new Pokemon game as one answer to network games."
[See separate article "Wireless adapter included in GBA version of Pokémon Red and Green. Details announced by President Iwata"]
“Until now, we have continued to discuss the possibility of expanding communication with others by utilizing network technology, but these infrastructure problems, including billing systems, are mostly difficult for ordinary children. It is an insurmountable hurdle, and I believe that the time will come when telecommunications infrastructure will be available in every home in the form of air. We have no choice but to use 'Pokémon' to promote the enjoyment of new network games."
So far, I have introduced Mr. Iwata's remarks about each era while touching on the history of games since the Famicom era. After that, the lecture ended in about an hour, referring to Nintendo's business development in China.
[Refer to another article "Nintendo releases new hardware "Kamiyu" for China. Download software! ]]
The keynote speech this time was not only about the history of games, but there was also a new announcement from Nintendo, which was very interesting. It is not hard to imagine that Mr. Iwata's remarks in this lecture will suggest the direction of future development of the game industry. Whether it will be Nintendo, SCE, Microsoft, or other manufacturers that will lead the game industry in the future, we will continue to be concerned about the trends of each manufacturer.
Mr. Iwata appeared on the stage on time. He spoke in a calm tone for about an hour.
It's been 20 years since the release of Family Computer. According to Mr. Iwata, "By unraveling the history, we can see the future prospects."
In 1990, with the advent of the Super Famicom, games underwent another major evolution.
When it comes to the topic of the 3D generation, there are occasional scenes where sharp remarks pop out.
Pointed out the decline in sales of Japanese software overseas compared to the past.
The "Pocket Monsters" series was cited as an example of "software that sells all over the world."
Although the "wireless adapter" is bundled with the software, it is stated that the price will remain unchanged at 4,800 yen.
"Kamiyuuki" is a rather large controller-type hardware.
Among the elements listed as Nintendo's new initiatives, there is also an item related to "Club Nintendo" announced the other day. Details are yet to be announced.
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最強のゲーム情報サイト！ 読み応え抜群のレビューやインタビューなども盛りだくさん！
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Nintendo's President Iwata Sounds Warning for the Future of the Game Business
At the Tokyo Game Show 2003 held at Makuhari Messe from September 26th, Satoru Iwata, President and CEO of Nintendo, gave a keynote speech. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the company's home video game console "Family Computer," and while looking back on the history of home video game consoles, he sounded an alarm about the future of the game business.
The traditional formula for success has reached its limit
According to a survey by the Computer Entertainment Association, domestic game software shipments peaked in 1997 and have continued to decline. The economic slump and declining birthrate are often cited as reasons for this, but Mr. Iwata says, ``Because the video game market has developed without being greatly affected by the economy in the past, the main factor is the economic slump. Also, since the software market is shrinking for game consoles such as the PlayStation 2, which are said to be targeted at a higher age group, the declining birthrate cannot be explained."
Then what is the reason for the sluggish software market? Mr. Iwata points out that the success formula of the past 20 years has reached its limits. Until now, the method of satisfying game users has been adopted by releasing more complicated and elaborate games on the market as the capacity of hardware increases. However, as a result, it took too much time and energy to play, and general users began to avoid it.
“All kinds of entertainment are in competition for the limited time of users, but this is going against the times.In the past, there are many people who used to play games, but these days, they are too busy to hang out.” (Mr. Iwata)
The key to success is the development of games that are ``wide and deep''
Satoru Iwata, President and CEO of Nintendo
Then, what kind of games will be required to be developed in the future? What Mr. Iwata proposes is the development of a game that anyone can play, and which can pursue depth according to the tastes of the player. Iwata says, "There is no concept of limiting the target age for games, and you shouldn't need any prerequisite knowledge or necessary skills to start playing a game. The original appearance of a game machine is that anyone can play it easily."
Furthermore, Mr. Iwata cites "Ruby" and "Sapphire" from "Pocket Monsters" released by Nintendo in November 2002 as successful examples. These two games are compatible with the company's portable game machine "Game Boy Advance (GBA)", and it is said that 4.79 million copies have been shipped in Japan and more than 10 million copies have been shipped worldwide.
"By providing a gentle and careful introduction that anyone can play, and the fun of playing and exchanging with people around you (using a communication cable), we have achieved both breadth and depth. This is what the world is all about. This is the reason why it was accepted by the local people,” he analyzed the reason for his success.
"An HDD recorder that can't record during the game has no existence value"
Mr. Iwata also touched on multi-functional game consoles and online games, which are said to be future game trends, and gave a stern view. As for multifunctional game consoles, the PlayStation 2, which is a PlayStation with a DVD player, has exploded in popularity. Iwata warns that we need to think carefully about this. "In the case of the PlayStation 2, it was impossible to watch a DVD while playing a game console, and the DVD function could be realized with a small cost added to the game console. But it's always such a convenient combination. It is not necessarily the case.” (Mr. Iwata)
Rival Sony has announced that it will release a new PlayStation "PSX" equipped with DVD recording and playback functions and HDD recorder functions at the end of the year, but "It is in the HDD recorder that can not record while playing games. I don't think it's worth it," said Iwata. Furthermore, he showed an attitude of keeping rivals in check, saying, "Of course Sony wouldn't do such an embarrassing thing" (Mr. Iwata).
Another trend in the game industry in the future is online games. However, Mr. Iwata raises doubts on this point as well. "I'm not going to deny that online games exist as a genre in the game industry. However, it's an outrageous argument to say that from now on all games will be online games, or that anything that isn't online has no value." (Mr. Iwata)
"They're arguing with the same logic of 'tech scammers' that once said, 'The future is multimedia,' or during the dot-com boom, 'We're in the red, but the Internet is promising.'" (Mr. Iwata) dismissed these theories.
A wireless adapter is included in the software for 4800 yen
Although Nintendo is cautious when it comes to online games, it is positive about utilizing networks. Nintendo says that the new Pokemon software "Fire Red" and "Leaf Green", which will go on sale early next year, will use a wireless network to allow players to battle and trade. A wireless adapter dedicated to GBA is bundled with the software, and the price remains unchanged at 4800 yen, which is the same as the conventional software. No communication or usage fees are required, and the strategy is to "make sure there are no barriers to popularization" (Mr. Iwata).
"Until now, it was difficult to play games with people you didn't know, because you had to connect a cable. But with wireless, there are more opportunities for communication." (Mr. Iwata)
The wireless standard is not Bluetooth or 802.11x, but Motorola's proprietary technology. It is said that the communication distance is limited to several meters, but it seems that this was adopted as a result of emphasizing real-time performance. In addition to providing data distribution services and stamp rallies by installing wireless base stations at stores and stations, they are also considering communicating with remote locations via wireless base stations. By popularizing wireless adapters along with the new software, he hopes to propose ways to play other games using wireless communication, and create a new play structure unique to mobile games.
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I don't see that as problem but it does makes it kinda funny how Sony is reacting on losing CoD when Ninty literally make their own Shooter which is just Wii U and Switch generation, it is poised to be 17-18m seller exclusively on Switch alone now. Kinda shows how different Ninty and PS operate.
Hey, my post and opinion is as valid as yours (well documented, interesting, visionary, exhaustive and basically right) wall text, YOU KNOW!?
thanks a lot, I loved this speech back in the days and it is enlightining to see how actual it is nowadays, especially in this topic context)
Indies have picked up the slack on that front for the most part, but yeah a lot of the bigger publishers need to take some cues.
Sony themselves know it’s BS. They probably made this rationale in order to placate shareholders.
The new SoP did have quite a few games that Japanese gamers might like. Stellar Blade, Syn Duality, the samurai-themed ones. Maybe Sony is ready to regain a semblance of a foothold in Japan.
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They've always had a foothold.
With the run up and outlook to the PS5 generation, it is clear Playstation is heavily investing into their Japanese and Asian software strengths, especially since its a big differentiator to Xbox and Nintendo.
- Square Enix
- FF16, FF7R, FF7R2, Forspoken, Valkyrie Elysium, Babylon
- Cygames
- Awakening, GranBlue Fantasy
- Koei Tecmo
- Rise of Ronin
- China Hero Project
- Lost Soul
- Shift Up
- Stella Blade
- Konami
- Silent Hill (heavily rumoured)
- KJP
- Death Stranding 2
The software investment is great to see and could seriously help some of these dev teams break it with new IPs and pipelines.
The odd thing is, Sony actually started out on this path and in the 90s arguably cast a wider demographic net than Nintendo. PS1 had strong demographic pushes towards women and older adults coming from Japan with popular games like Parappa, Xai or Boku no Natsuyasumi. It was a weird distillation of quirky, interesting, adult and yet also still mass-market games, Sony Japan was making stuff not really seen before and it appealed to people not really well served by consoles previously (or at least not in a long while).
In the early 2000s these paths crossed though with Nintendo really pushing new kinds of games like Animal Crossing or Wario Ware helping lead towards their non-gaming Blue Ocean revolution. Meanwhile Sony kept becoming more focused (or insular?) each successive generation as their core demographic tightened and became younger and more male, and as a result their Japan offices kept getting restructured and deprioritized. That's continued to today, accelerating all the way, for PlayStation where we now see them basically shutter all Japan operations outside their grinding GT workhorse and a boutique vanity VR team. The idea of something totally new and different with a wider appeal like Parappa or Bokunatsu coming from today's PS group feels like an impossibility. Today those are the kinds of games we expect Nintendo to make.
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The thing is that they have almost completely lost that foothold. Like getting prominent Japanese games looks good but, it doesn't help build an audience necessarily. How many of these games will sell over 100k in Japan or a noteworthy amount on Playstation in the rest of Asia? The SoP is largely showing that Playstation's solution to their Asia problem is not expanding their audience but, digging deeper into the audience they already cultivated elsewhere. That's not going to be an audience for diverse games. Right now, that will just lead to the Switch version being the lead version for most Japanese games but, if this continues over the decade, there are chances most Japanese developers will skip Playstation except for their big cinematic games.
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That's not true.
An audience is built from the software provided and new developments and investments can only help that.
Many of the games I listed will sell more than 100k and there has been huge expansion in how players interact with Playstation, namely, the huge prevalence and spending in F2P games. You're simply looking at physical only charts when ecosystem is becoming increasingly digital and MTX.
In terms of losing support? The opposite is happening. Japanese software development has become increasingly multiplatform. Playstation is now getting games that were once Nintendo exclusive, such as Octopath II or Fatal Frame.
There is no worry about Playstation losing the majority of Japanese dev support as long as it continues to be a huge platform globally and is in many cases the biggest platform for many Japanese IPs.
This is ignoring the factual issue that PS software is on a massive decline in Japan. Digital will help the picture, but it changes it from apocalyptic to bleak.
Multi platform doesn’t help in Japan when the competition is the switch. Nintendo is also getting games it didn’t use to, so increasing multi platform won’t help PS much in Japan.
Outside of the FF games that's one pathetic lineup.
It’s a tenuous one, though. Their software situation is undeniably abysmal, even factoring best case scenarios for digital.
? Not sure how having Japanese games is a differentiator to Nintendo, since Nintendo has a metric ton of Japanese games too.
Good list, in particular it’ll be worth seeing how FFXVI pans out. Most of these won’t move the needle much, though.
Agreed. It’s better for PS to invest than not.
Again, even assuming absolute best case scenarios for digital, the software sales would still be pretty bad.
I believe @Astrogamer was taking a more long term view of the situation.
That doesn’t always seem to be the case anymore. Switch versions of multiplats are selling better and for longer.
unless they are all 90+ critical successes i expect all of these to be dead cat bounces. i mean elden ring felt like the perfect we're back moment for sony and it seems to have just fizzled away so yeah.
I don't think PlayStation is at risk of losing support near term, if that's at issue it's a longer term worry for them and would only be a response to PS5 failing to right the ship over the generation. And honestly even worst case it still probably means better JP support than Xbox today, and Xbox still gets plenty of Japanese games. As you say, multiplatform is king and that helps ensure all globally viable consoles will keep seeing games.
Something worth noting though is Sony's loss of exclusive support and I don't think this is the net benefit to them you imply, at least for Japan. PlayStation hasn't been the exclusive home to Japanese 3rd parties for awhile now, it really started with 360 splitting major multiplatform games and then Nintendo handhelds taking a market lead and drawing back some notable support, but back then it wasn't such a big issue as Xbox is irrelevant in Japan (maintaining PlayStation's "defacto exclusive" position locally) and DS/3DS were sort of their own boutique thing requiring discrete games and increasingly weaker overseas prospects. PlayStation consolidated local support pretty well despite no longer leading the local market and even doubled down with their "PlayStation ecosystem" bringing back a lot of non-AAA developers and publishers exclusively to support their handheld and home platforms with multiplatform releases.
Unfortunately that was also sort of their undoing because as soon as Nintendo introduced a tablet console that could fully support multiplatform engines and tools (and to a greater degree than Sony's own handhelds ever did) we've progressively seen Nintendo gain support and slowly become the top platform for the majority of Japanese games. This issue's compounded overseas where the Switch audience is also proving extraordinarily receptive to Japanese games and much of this has to do with the base building and image crafting Nintendo's been doing themselves. I don't think PlayStation snagging a few (now) multiplat series that used to be Nintendo focused or paid for like Fatal Frame, story of Seasons or Asano games really counters the scale of losing defacto exclusivity on nearly everything from NIS, Gust, SNK, Falcom, Omega Force, Mages, Kogado, ASW, P-Studio, Banpresto, Artdink, Clap Hanz, Idea Factory, Hamster, Acquire, Playism, Spike, Entergram and dozes of other studios and publishers. Hell, whole genres like VNs or shmups used to be defacto PlayStation exclusive less than a decade ago and today they all basically lead on Switch. Nintendo's seeing a level of regional domination not experienced since the Famicom here and it's happened just as swiftly as their rise then.
On the other side I think PC is starting to also emerge as a true viable core gamer alternative in Japan, both due to Sony's bungled generational transition but also it's ease of use, more comparable costs and heavily increasing Japanese support. In a weird way PC is now sort of making good on Xbox's ambitions in the region and seems like it could prove a legitimate threat. It's early yet though so really we have to see how PS5 forges on and how they can hopefully reorient in Japan. But make no mistake, Japan is still a crucial market and things can't continue on as is without some consequences eventually. The near term is fine but don't lose sight longer out.
I don't think it's an oddity.
Sony's revolutionized the industry at various levels by looking at the existing distortions in the market and then applying corrections that would foster the creation of software by the existing pool of talent in Japan.
Basically Sony' strategy worked very effectively because it acted as an enabler for the specific game market of 1995.
- The manufacturing of games (CD) became much cheaper and lessened the inventory risks.
- By forcing third-party publishers to accept SCEI as the sole distributor of PS software in Japan they taught software publishers and retailers the benefits of repeat orders (enabled by the CD medium and by Sony owning the CD pressing plants) versus the mindset of overproduction lead by the long time of reorder of the rom bsed cartridges.
- SCEI actively lowered the barrier (SDK etc.) and encouraged an enlargement of the people who could create games.
Also SCEI publishing was quite similar to the old Enix, in that for the development side it relied heavily on the existing local independent development houses.
- In mid '90s new genres were still emerging and the leap to 3D fostered new excitement.
The most popular genre to came out from the Famicom (RPG) era was still in the growth phase, therefore to invest in the genre was pretty obvious move especially cause games were still cheap to produce back then.
- Low development budget also let SCE invest in extravagant games in the hope to obtain a surprise hit.
If you look at the above points they all pertain the "game business" (how improve the existing business) and less the "games" (the creative process to create hit games or if you wish the understanding of why people have the need to play certain games).
With time it happened the inevitable, the industry kept growing and consolidating.
Budgets (both for development and marketing) kept increasing and the complexity of the games also continued to increase.
With higher stakes, the chance of cluelessly throw out experimental games diminished instead sequelization became more rampant.
In short all of what Iwata was describing in his speech at TGS 2003.
In the 2020 japanese game market conditions nothing of what Sony applied in 1995 with its vision of "pure platform holder" would work because for one the industry is too consolidated (for example the RPG genre is in the maturity/niche phase, investing in a new RPG that is a simple clone makes no sense) and for two there was never before a better time for small wannabe developers to try to enter the game industry because digital distribution and the availability of full featured multiplatform engines are industry standards by now.
The japanese consumers disatisfaction that began to be clearly visible in the early '00s could be countered only with creativity, by creating new and different experiences that would rekindle their satisfaction (nintendo leverages their unique software/hardware integration).
That the platform holder with a mentality of "software creator with a hardware division" turned out to be the saviour wasn't by accident.
And as I often repeat the big divide in Japan isn't solely between platform holders but between Nintendo and the rest of japanese software publishers.
In Japan most of the current crop of mega-hit franchises are directly controlled by Nintendo, with only an handful controlled by third-party publishers (Microsoft, Capcom and Square Enix).
Imagine what would happen in the american and european markets if Nintendo, in addition of its software arsenal, also had direct control on Call Of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, FIFA/Madden and Fortnite...
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Nintendo wanted nothing to do with small companies before the Wii U era. Publisher limitations on the NES were a result of not having enough control over the Japanese market and they clawed back exclusive cart manufacturing rights for the SNES and beyond.
Sony wanted everyone and the PS1 era was basically the last time a garage company could produce something roughly in scope with a full on in house development team in roughly the same time frame.
Sega also had a style where they wanted more than typical control. They tended to buy up games and then do them in house or make exclusive deals for games with various company. Even so Saturn was their peak freedom years in Japan as a lot of stuff did get published there.
Sony wanted everyone and the PS1 era was basically the last time a garage company could produce something roughly in scope with a full on in house development team in roughly the same time frame.
Sega also had a style where they wanted more than typical control. They tended to buy up games and then do them in house or make exclusive deals for games with various company. Even so Saturn was their peak freedom years in Japan as a lot of stuff did get published there.
Is it just a coincidence that Nintendo is also the longest running and oldest game company and are the biggest one based in Kyoto? I mean they’ve got such a unique culture and creation process compared to anyone else. All the other big players are located in Tokyo, with the exception of Capcom, who is located in Osaka. Surely, being in existence since 1889, having such unique experiences over the years, and being located in a city known for being the cultural capital of Japan has some relevance?
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Taken from GameDataLibrary, a list of the most popular [in Japan] game series ever produced by SCE (each game in a series sorted by the release date).
Many of them were first introduced in the PS1 and PS2 era when supposedly SCE really understood the japanese tastes.
In reality most of 'em show a terrible lack of ambition and substance mandatory to create enduring successes.
A lot of them share common traits:
- Being a clone or a reactionary product of something already existing.
- Being original but often more for the quirkness than the substance of the gameplay.
They might have a crazy popular original episode but the success was in actuality a flash in the pan and the game series sales began quickly to collapse (even within the same generation).
- Most of them were successful in Japan but never break out in western markets.
Hot Shot Golf, Devil Dice (XI), Intelligent Qube, Legaia, Arc The Lad, Wild Arms, Parappa the Rapper on PS1 sold less than 300K in US.
- Many were developed/created by external independent development teams (Clap Hanz, Level 5, Camelot Software Planning, NanaOn-Sha, G-Craft, Millennium Kitchen, Shift etc.), with SCE just acting in the producer role.
When you look at how Nintendo shaped up, they've cultivated their own inner culture about game development and when they collaborate with external studios they 'export' that culture with the partnership.
Most of the above game franchises are pretty much dead by now.
A few tried to reinvent themselves on smartphones (and flopped), a couple others got a spiritual sequel on Nintendo Switch.
Many of them were first introduced in the PS1 and PS2 era when supposedly SCE really understood the japanese tastes.
In reality most of 'em show a terrible lack of ambition and substance mandatory to create enduring successes.
A lot of them share common traits:
- Being a clone or a reactionary product of something already existing.
- Being original but often more for the quirkness than the substance of the gameplay.
They might have a crazy popular original episode but the success was in actuality a flash in the pan and the game series sales began quickly to collapse (even within the same generation).
- Most of them were successful in Japan but never break out in western markets.
Hot Shot Golf, Devil Dice (XI), Intelligent Qube, Legaia, Arc The Lad, Wild Arms, Parappa the Rapper on PS1 sold less than 300K in US.
- Many were developed/created by external independent development teams (Clap Hanz, Level 5, Camelot Software Planning, NanaOn-Sha, G-Craft, Millennium Kitchen, Shift etc.), with SCE just acting in the producer role.
When you look at how Nintendo shaped up, they've cultivated their own inner culture about game development and when they collaborate with external studios they 'export' that culture with the partnership.
Most of the above game franchises are pretty much dead by now.
A few tried to reinvent themselves on smartphones (and flopped), a couple others got a spiritual sequel on Nintendo Switch.
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Yeah, when you put the data together like this... most of the sales of their franchises dropped off a cliff in the pre-digital era or in PS3 era when digital wasn't as much as a factor as now.Taken from GameDataLibrary, a list of the most popular [in Japan] game series ever produced by SCE (each game in a series sorted by the release date).
Many of them were first introduced in the PS1 and PS2 era when supposedly SCE really understood the japanese tastes.
In reality most of 'em show a terrible lack of ambition and substance mandatory to create enduring successes.
A lot of them share common traits:
- Being a clone or a reactionary product of something already existing.
- Being original but often more for the quirkness than the substance of the gameplay.
They might have a crazy popular original episode but the success was in actuality a flash in the pan and the game series sales began quickly to collapse (even within the same generation).
- Most of them were successful in Japan but never break out in western markets.
Hot Shot Golf, Devil Dice (XI), Intelligent Qube, Legaia, Arc The Lad, Wild Arms, Parappa the Rapper on PS1 sold less than 300K in US.
- Many were developed/created by external independent development teams (Clap Hanz, Level 5, Camelot Software Planning, NanaOn-Sha, G-Craft, Millennium Kitchen, Shift etc.), with SCE just acting in the producer role.
When you look at how Nintendo shaped up, they've cultivated their own inner culture about game development and when they collaborate with external studios they 'export' that culture in the partnership.
Sony back then was definitely still finding its footing with regards to making games. They tried out a bunch of different ideas, and simply abandoned them once they didn’t make a splash instead of building up on them. They didn’t need to be concerned because they were still making bank from the third party support. Indeed, Sony back then was associated more with GTA, COD, Final Fantasy, etc. rather than anything first party.
You always hear people discount certain IPs from being first party because they’re made by external devs (most recently someone argued this with me re: Astral Chain). And I think this is what they fail to realize: Nintendo is still heavily involved with the development of games even if they’re not in-house.
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LOL WTH? Sony has taken such a tumble! I honestly didn't know they were looking this bad on the Tokyo stock exchange.Look like weak Yen effect too?
I checked the New York stock exchange YTD too and Sony are also down on that one but not this dramatically.
Nintendo are also up on NYSE.
I would suspect it has some effect, if only because Kyoto is described as "slow-paced" for as large of a city as it is when compared to Osaka or Tokyo. Some of that does translate in how Nintendo approaches things, for good and ill.
But much of that seems to be more of a characterization of the company at large then the effect of its HQ city upon it.
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My interest towards Sony died when Japan Studio was killed, so it makes me happy to know a lot of the staff is still involved in the industry without being limited by Sony's management.
Yeah, it’s nice to know they’ve found places to showcase their talent in.
I do still wonder why Sony started closing down its Japanese studios though. First party has never been the main thrust of SIE’s sales performance but with SIE losing their status as the de facto platform to publish games on, some Japan-oriented first party games would have really helped them take back more of the market.
I keep posting that quote since it’s pretty pertinent to how Sony has been run over the last decade & some change.
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Because the games did not sell, they took too long for what were essentially mostly AA and the organisation was a mess. Better for both parties to start over.
Lets not forget, a lot of Sony's western studio's produced games that sold better in Japan that Japan studio could.
The approach feels like using a hammer to nail in a screw. Just caring about global hits neglects the advantages of reaching out to smaller developers. Japan Studio was one of those tools to help ease that. It creates a developer environment with very low adaptability. It can bit them back in the years to come if they lose market leadership. It seems to have started to a small degree, with multiple State of Plays focusing on Japanese support but, most of those announcements being from four companies (not counting the non-Japanese announcements). On one hand, it's clearly like those indie news drops that those were a PR move to counter their image of being hostile to Japanese games and the other hand is that it is a little lacking in diversity relative to the wider Japanese market.
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Current Playstation management only wants AAA blockbusters, including GAAS. They don't care about A and AA titles, regardless of whether they are a healthy part of a console's business success. They liquidated Japan Studio, bought Bungie to make GAAS's and whine about Call of Duty on Xbox. That's who they are. Time for us to accept it as the Japanese market certainly has.
The PS1 and PS2 era Playstation that embraced games of all shapes and sizes was killed by the PS3 business disaster. The PS4 got some dying embers of a diverse software library by default due to the Japanese third parties being uninterested in the 3DS after 2014 because reasons and the Vita being stillborn. Since then, those days are over, regardless of whether certain major Japanese third party upper managers still attempt to pretend it's still 2004.
I've played competitive and later rec soccer for most of my life. I've learned that you are your record. You can have a lot of good players and maybe be one or two tweaks away from winning games, but until you actually win those games, your team as a whole is simply as bad as its record.
Same with Playstation. Until the PS5 shows otherwise, it's a crazy expensive PS4 Pro Pro with very few games to play and only catering to fans of "cinematic" third person games, looter-shooter GAAS's, and NBA/FIFA/Madden gambling simulator GAAS's. Playstation is its modern record, not what a previous version of its team was in 2004.
The Japanese software sales reflect PS5's record (that is two years old now!!!)
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It was a long slow road to dismantling Japan Studio. It started with the diverging of priorities with Asia backing PSP and the west throwing everything into saving PS3 in the late 00s and early 10s, really got going with the change to SIE in 2014 and moving HQ to California but came to a head with the 2019 power struggle and relocation of leadership. At that point Japan Studio's days were numbered and that's when we got the constant stream of Mochizuki articles about marketing, development and production staff fleeing the sinking ship.
It still blows my mind that Forwardworks survived. Honestly, I wish Aniplex had just absorbed the whole thing and continued doing quirky compelling console games inhouse.
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The games were not even hits domestically, so I'm not sure why you say just global hits.
And I disagree, its actually better for the Japanese industry to leave publishers if the situation is not going well and form their own companies. Its a big reason why the western gaming industry has exploded in startups, dev salaries, evaluation and is so easy to get funding: talent moves quickly and new studios have been able to become big hitters.
The reason given isn't necessarily the reason why, most likely it was a consolidation of power. When you forcefully take over, you want to make sure that the previous people in power are unable to wrestle back control. That means getting rid of anyone with too much power who is not loyal to you, and when you move the capital, that often means destroying the old one.
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God I would love to see the story of what happened behind the scenes told someday. There was a reddit post by a supposed former member who told what happened regarding Sony's departure from Japan, anyone have that handy?
Edit: Small bit here:
Former Sony Employee Claims That the Company Has Been Planning to Kill the Vita for a Number of Years - PlayStation LifeStyle
A former Sony employee has claimed that Sony planned PS Vita closure as far back as 2016 and 2017. Details inside.
www.playstationlifestyle.net
Edit 2: Found more, but am I allowed to link to the Era thread compiling the stuff?
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I mean… every MC thread has links to Era in them for the historical record, I don’t see why it would be disallowed if it’s to provide information sources, but maybe someone in the mod team can chime in or you can reach out to one of them to confirm.God I would love to see the story of what happened behind the scenes told someday. There was a reddit post by a supposed former member who told what happened regarding Sony's departure from Japan, anyone have that handy?
Edit: Small bit here:
Former Sony Employee Claims That the Company Has Been Planning to Kill the Vita for a Number of Years - PlayStation LifeStyle
A former Sony employee has claimed that Sony planned PS Vita closure as far back as 2016 and 2017. Details inside.
Edit 2: Found more, but am I allowed to link to the Era thread compiling the stuff?
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Well, I'll just post it for that reason. If a mod has an issue they can remove it then:
Former Sony Employee reveals info on the Vita, store closings, culture war
Saw this on Reddit last night and thought a lot of people on here might find the discussion in the AMA enlightening. A former Sony employee (r/Vita mod vetted) who worked in close proximity to the vita reveals a lot of fascinating information about Sony. I’ll post some choice Qs and As below...
www.resetera.com
The writing was on the wall about midway through the PS3 gen. Once they moved out of JP to Cali it was only a matter of time.
Did it really survive though since SIE completely botched it completely & had to hand it over to Aniplex for it to even have a chance.
Damn shame Sony is hyperfocused on those megahits.
My first time seeing this despite having lurked on Era, so thanks for sharing. And wow, what is on display there is the ugliness of being purely profit-driven. Their actions are kind of biting them in the ass now.Well, I'll just post it for that reason. If a mod has an issue they can remove it then:
Former Sony Employee reveals info on the Vita, store closings, culture war
Saw this on Reddit last night and thought a lot of people on here might find the discussion in the AMA enlightening. A former Sony employee (r/Vita mod vetted) who worked in close proximity to the vita reveals a lot of fascinating information about Sony. I’ll post some choice Qs and As below...