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Jim Ryan: “The Sony stance is that the Japanese market remains incredibly important to us,”
- Thread starter Aran
- Start date
In the very same interview where the Jim Ryan quote in the OP comes from:
Ryan points out that roughly ten years ago, Japanese developers seemed to be moving towards mobile gaming, but have since come back to consoles and PlayStation in the past 5 years. He explains: "We saw in the second half of the PS4 cycle a greater level of engagement from those Japanese publishers. That continues and strengthens yet again with PS5."
Ryan himself dismisses that lol
"It's easy, all they need to do is make a half-dozen cultural phenomenon tier titles."
PS3 had less then the PS2 and did worse
PS4 had less then the PS3 and did worse
PS5 looks to have less then the PS4 and will do ???
I am just echoing what was mentioned already here, Sony has tried to appeal with games for the Japanese market and have been ignored, at a certain point, their focus is going to turn to markets where their games, and games of their partners attract more people. Redirecting focus doesn't mean abandoning. I don't see it any different than what Apple is doing in China. Apple shouldn't change their global Iphone strategy just because their sales in China are not up to par. Apple has appealed to the country where its phones were once dominant but at a certain point you exhaust your options and start to focus back on markets you want to keep your sales lead in.
LOL that's certainly a take. Not sure how a business entity can hate an entire country/market, especially the one they're from, simply because they sensor anime panties on their platform more than other companies but sure, you do you.
Since you wanna be snarky here is some info for you. The PS4 sold 9.25m in japan while the last consoles from the competition sold 114K for the Xbox One and 3.3m for the Wii U.
1. That's not what I said
2. Sony has some of the best studios in the industry, so I don't know why you would think them at least attempting to put out big/popular family friendly titles is above them.
He is talking about publishers and Im talking about the gaming populace of japan.
Call me blunt, but I don't feel particularly bad when developers and publishers who make their money off the backs of sexualizing teenagers and underage girls get censored or their games get blocked from release. We don't need Gal Gun games.
I think you missed the point I was making.
At the moment right now, the OG Switch is selling hundreds of thousands units each week. A system that people buy for its home console capabilities, and to play games that can only be played on TV (like Ring Fit Adventure, which sold millions of units in Japan), or best enjoyed on TV (Mario Party, recently Momotaro Dentetsu, two actual/future million sellers). So clearly, japanese users havent moved on from home consoles. They only moved on from Sony home consoles.
Switch is a home console, that you can take on the go. That's the definition that Nintendo gave it and that has sold 16 million and counting. The games and accessories are priced like home consoles. Don't get the whole Switch is a handheld.
You can't ignore that Switch is a home console.
03./04. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure # <HOB> (Nintendo) {2019.10.18} (¥7.980) - 36.019 / 1.879.811 <80-100%> (+0%)
This is a home console game, it is exclusively playable as a home console game. Only one PS4 game has outsold it(Monster Hunter World) and despite releasing over a year ago RFA outsold ever PS4 and PS5 game last week in Japan. In fact for 2020 there's a good chance that RFA will outsell Final Fantasy 7 Remake(it was at ~500k at end of 2019) and be the best selling home console game of 2020.
Konami just released a game that sold 750k copies in two weeks, with the primary appeal being playable as a home console experience with multiple controllers and one screen.
No I understood your point quite clearly. You wanna pretend that the switch is selling that well on the strenght of a home console.
This is of course bullshit.
"Home console". I think you may be misinformed. It's clear Nintendo caters to their home audience more than international audience and the fact that the Switch is a hybrid system appeals to them even more. Sony don't have to do this as they more than make up the numbers worldwide.
So you just refused to read everything beyond the first nine words of my post?
There is a handheld only Switch. But generally people dismiss Switch as a handheld to get away from considering it as a peer for console wars reasons
Its definitely a much more direct competitor and peer to the other home consoles than Wii ever was. You have the exact same sku from devs selling best on Switch these days.
The Lite is the least preferred console. Check the Famitsu numbers.
But not purely the populace of japan.
The best selling japanese games have a worldwide appeal. Thats why Playstation consoles have the best japanese third party support.
Nintendo hardware and software quite clearly have a lot of international appeal though. Their success in Japan has done nothing to diminish their success elsewhere.
...and it's the lesser selling version in Japan.
Different people play different games. You're right that you don't need M rated titles to bring in adults, but more hardcore M rated titles can bring in and reach a different audience of adults, just as making more E rated titles can bring in and reach a different audience of kids and adults.
The point I'm making is that Sony doesn't foster that environment anymore, and that has a rippling effect to their 3rd party publishers and developers, because they don't do anything anymore and just let the 3rd parties try and sort it all out in Japan. There are reasons you are seeing on the low to mid-tier end publishers who were loyal to Sony since the Playstation, and had never released a game on a Nintendo system before now go multiplatform this generation and seeing their games growing and equaling their PS4 counterpart. I always go to the Atalier series as an example here. The series has been exclusive to Sony's systems since its inception, it was created on the platform, but now it's multiplatform on Switch, and Nintendo is even giving it advertising time through their Directs. Atalier Ryza 2 was announced through a Japanese Nintendo Direct Mini, not Koei Tecmo's official channels, not any of Sony's either, but Nintendo.
Sony's main demographic of hardcore 15-30 males is a shrinking one in Japan. Heck, Nintendo's even beginning to eat into it.
Finally, something I can agree with you on! If some Japanese developers are worried about censorship from Sony then they can keep them. We don't want sexualisation of minors in games. Disgusting.
The best selling Japanese games outside of Japan are Nintendo games though...
No I can. The last real nintendo home console bombed so hard they folded that market.
They don't need to make cultural phenomenon tier titles. Nothing Sony excels in has any type of vibe that those games above have. There is nothing wrong with Sony making games the way that they want; but people need to admit that there are certain types of games that are extremely popular in Japan and Sony has no interest in making tent pool games that factor in those interests. I say tent pool games because Sony definitely puts out games that check some of those boxes, but they also send those games out to die while making a huge deal about their 4th third person open world action adventure game with a mature serious story.
You're free to check the weekly japanese sales threads to see a split of sales between Lite and the regular, dockable one.
I'm feeling nice today, so i'll tell you the current split: ~22k Switch Lite, ~118K regular Switch.
So, outside of being dockable and with Joy-Cons you can pull off the console, what exactly do you think does make the difference between these sales of the two versions?
I know it doesn't fit your narrative, but it's not the removable Joy-Cons that makes japanese users opt for the more expensive version.
It's track like a home console by NPD, in the UK and even Nintendo says is a home console primarily. The way you see it it's irrelevant. Prices are those of home consoles as well. Hell, the joy cons are more expensive then the Dualsense and the Pro controller is the same price as the dualsense.
Game prices are the same as home consoles, until Sony raised them to $70. 3DS games were priced at $40.
Yep it is obvious to some of us but the people dismissing it as not a home console may not be aware or don't care
2/3 games are not gonna change the fact that portability is the massive reason
Million seller have existed targeted to home consoles (wii u for example)
Millionaire executives are either your best friend or a dirty liar who hates you.
Which also have a have a world wide appeal. Not sure what your argument is unless you just wanted to agree with me.
The OG switch is also a portable.
It's also worth noting Switch is priced like a home console (both hardware and software), has a wide selection of home console accessories (Pro controller, GCN controller adapter, LAN adapter, Kart wheel, Labo kits, Fit Wheel, Pokéball, etc) and the upfront marketing focused on it as a home console that you can take with you, with an emphasis on home console style games (BOTW, Splatoon 2, Arms, MK8, Pokken, Xenoblade 2, Mario Odyssey, etc).
The push towards recapturing handheld audiences came later, after 3DS had been more fully retired and Pokémon (Gen 8) and the Lite model were ready for market. Upfront they very much positioned Switch more as a new home console with hybrid capability though.
Family games are selling better on the Switch as home console titles than they did on the 3DS because a home console provides benefits to families as it lets them play together more easily.
Sigh okay. How many million sellers did the WiiU have?
It's both. And you can't ignore one side or the other. Nobody's pushing an agenda but those who refuse to acknowledge how games are selling on the platform.
It's not 2/3 games. If the fact that it was a home console wasn't important at all, the OG Switch wouldn't sell more than five times the amount of Lite consoles each week. There are tons of examples: pretty much every family board game, fitness games, online multiplayer focused games... It manages to sell that well because it is a home console on top of being a portable system.
The worst selling Nintendo console ever? One or two, iirc. EDIT: actually, four!
The current Nintendo home console? I think it has like twenty or so. Probably more.
Okay? That is your argument? You're aware that i can just answer with "The Lite isn't dockable."? And again point to the massive differences in sales like the one i gave you? And that the regular Switch is more expensive than the Lite?
You know what, forget it. It's clear that there will be goalposts moved and information dismissed just that it fits some narrative, i don't have the patience for this, nor the time.
it is tracked as so and priced as so. I can see it as a Home console that you can take with you or you can see it as a handheld that we can docked, that's points of views. It is tracked as a home console and called as such by their makers. You not seeing it like that doesn't make it so.
Sony has nothing to do with having these games on the ps5, that's up to the respective developers.
This only continues if Japanese developers feel there's a reason to keep developing for ps5. At the moment,a lot are shifting to the Switch because it's cheaper to develop for, has less hurdles and more reach with a Japanese audience