Sony is going around meeting a lot of Japanese developers

You literally have no life do you?

Oh, a bit defensive, I see. I have heard of those, but I was looking at titles within the past year -- so, 2013 - Current. After all, hard to be relevant when you're referring to games that came out years ago, but yes, they do have important (old and tired) franchises in that genre.

Japan isn't relevant anymore though in the console industry, that much is abundantly clear. They're focused on mobile/handheld, not console hardware as sales showcase. Also, I find it quite entertaining to see NISA mentioned as "building up the genre." If releasing a bunch of niche (and terribly reviewed) JRPGs considered making Japan "relevant" then ... that's one way of looking at it. lol

@Stevo_the_gamer:

Injustice is a pretty terrible fighting game, thankfully the world isn't limited to fighting games like it.

Sony is on their ass and looking for handouts from their home studios to save them. A sign of desperate times.

Within the past year or so? Tekken Tag 2, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, Aquapazza, Street Fighter x Tekken, Tekken Revolution etc etc. Then theres Soul Calibur Lost Swords, Guilty Gear Xrd, Jojos Bizarre Adventure All Star Battle, Persona 4 Ultimax, and possibly Tekken x Street Fighter coming out this year. Youre trying to tell me the occasional Mortal Kombat or Injustice or Skullgirls compares to the vast multitude of japanese fighting games constantly released? Thats not a funny joke. "Old and tired"? Thats your uninformed opinion talking. How many of these games have you honestly put time into? Im guessing none. Id love to see you point some of the things that make them old and tired. To put things simply, you're wrong and you need to brush up on your facts. Look at the big time tournaments like EVO. What do you see? Marvel. Street Fighter. Tekken. Blazblue. Front and center. Japan is relevant. You just don't know it.

JRPG focused gen? No thanks. Give fans of them their fix but don't focus on them, please. RTS and JRPG are two genres I can't get into.

A Japanese video game console maker meets with Japanese content providers probably to discuss making some games.

Damn, that's never happened before.

Great news! I love JRPGs and hope to see them comeback into full swing. Hopefully Sony is going to make some more for my Vita, I love the device and do have plenty of games for it, but it surely could use more support.

I bought more western games .... Japanese games dissapoint me lately .... except for Souls series

Whats wrong with Wild Arms 3?

an rpg better than any s*it japan has put out in 10 years.

lol final fantasy.... bravely default... even ni no kuni.

Good god Skyrim is such an awful game, the latest Final fantasy's are bad too don't get me wrong but Skyrim is also awful. Such a boring monotonous game filled with recycled content.

Meh.

I stopped caring about 90% of Japanese games close to a decade ago.

Maybe if they caught up with the rest of the world then I'll give a shit.

@ReadingRainbow4 said:

@MBirdy88 said:

@ReadingRainbow4 said:

@Stevo_the_gamer said:

I wonder if Japan's gaming industry will become relevant this generation, or will it perpetually be left in the archaic dust by the plethora of high quality Western/European dominated games.

So, like Skyrim then?

an rpg better than any s*it japan has put out in 10 years.

lol final fantasy.... bravely default... even ni no kuni.

Good god Skyrim is such an awful game, the latest Final fantasy's are bad too don't get me wrong but Skyrim is also awful. Such a boring monotonous game filled with recycled content.

You just summed up pretty much every RPG out.... lots of grindy filler with cutscenes in between.

@MBirdy88 said:

@ReadingRainbow4 said:

@MBirdy88 said:

@ReadingRainbow4 said:

@Stevo_the_gamer said:

I wonder if Japan's gaming industry will become relevant this generation, or will it perpetually be left in the archaic dust by the plethora of high quality Western/European dominated games.

So, like Skyrim then?

an rpg better than any s*it japan has put out in 10 years.

lol final fantasy.... bravely default... even ni no kuni.

Good god Skyrim is such an awful game, the latest Final fantasy's are bad too don't get me wrong but Skyrim is also awful. Such a boring monotonous game filled with recycled content.

You just summed up pretty much every RPG out.... lots of grindy filler with cutscenes in between.

No, I described Skyrim. It's great that you're aware of it's terrible nature as well.

if at least half the games were as good as Persona or the old FF games I wouldn't complain but we all know that JPN games are not worth shit anymore just like their modern crap anime. More jrpg's would mean more crap like Neptunia... They even ruined the Trails in the Skies series when they updated it for PS3 to how current crap anime looks like with the moe and other perverted stuff like watching a little's girl butt in a bikini. But while they updated that the gameplay's just as archaic as always.

Who else are Japanese developers going to turn to? WiiU is on life support and lol@XB1 in Japan.

guilty gear xrd -sign- released in arcades on February 20, 2014 and the impressions have been very positive - tho I haven't been able to play the board myself.

there should also be a console port of it soon - tho I imagine I'll have access to play it in an arcade before the console release.

anyway, I shouldn't have been surprised by this post. you were always pretty bad at arguing your point. you even used injustice to prove your point... lol.

edit: plus, you better believe fighting and shooting games will still be pretty big in japanese arcades (with eventual console ports for the west) with the somewhat recent release of NESiCA x Live

----------

personally, I hope Sony can strike up a deal with treasure, vanillaware, and cave before they all shift to the XB1. It's possible that 5pb is jumpstarting that shift with project Div8.

Gonna be a tough sell. Japanese devs know their market. They didn't move largely towards handhelds on a whim.

@MBirdy88:

Mother 3

Xenoblade Chronicles

Nier

Mother 3 obviously being one of the best RPGs to release in the past 10 years.

@blue_hazy_basic: why lol@xb1 in Japan? Last generation an insane amount of niche japanese developers developed exclusively for the xbox 360. some examples being cave, 5pb, moss, qute, triangle service, g.rev, most of treasures digital content...etc

If Asada's Div 8 project is solely for the xb1, I can see a similar shift much like previous gen.

I'd easily buy an xb1 to get the equivalent of a mushihimesama futari or akai katana.

I'd rather they stick to what they know as they still put out extremely solid gameplay-centric games. I definitely don't want them developing games like (let me take a look at the system wars front page):

watch dogs

titanfall (holy crap, there's 4 titanfall threads at the moment)

infamous

halo

god of war iv

shit... basically most western titles which are typically watered down, cinematic-based and casualized for the mass consumer demographic that they're reaching for.

Never played Injustice, but I saw it scored well in the 80 percentile, and Gamerankings listed it as a fighter so voila. Secondly, using fighting games to declare Japan's relevancy is pretty weak -- the fighting genre could probably die in its entirety and the industry wouldn't even blink.

Sony are recruiting the collective might of the entire Japanese development community so they can finish The Last Guardian. It is THE ONLY EXPLANATION.

Yes like they were left in the dust last generation...

SMG GOTY >>> Crysis

SMG II 10/10 >>> Mass Effect 2

MGS 4 10/10 + GOTY >>> Gears of War II

Demon's Souls GOTY >>> Dragon Age Origin

Them non relevant Japanese devs didn't do jack last gen for real, yea Stev0 you make such informative and objective points

So much truth. You describe a certain fanboy who moderator who is in the thread perfectly.

That's nice.

Perhaps one day they will release a game.

I know its asking a lot but one can dream.

please shut up, there are many forms of rpg, the one you are refering to is CRPG ... you muppet. Diablo ect are ARPGs, JRPGs all sub labels of what an RPG is, all very different forms.

how the hell is any Japanese "RPG" and RPG then? but that very rigid logic.

People saying here that skyrim is repetitive, PLEASE..... eveyr fkin JRPG is just as repetitive except you go down the corridor and do the same damn thing... then watch a cutscene.

Hell, I've been playing FFX HD on my ViTA ... looking back.... repetitive as SIN.... walk, random battle that plays out nearly the same as the rest, rince repeat.

no... just no.

ok

LOL.

@kinectthedots: For every exceptional Japanese release, I can name ten more in the West to take its place. Stand outs from Japan, especially mainstream hits or trend setters, are few and far between. They used to be common on the PS2 days and before but no more. Listing "game of the years" from Gamespot is pretty cute, though, as if that highlights anything other than GS' own opinions.

Yeah, but dudebro dreck like Gears of War would have flopped back then. Killswitch wasn't exactly a blockbuster.

There was a couple days I went around an met Japanese developers too. Just for joke.

what didn't you like about Mother 3? I was blown away that it has similar - if not more charm than Mother 2 (EarthBound). I love how the nature vs technology theme applies not only in the Mother 3 game world, but it's referring to our culture as well. Kind of ironic. It's so lighthearted and fun that I'm surprised it warranted a "no.... just no." response.

which was your least favorite chapter?

I mean... I'd take your word for it... but this is coming from you - who bought and played final fantasy 14 - a complete timesink made for low iq mainstream consumers who will buy anything with the name attached. If only I had your standards I'd be happily content with garbage instead of quality content.

true, but you were arguing that Japan wasn't relevant in the fighting genre as they haven't released titles in the past year - which was untrue. I don't blame you for undermining the fighting genre tho...that's what I would've done if I was proven wrong.

no wonder you used gamerankings to aid your argument - because you don't know what you're talking about. Did you also know that gaming could probably survive without *throws a dart at any random genre* <insert genre>?

SW - the place to argue about stuff you know nothing about

I havn't played it, but its clearly not in the same category/league as the other games mentioned.... don't try and get all hip on me.... YOU may prefer it.... but its nowhere near a "seller" in terms of what we are talking about... you are no doubt well aware.

Nier? wtf? is that even classed as an RPG?

SW ... a place to think your hip "FFXIV casual crap" .... compared to what? FF11? please.... that game was a mess, designed to be a mess. or what else can you possible be refering to in that regard? not that it matters.... MMOs are in their own league. I am well aware of how dumbed down the genre is... but sadly, gotta make the best of a turd-turned genre... FXIV happens to be one of the best.... as sad as it is to say.

so a game has to be a "seller" in order to be a good game? I'm "getting all hip" because I explained the main theme/appeal of one of the RPGs I consider to be the best of last gen?

you don't know what Nier is and you haven't played Mother 3.... did I not hit the nail on the head?

SW - the place to argue about stuff you know nothing about

Those are all rhetorical questions if you haven't figured it out yet. I just wanted you to see how ridiculous your statements appear to others.

Both games are highly underrated gems (I like to think of them as the "moon: remix rpg adventure" of last gen) more-than-likely for people like me who actually enjoy the genre as opposed to people like you who talk out of their ass and play the "sales game".

enjoy your baseless assumptions, low iq trolling, and overall shit games. Things will get much better when you don't choose your games based on sales numbers and you actually start thinking for yourself. No wonder you think Japan hasn't released anything good in the past 10 years.

I have played Nier (though not all of it, passivly.) its more of a hack n slash surely? thats what it felt like.

I dont care what you say, since your opinion is just that, you claim they are underated "gems" .... yet clearly they are not underated just because YOU like them. do you see? Mother is not in the same league, I can jsut look at damn reviews and see that.

oh wait, apperently.... you have to play a game to judge it... LOL.

You sound incredibly mad..... I bet the hardest encounters in FFXIV triumph any content in these humble little games you claim to love so much. oh well..... "buh buh I like lesser games, SO I HAVE A HIGH I.Q" ... no.... no you don't.

people still do this angsty teenage "I'm smarter than you based on jack s*it hipster nonsense" ... damn you sound like 16 year old me, you'l mature eventually.

Nier was awesome.

And it had one of the best soundtracks in recent memory.

It's funny that you keep proving time and time again that you can't think for yourself. First it was "sales" and now it's about "reviews". I asked you what you didn't like about Mother 3, and then you claimed you didn't play it. So what didn't you like about Nier since you did have a hands on with it? The amount of variety in the game - including the different forms of gameplay - is astounding... so I'm surprised you didn't like it (especially with your "you summed up pretty much every RPG out there" statement).

You sound incredibly mad..... I bet the hardest encounters in FFXIV triumph any content in these humble little games you claim to love so much. oh well..... "buh buh I like lesser games, SO I HAVE A HIGH I.Q" ... no.... no you don't.

Mad? because of a difficult encounter? you have such colorful assumptions lol.

what is a "lesser game" by the way?

people still do this angsty teenage "I'm smarter than you based on jack s*it hipster nonsense" ... damn you sound like 16 year old me, you'l mature eventually.

actually, it's based on what you've shown in this thread - you apparently can't think for yourself and you base your arguments on other people's opinions. I'm actually surprised you can judge a poster's age based on posting habits since you can hardly speak for yourself... and you have trouble judging a game based on your own criteria.

glad you still have hope for me maturing tho ;)

also, you mentioned "reviews" when I know you really meant scores, because even the one bad score for Mother 3 didn't have many negative points at all. The main negative point was that:

Nevertheless, there's no disguising that this is a game with few headline-friendly unique selling points. Instead there's wonder in its detail: the Batman theme tune that plays out every time you fight a bat; the character who chastises you for not giggling at puns; the time you take a restorative bath after rescuing a villager from a burning house and emerge to find your clothes have been washed clean but your face it still sooty; the ubiquitous frogs who save your game for you and their increasingly ridiculous get-up; the way the flying mice bouff up their hair to make themselves more imposing before battles; the time you fight a reconstructed mecha caribou; the ants and sparrows who detail the game's finer points and explain where you're going wrong; the terrible haiku; the time you open a treasure chest only for a ghost to pop out and belch in your face; the palate-cleansing mint you receive in the next room to help you forget what happened; the campfire scene. Mother 3's packed with memorable moments.

and at the end of the review:

Sometimes simplicity in a videogame is analogous to raw stupidity. But well-executed simplicity, the kind of willful unfussiness it takes a competent designer to pull off, is elegance. Mother 3 is elegant in its simplicity. It nestles a compelling story of surprising depth inside a game of focused breadth. Devoid of random battles and with no need to grind to get through the story, this is a journey palatable even to genre detractors. Mother 3's birth might have been protracted and wholly unorthodox it was well worth the pain and sacrifice.

Remember this post?

P.S.: those quotes are from the only 7/10 score review according to gamerankings. The rest were 4/5, 9/10, and 9.4/10.

Your talking nonsense. lets look at your initial reply to me "Mother 3 being one of the best RPGs in 10 years" ... so I should take your opinion as fact on this DEBATE... surely that is EXACTLY the same as reading/watching reviews... oh wait, except without the evidence, the visual and detailed information provided. people make up their minds on game preferences often on whats seen.

Your whole argument is based around "I can name games you haven't played, so you don't get a say". I said I havn't played Mother 3 .... but its clearly not underated, and very low on the radar (hence the lesser term) ... its not representative of its genre... its a niche in the corner.... that has received little attention.

Not that you have provided any evidence in how Mother 3 is objectivly better than Skyrim.... when clearly Skyrim, as shallow as it is, is Higher reviewed, Sold Millions... and is played by 50k people at peak on PC with a very VERY long list of game changing mods.

Tell me... other than your "You can't use reviews, lastibility, fan base, sales as any evidence... only playing and your own opinion count" .....which goes agains't this whole damn forum, sure I might prefer "lesser"(not explaning this again) games over Skyrim.... without a doubt... thats not the point though is it?

I could say friggin Knack is better than Last of Us.... in my own special bubble.... but like f*ck would that pass off as statistically correct to say... in any measure. shallow games or not, games that influence the industry are not to be shunned. just as the niche isn't.

so yes, I made an assumption about you. playing the I.Q card on GAMES for gods sake. having a good writer or some clever mechanics.... does not make you smarter or appreciating them over simpler games.... not that your list is anything complex. outside of some clever ideas.

@MBirdy88: I'm not talking nonsense, and even though it was poorly executed... that was a good response and you're right. There's no reason for you to trust my opinion over a reviewers, but I'm providing another perspective on the genre. there's a reason why you think Japan hasn't had a good rpg in years, and I think it's simply because you put your weight on reviews.

I honestly believe mother 3 is one of the best rpgs of the past 10 years and I didn't choose it simply guessing that you haven't played it... I chose it because it breaks the norms of the rehashed rpgs you mentioned earlier, it is extremely charming and provides a similar experience as earthbound, and it did a fantastic job at it. Mother isn't exactly a household name, but it's definitely a known franchise - you know of Earthbound (mother 2)... yea?

I know people have played it on here because it's actually where I got the recommendation - jg4xchamp. I also provided Xenoblade (which you ignored altogether) and Nier which aren't exactly hidden.

The low iq tag is something to easily throw on mainstream games. When you create a title for a very general consumer base... you have to create your title for the lowest common denominator. A perfect example is ff13. While games that force you to to use your critical thinking skills while challenging you as a gamer end up pretty niche.

The reason I found your 'difficulty' statement laughable is because I intentionally seek out difficult games as I find the challenge fun. I loved baroque but I'd have a hard time recommending it to anyone

I never said Japan did not release any titles within the past year in the fighting genre, I merely didn't see any titles that were stand out with respect to the critics. I don't see why using "Gamerankings" showcases I know not for which is clear, unless, perchance I missed a hugely popular/highly rated fighting game that released within the past year? If I did, by all means, let me know so I can stand corrected.

Poor mist, you need not be so defensive over a country and their weakened influence on gaming... it's not the end of the world. I'm sure they'll rebound... eventually?

@Stevo_the_gamer:

BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma released a few weeks ago and has a 82 on metacritic, but I'm not sure why that matters.

Well, if it negates my point then it matters. :P

What's wrong with Wild Arms: Alter Code F? Or Romancing Saga? Or Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter? Or Xenosaga? Or Shin Megami Tensei? Has he even played half of those games? And if he did, why is he even putting himself through the pain of playing games he hates?

Where have you been all these years? If you're judging the country based on console gaming, then you're doing it wrong... Most of Japan abandoned consoles a long time ago.

It's the arcades where most of the fighting games are at, not consoles. Fighting games are being released in Japanese arcades all the time. The only reason they might port some of them to consoles is for Western audiences.

sony is going around meeting with lots of japanese developers...ensuring there will be plenty of games available that i will not want to play.

meanwhile SCEJ still can't figure out how to begin The Last Guardian.

YES! I'm tired of this crappy FPS dominated landscape