This week we've got more news than you can shake a stick at.  There's a new PSP RPG, Minstrel Song information, Egg Monster Heroes, and tons more.  Only the best from the Three-Cup Rice Cooker.

Column is here.

I think you made a spelling error. The proper romanizaiton of Final Fantasy in katakana would be 'fainaru fantaji'.

Now a serious question, have you heard any good things about the University of Hawaii's Japanese program?

It is Fainaru Fantaji.  I was doing it off the top of my head.  I was typing in a rush to get off to work.  Fi would is pronounced fee.  
Fah ee na ru fah n tah jee is the correct pronunciation.  

I've corrected it in the column.

It's fixed.  Yeah, that's what I get for trying to finish the column and upload it before work on Tuesday. (Japan Standard Time) I normally finish the column on Monday night before bed and then proof and upload on Tuesday, but I got really sleepy last night.  I left the Culture Corner and a couple news stories to finish early this morning, but they took a bit longer than I was thinking they'd take.  Then, there were some problems getting a proper proof...  The net result was that Japandemonium only got a so-so proof, and I didn't have time to proof it myself.  I'm usually pretty good at weeding out most of the errors when I have time to do it.

This mistake is just one more reason that I pretty much only trust Alethea to do my proofing...  She's about the only one good enough to catch my grammar mistakes, and she's pretty good on everything else too.

I think X-Box is not popular in Japan not because it is American, but because of the lack of RPGs and character-based games. Americans as a whole tend to focus on games with a lot of action, while the Japanese tend to focus on games that have interesting characters or an engaging story.

By the way, if you want someone to cover the Tokyo Game Show for you, I can do it as I will almost definitely be going, for my company if nothing else.

I remember a time when E3 was America's version of TGS, and Spaceworld beat them both.  *grumble* </old>

Come to think of it, I do too.  It's just that was so long ago that I have forgotten it.  

As for the X Box thing, the fact that it's American plays a bit more of a role than you think.  Yes, the games are more geared toward American gamers (action and the like) but that's because the companies are American.  If you consider who's making games for the X Box and who's making games for the PS2, they really aren't usually the same people.  So naturally, there are some differences in the games.  

Also, you have the fact that games come out here first.  Since X Box games are made for the American audience, they have to be translated into Japanese second.  This is the opposite of 98% of all PS2 games.  America is the secondary market, even for a game that will sell better in the US than in Japan like a Final Fantasy.  

But, you also have to consider that the Japanese are extremely loyal.  They tend to stick with the same everything forever.  They will go to the same grocery store, work for the same company, go to the same barber, etc.  It is EXTREMELY hard for new companines to edge themselves into the Japanese market.  This is why big companies like Wal-Mart expanded into Japan not under their name but under different Japanese names.  It's not a matter of distrusting foreign stuff, but they just don't do it.  X Box is seen more as a novelty than as a legitmate gaming platform in a way.  It's this American box that manages to play games.  Go figure.

<<As for the X Box thing, the fact that it's American plays a bit more of a role than you think.  Yes, the games are more geared toward American gamers (action and the like) but that's because the companies are American.  If you consider who's making games for the X Box and who's making games for the PS2, they really aren't usually the same people.  So naturally, there are some differences in the games. >>

I guess I took your previous comment that they were not buying X-box because they somehow don't like anything that says "Made in America" on it. But there is a ton of popular American stuff here (movies, for example - btw I live in Japan), so I don't think it's the label. But as you said, it's more the cultural difference in game taste, so it sounds like we agreed in the first place... but then I disagreed with your last paragraph again ^^

I saw a poll in Famitsu before that asked if the readers were interested in foreign games. Most said they weren't, and the main reason cited was because the characters/stories were not appealing, not the actual fact that the games were "American." Most people are used to seeing American stuff here so often that it's not really a big deal if something is "American" or not. The reason characters/stories are emphasized more is because games are often played in solitude, in contrast to America where games are often played with friends, and rather than some embarrassing touching story you would want ACTION for that...

As for "loyalty," I think Wal-Mart is a bad example. Wal-Mart needed to merge because Japanese marketing is much different than Wal-Mart's. Wal-Mart's success in the U.S. is due to giant stores where you can buy a crapload of stuff at once for very cheap prices. In Japan, buildings go up instead of out and you don't buy a crapload of stuff at once cuz you have nowhere to put it. As a result people are used to buying bits at a time, nearly every day, so supermarkets have adjusted to this and expiration dates are often very short as preservatives are not much needed. Also generally you get what you pay for here, so things being so cheap is a little bit fishy. Therefore, Wal-Mart "as is" would not work in Japan. However, 7-11 and so on has become very popular as have a whole score of other companies. I don't think it's that the "Japanese" are "this" or "that" or have some kind of in-born tendency, but has more to do with infrastructure and the way things simply are here.

In short, it's not so much about the system -- It's all about the games.

Edited by Kazama on --

Yeah, I can agree with that.  Although I never meant that the Japanese don't buy things that are American.  They often buy things because they ARE American.  

But yeah, I don't mean to stereotype the Japanese, but there are several things that tend to be different than Americans.  You hit on a couple as well.  There are a lot of factors involved in the X Box tanking here, but did anyone think that it just plain sucked?  I did.

The Katamari will get you Jordon.

It will.

Dracos
Finally reads the sig =P