Japan, despite housing a game development industry that single-handedly reinvigorated console gaming with the introduction of the NES and then blasted it into the mainstream with the original PlayStation, has fallen on hard times. While many of the developers responsible for some of the franchises that define gaming – including Mario, Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry, Castlevania, Street Fighter, and Metal Gear Solid – are Japanese, it’s difficult to deny that the HD era has proven to be an agonizingly difficult transition for the Land of the Rising Sun.
The reasons for the shift from consoles to portables are varied and diverse...
During the last several years, we saw a large number of Japanese developers quickly return to the relative safety of the tablet, smartphone, and dedicated handheld markets after dabbling in HD development, and we saw the output of other developers – like Sony’s Team ICO – dry up completely as they struggled for years with crafting tools to adequately and efficiently handle the creation of HD content. The reasons for the shift from consoles to portables are varied and diverse – ranging from inadequate staffing and the resistance to licensing existing middleware tools, to the top-down, creator-focused team structure that tends to be more common overseas – but the results were the same: an entire generation of gaming built around safe, marketable AAA Western franchises on consoles with many smaller Japanese games being forcefully pushed to the side.
Fortunately, if the current crop of software is any indication, Japan is looking to come back to the West in a big way. The country once responsible for crafting experiences to keep console gaming fresh and new might just be able to pull it off one more time.
It wasn’t always this way. While the introduction of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 created an opportunity for a wide variety of titles from Japan like Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil 5, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Valkyria Chronicles, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, and Metal Gear Solid 4, many did not generate the economic splash that was necessary given the challenges of new technology and increased development costs. Because of this, many of Japan’s best-known development studios and publishers became notorious for spending the last few years firmly entrenched in the vibrant portable market overseas, developing titles that oftentimes failed to reach Western shores (including Final Fantasy: Type 0 and Monster Hunter Portable 3rd).
This matter was purely economic. The explosion of Japanese sales experienced by both the PSP and original DS – courtesy of major phenomena like Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest – kept plenty of companies raking in the yen without a need to expand beyond the reliable Japanese user base, and oftentimes localizing titles on platforms without a significant install base in the West was deemed too risky. Some franchises, such as the aforementioned Valkyria Chronicles, segued their sequels to PSP for sales reasons, much to the chagrin of Western fans, lessening (or, in some cases, even negating) these titles’ chances of localization for worldwide release.
This matter was purely economic.
The dearth of third-party franchises on HD consoles over the past few years wasn't lost on gamers or developers on either side of the Pacific. Veteran developer Keiji Inafune has gone on record numerous times concerning the state of the Japanese gaming industry, and while he admits that Japanese developers are certainly becoming “aware of the problem”, he feels there is still a lot more progress to be made before his confidence in the market returns.
Fortunately, though, it’s not all bad news. If the games on display at recent industry events such as E3 are any indication, the trend is finally beginning to change. Starting later this summer and heading well into next year, North America and Europe will be flooded with a veritable tsunami of high-quality Japanese console titles spanning many genres, many of which are shaping up to be refreshing, alternative experiences to the typical AAA action blockbusters launching this fall.
This year has been very, very good to fans of a certain neglected Namco Bandai franchise. Fans begged, pleaded, and clamored for the domestic releases of the series’ many titles following 2008’s Tales of Vesperia through social media and organized campaigns, but for years received nothing but radio silence from Namco Bandai in return. Following the support fans showed for the domestic release of Tales of Graces f last year and the surprising sales success of Ni no Kuni earlier this year, however, Namco moved forward with announcing localizations for not one, not two, but three different entries in the Tales franchise for the PS3.
This year has been very, very good to fans of a certain neglected Namco Bandai franchise.
First up for the West is the 15th Anniversary installment of the franchise, Tales of Xillia, which will be hitting North American shores on August 6th. With a slightly more mature look and story, a graphical upgrade, and a brand new battle system focusing on linking party members together for cooperative attacks, this Tale is shaping up to be one to remember. This will be followed in 2014 by its sequel, Tales of Xillia 2, and a bundled HD re-release of the fan-favorite Tales of Symphonia and psuedo-sequel Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. With so many titles on the horizon, the next few months look to be busy ones indeed for Tales fans.
Fighting fans won’t be left out of the fun, either. The niche fighting series BlazBlue is also getting a brand new update in the form of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, which sports seven new characters, a fresh set of stages, and loads of the character balancing and tweaking that developer Arc System Works is well-known for. While the game has been playable in Japanese arcades for some time, the home version will be landing on PS3 early next year with exclusive content not included in the original arcade release.
BlazBlue isn’t the only fighter getting an update over the next few months. At this month’s EVO 2013 World Finals tournament, Capcom stunned the crowd as it blew the lid off a brand new title in the Street Fighter series. The new title, christened Ultra Street Fighter IV, is scheduled to launch early next year on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC with five new characters, six new stages, multiple balancing tweaks for each character, and loads of new modes in tow. According to Matt Dahlgren and Peter “Combofiend” Rosas of Capcom, fan feedback was the major driving force behind the creation of this brand new entry in the Street Fighter saga. World warriors, be excited!
One of the companies hit hardest by the HD transition is none other than Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix. While the company did foresee difficulties with the added cost and complexity of HD development at the start of the generation – even licensing Unreal Engine 3 in an attempt to solve the problem – egregious English to Japanese translation errors in engine documentation and numerous support issues made the middleware transition exceptionally painful for the company. These difficulties motivated Square Enix to begin development on its own internal middleware tailored to its development pipeline: the White Engine.
If it wasn’t for the acquisition of Eidos... [Square Enix] may not have survived at all.
Unfortunately, development of the White Engine was anything but smooth, churning through far more time and resources than originally anticipated. With development costs skyrocketing and few major game releases to boost the bottom line, the disastrous launch of the original half-baked Final Fantasy XIV MMO in 2010 was enough to bring the entire company to its knees. If it wasn’t for the acquisition of Eidos and the subsequent output of critically-acclaimed, Western-centric titles like Tomb Raider, Sleeping Dogs, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the Japanese gaming giant may not have survived at all.
Fortunately, this year seems to mark a major turnaround for the company’s internal studio output, beginning with the launch of a much-improved version of Final Fantasy XIV in August on PS3 and PC and continuing into the fall with the North American releases of both Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix and Final Fantasy X|X2 HD Remaster on PS3 (with the latter also coming to Vita).
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix launched earlier this year in Japan to solid reviews. In addition to reworked and enhanced versions of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts re: Chain of Memories, the collection is also set to include hours of new voiced dialogue retelling the story of 358/2 Days. While new information regarding release timing for Final Fantasy X|X2 HD Remaster has been difficult to come by, the collection will contain international content that will be available for the first time in North America.
The largest story coming out of Square Enix, though, is most certainly the announcement of Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III for next-generation consoles, two eagerly-anticipated games we still know precious little about.
Are you hungry for something a little goofier? Always a late-generation darling, NIS America has you covered. The company continues to support the PS3 with a barrage of uniquely charming (yet divisive) entries in the JRPG, strategy RPG, and roguelike genres. This year’s batch includes not only the recently released (and widely panned) JRPG Time and Eternity, but also a full-fledged sequel to the original Disgaea titled Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness and a brand new roguelike in the form of The Guided Fate Paradox. NIS is also bringing two Japanese Vita games -- DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Demon Gaze -- to the west in 2014.
SEGA also recently surprised Western fans of Japanese pop sensation Hatsune Miku with an announcement of a localized release for Hatsune Miku Project Diva F, a challenging, arcade-based rhythm game featuring many of the most popular vocaloid tunes.
Many of the titles so far discussed are being built for current-gen consoles, meaning that some third-party Japanese studios may not be quite ready to throw all of their weight behind the two brand new, unproven platforms launching later this year. With Xbox One not even scheduled to release in Japan until 2014, perhaps it isn’t all that surprising many publishers in the East (as well as the West) are choosing instead to largely hedge their bets on existing current-gen install bases.
Is this wise? With software sales declining quarter over quarter, are these brand new current-gen games and HD remixes destined for an immediate one-way trip to the bargain bin? That’s a difficult question to answer, but as proven by recent releases like The Last of Us, there’s still room for good software to be successful on current-gen platforms.
For the first time in a long time, there are tons of reasons to be excited about Japanese gaming.
While some would argue that developers and publishers should drop the PS3 and Xbox 360 like a bad habit the second the PS4 and Xbox One hit the market this fall, a healthy current-gen console market will most certainly make for a smoother transition into next-gen for casual gamers.
Also, for those few teams in Japan still cutting their teeth on HD console development, the long tail of current-gen coupled with direct sale opportunities through marketplaces like PlayStation Network will give them plenty of time to hone their skills while preparing to develop for the next generation. While many gamers are certainly ready, willing, and able to dive into next-generation content right now, there are plenty of people that will be seeking fulfilling experiences on current-gen hardware both this year and in the future.
For the first time in a long time, there are tons of reasons to be excited about Japanese gaming. Whether a fan of action, strategy, fighting, or RPG, Japanese studios will be delivering something for everyone during the holiday season and into next spring. Despite early challenges with hardware and truckloads of Japan-only portable releases, Japan’s developers are finally returning to console gaming en masse. With the enthusiasm I’ve seen from developers about the direction the market is headed, things are only looking up from here. With tons of current-gen titles being prepped for market and brand new next-gen experiences waiting in the wings, Japan is looking to fire on all cylinders this year and beyond.
Welcome back, Japan. We’ve missed you.
Michael Migliacio is a software engineer by day, freelance gaming journalist by night, and Japanese gaming enthusiast 24/7. When he's not covering the eSports scene as a Staff Writer for Evil Geniuses, he can be found on IGN as angstygaijin or on Twitter @angstygaijin.
Source : ign[dot]com
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