VG Arabia » Japan

GT5 officially delayed in Japan

Ahmad Dajani — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:49:17 +0000

Sony’s upcoming driving sim ‘Gran Turismo 5′ has been officially pushed back in Japan. The game was slated for release this March in the land of the rising sun. but publisher Sony Computer Entertainment announced today that the game’s release date is now TBA.

GT5 was first announced at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles back in 2006. The game will feature over 1,000 automobiles and 20 different locations. Yamauchi revealed that 150 people had worked on Gran Turismo 5 for three years, with all of Polyphony Digital’s 120 employees working on GT5, and the game costing 50 times more to develop than 1997′s Gran Turismo, with Yamauchi later disclosing that Gran Turismo 5 had cost $60 million to develop.

FF XIII: Reinventing the wheel or a design miss?

Ahmad Dajani — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:09:16 +0000

No one can argue with the fact that FF XIII is one of the most anticipated games this generation. But since the game was released in Japan, criticisms have had started to pop up on the internet regarding some aspects of the game. FF XIII new design ideas in reinventing the JRPGs genre are the same points that will bother the most devoted fans of the series. We take a look at both of the good side and the bad side of those points:

1. Linearity VS More open ended gameplay:

- Negative: The game structure goes like this: battle, movie, repeat. No side missions, hidden sequences and no NPCs to chat with. FF XIII is the most linear game in the series. I have to play the first 25 hours like this. Screw that.

- Positive: It’s like an interactive roller coaster movie. Keep pushing forward, no need to get distracted by unimportant things. Also, the game gets more open ended after the first 25 hours, so you will get your fix.

2. No Towns VS more focus on the story and characters development:

- Negative: What Square-Enix were thinking? No towns? We love JRPGs because we want to play in a fantasy world with lavish vistas and great/unique looking towns. We love towns in JRPGs because they break the repetitiveness of the grinding and fighting.

- Positive: Talking to NPCs is a repetitive task. Square-Enix ditched the Town thing in order to give us a better story and deeper characters development.

3. No XP, no level up VS Crystarium System:

- Negative: FF X had AP, leveling and the sphere grid system, so what does the Crystarium System bring new to the table? Nothing.

- Positive: Who wants leveling and XP, when we have something more streamlined? Crystarium System is the future of RPGs.

4. No direct control over other party members VS faster, more action packed combat system:

- Negative: There is next to no strategy or skill involved, just keep pushing or mashing the attack button mixed with some magic attacks and you will be fine. Seriously.

- Positive: Paradigm system gives you the ability to change party members roles, so you actually have the ability to change the outcome of the battles in the game. Faster battle system that will make you concentrate on the action rather than worrying about managing your team members.

So, what do you think? Is FF XIII the future of JRPGs or it’s a step back for the genre and for the series?

Natal, the final hope for Microsoft in Japan?

Ahmad Dajani — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:02:51 +0000

Microsoft had been encouraging the Japanese gaming companies in bringing some JRPGs love to the Xbox 360. And that was in order to make Xbox 360 a favorable machine to buy in the land of the rising sun. Not just for the Japanese audience, but to all JRPGs lovers, as most gamers knew that the original Xbox was lacking in this matter. So Microsoft strategy was to bring a good number of JRPGs, which will give them the opportunity to have a better share in the Japanese market plus to make Xbox 360 the perfect console in the eyes of JRPG lovers.

I was expecting Mistwalker to unveil their next project at TGS 09, but that was not the case. Also, I was expecting Microsoft to shock us by announcing the end of exclusivity for one of the biggest JRPGs for the PS3; like what they did with FF 13, but that was not the case either.

Now with the Tokyo Game Show had closed its doors and we already have seen what will come in the future for Xbox 360 from the Japanese developers, it’s obvious that Microsoft’s strategy is changing in Japan.

So, will Microsoft stop bringing more JRPGs to Xbox 360? No, I don’t think so. But I think they are shifting their strategy in Japan; from focusing on JRPGs to Natal. Microsoft has been capturing a lot of exclusive JRPGs for its console during the past few years, but was that worth it? Back in the days of last generation, Microsoft had managed to sell 470,000 Xboxes in Japan and that was without the effort in bringing a huge list of JRPG. In the other hand, you have Microsoft’s current console, Xbox 360, with 1.16 million console sold and that with the help of a great list of JRPGs such as Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Tales of Vaseperia, The Last Remnant and much more. While I call this an improvement, it wasn’t the huge leap for Microsoft in Japan.

Microsoft had hosted a discussion panel during TGS 09 in an attempt to promote project Natal in Japan, and with all the compliments about Natal from legendary game makers such as Hideo Kojima and Inafune, it seems that Microsoft is on the right track. But to tell you the truth, one of the reasons why I had bought a Xbox 360 was and still to get my JRPG fix and I’m starting to feel that Microsoft will not support the JRPG genre on Xbox 360 as before.

The Japanese market has transformed during the last few years; JRPGs doesn’t sell as it used to be, the Handheld business and the casual games are taken over the market in Japan. Which is making a common sense for Microsoft to change their strategy in Japan.

with all of the changes in this ever evolving industry and the attempts to bring more consumers to game, will project Natal be the magical solution for Microsoft in Japan? We have to wait and see. But in the mean time, let us know your opinion by leaving a comment.

Top 10 games we want to see at the TGS 09

Ahmad Dajani — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:52:53 +0000

Tokyo Game Show is one of the biggest and most important videogames expos in the world. The show has been held every year in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. This year is no exception, as it will be held in the same place starting from September 24 to September 27.

What is so electrifying about this show; is to see what the Japanese development houses has been working on for the past few months/years. I can assure you that you will see a huge number of new games from different genres and some unexpected surprises at the show.

But here, I will present to you the top 10 games we are hyped for to see at the Tokyo Game Show 09:

1. Devil May Cry 5:

Capcom has been doing a fantastic job this generation and in my opinion, they are the best developers this generation. The development studious at Capcom has been very busy by producing a blockbuster game after the other such as Dead Rising, Lost Planet, Devil May Cry 4, Street Fighter 4, and resident Evil 5.

As you can see, RE5 and SF4 just has been released this year. Blue Castle Games has already been working on Dead Rising 2 and Lost Planet 2 will be released on 2010. So the missing puzzle is the next iteration in the Devil May Cry franchise.

There is a very high probability that Capcom will announce DMC5, Dante or Nero, who will be the star of the next DMC game?

2. Metal Gear Rising:

Say what you want to say about this game, but before you do that, there is one thing you must know: Hideo Kojima the creator of the MGS series is deeply involved in this game and Kojima productions will produce a game worthy of the MGS name.

We haven’t seen any real footage from the game, All we knew about this game is it will starts the cyborg ninja, Raiden, so we want to see which direction the game will take.

We will get the first real details about the game and of course an epic trailer from Kojima Productions in TGS 09.

3. Zelda for the Wii:

The legendary creator of the series, Shigeru Miyamoto, has announced at last E3 that the Zelda team is already working on the next Zelda game for the Wii.

There are a lot of rumors about this concept art, some fans says that the strange spirit is actually Link’s sword since he doesn’t hold a sword in his right hand. Whatever Link will fight with a sword or not, am very excited about this game as I want to see what the Zelda Team will change in this beloved franchise.

4. The Last Guardian:

What can be said about Team Ico that haven’t been said before? Team Ico is one of the most creative developers in the world and their past games Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus are some of the finest games ever.

The trailer they showed about The Last Guardian at the Sony conference last E3 was very epic, which made us asking for more. The game seems to mix some aspects from both of Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus. The art style and the visuals in this game looks stunning, just look below to see the attention to details in the feathery creature.

It’s guaranteed that we will see more of the game in TGS 09, but we can’t wait, as we need to see the game in action ASAP.

5. Mistwalker’s next RPG:

Mistwalker has been silent for a very long time. After the cancellation of Cryon, no one does know what the developers behind Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon are hiding to unveil at the upcoming TGS.

you can see my article about their next game as I have been reading Sakaguchi column from time to time by visiting Mistwalker’s official website. TGS is the perfect place for announcing new RPGs, so I think there is a high probability that Gooch will finally announce his next epic RPG.

6. Final Fantasy Versus 13:

we have been seeing a lot of flashy trailers for this game, but we want Square-Enix to demonstrate the game in gameplay form and in front of the public.

I know that Square-Enix is very busy finishing FF13 and I don’t request from Square-Enix to make the game playable at the show floor, but they have to give us more information about this game. The game is looking fantastic and it seems the story in this game is so dark and mysterious, which is to my liking.

7. Jet Set Radio 3:

Sega have to revive this franchise. This is the perfect time for a sequel. The original game on the Dreamcast was the first game to feature Cell-shaded graphics. I don’t care if it will be announced for the Wii or for the HD consoles as long as we can play it. Use the Wii motion controls or Natal or Sony’s Wand if you want to give a refreshing feel to the gameplay.

At least Sega, announce a plan to release the original game on both of the PSN and XBL.

8. Zone Of The Enders 3:

The three games in the series has been developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and the GBA portable machine. The game producer Hideo Kojima said that he was very busy with MGS4 and recently he stated that there are plans for making new IPs and maybe visiting some older franchises. But to tell you the truth, Kojima seems to be more busy than earlier. He is involved in a lot of AAA games such as MGR, MGS: Peace Walker, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and a new IP (Believe me it’s a survival horror game).

We can hope for the better, maybe they will finally announce the fourth entry in the series.

9. The next Silent Hill game:

We all knew how Konami is destroying this beloved franchise by giving it to unexperienced developers. The best games in the series (the first four games) has been developed by Silent Team, which sadly has been disbanded.

Maybe Kojima will help them like how he is doing now with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow? Maybe.

10. Shenmue 3:

Maybe we will see the third title in this epic saga at Tokyo Game Show 2013 and that’s when Sega will be announcing that Shenmue 3 is a launch title for the Dreamcast 2. Ok, Am Joking. As I don’t think we will see it, I Hope am wrong.

More Yakuza games other than in Japan? I don’t think so

Ahmad Dajani — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:55:35 +0000

Don’t get your hopes high on Sega announcing any plans to bring Yakuza 3 (already released in Japan) or the upcoming sequel other than in Japan. Before you start cursing on me, I’m a big fan of the Yakuza franchise and I finished the first game and it’s sequel, so I hope Sega consider releasing Yakuza 3 and it’s sequel worldwide, as I think it’s one of the few good games Sega produced in a while.

As you all know by now Yakuza games are so popular in Japan and it sells like hot cakes in the land of the rising sun, but in other regions it’s always struggles to sell a respectful number of copies. According to Vgchartz.com Yakuza 2 sold only 40k in the US while in Japan it sold more than 840k. Looking at the sales differences between the two regions and ask your self a question, will sega bother dubbing the game from Japanese to English for this small fan base? I don’t think so. You will say “we will play the game with Japanese voice overs and English subtitles as Sega did in Yakuza 2″ that will not happen again, why? because Sega isn’t satisfied with the sales of the Yakuza games in the US.

Sega started the production of Yakuza 4, this is an evidence that Sega isn’t interested in bringing Yakuza 3 to the state. Also the upcoming huge number of excellent video games in 2009/2010 will make Sega think a million times before they make such a risk like this.

Even if I’m very confident in my reasons, I still hope that I’m wrong. Let us know if you think that Sega will release Yakuza 3 or its sequel other than in Japan.