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*****JAPAN*****
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Now, as mentioned above, the Japanese have some strange tastes in games...
Floating ships play a huge role in Japanese wolk legend, and as a result you see this in gaming in games like Eternal Arcadia. Manga, the Japanese form of cartoons, have a unique style- big headed, wide-eyed characters- that are used in games like FF7. Finally, the huge flying "Mecha" (robot) games that have become obscelete in the West, are as vibrant in Japan as ever- with Virtual On, Zone of the Enders, and Armoured Core being prime examples of the national love for all things big and metally- mainly due to their inclusion in Manga comic books.
On the other side of the coin, the Japanese hate some of our games. Lara Croft, popular in the West thanks to her "assets" is shunned in Japan- they just aren't as turned on by white, corcasian women as everyone thought they might be...
Then there are simply games that the Japanese cannot play. FPS physically make many Japanese people sick- apparantly it's hereditory that Japanese people get very bad motion sickness. Of course, there have been attempts to rectify this- Sega's Outtrigger was made with the sole intention to allow Japnese gamers the pleasure of a FPS without the side-effects.
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****AMERICA****
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Well, as you'd expect the Americans love their sports games. American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey and the like are prime examples of sports that the Amerians love to play, despite the rest of the world not taking and interest in them. (The love of baseball in shared with the Japanese).
Of course, American's love their mindless shooting games. FPS games like Halflife and Deus Ex follow on from games like Doom and Quake to quench the American love of violence. Then there are RTS games like Command and Conquer that allow the Americans to explore their military dominance over the world in the comfort of their own homes. Finally, the western RPG games, like Diablo, are far different from the tradional Japanese fantasies. Often they involve more American orientated folk legends- Vampire rather than floating ships for example!
Finally, both America and Japan are both lucky enough to live in broadband societies that make online gaming atrue reality. In America, many American Football games are going online, and in Japan online RPGs have been emerging with games like FFXI and PSO leading the way.
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****EUROPE****
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Out of all the regions, we get the short straw. No online gaming, no European console makers, and PAL TVs mean that the market here is the most expoited of all.
In terms of games, our needs aren't met as much as the other two regions. Sure, we get plenty (too many!) Football games, however other sports, like Cricket, just aren't supported.
That said, the large presence of UK developers created suring the Sinclair age means that we don't ahve it all bad. Racing games from studios like Bizare, FPS games from Rare and general American style games make enough choice for any casual gamer.
Sonic
_______________
*****JAPAN*****
---------------
Now, as mentioned above, the Japanese have some strange tastes in games...
Floating ships play a huge role in Japanese wolk legend, and as a result you see this in gaming in games like Eternal Arcadia. Manga, the Japanese form of cartoons, have a unique style- big headed, wide-eyed characters- that are used in games like FF7. Finally, the huge flying "Mecha" (robot) games that have become obscelete in the West, are as vibrant in Japan as ever- with Virtual On, Zone of the Enders, and Armoured Core being prime examples of the national love for all things big and metally- mainly due to their inclusion in Manga comic books.
On the other side of the coin, the Japanese hate some of our games. Lara Croft, popular in the West thanks to her "assets" is shunned in Japan- they just aren't as turned on by white, corcasian women as everyone thought they might be...
Then there are simply games that the Japanese cannot play. FPS physically make many Japanese people sick- apparantly it's hereditory that Japanese people get very bad motion sickness. Of course, there have been attempts to rectify this- Sega's Outtrigger was made with the sole intention to allow Japnese gamers the pleasure of a FPS without the side-effects.
_______________
****AMERICA****
---------------
Well, as you'd expect the Americans love their sports games. American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey and the like are prime examples of sports that the Amerians love to play, despite the rest of the world not taking and interest in them. (The love of baseball in shared with the Japanese).
Of course, American's love their mindless shooting games. FPS games like Halflife and Deus Ex follow on from games like Doom and Quake to quench the American love of violence. Then there are RTS games like Command and Conquer that allow the Americans to explore their military dominance over the world in the comfort of their own homes. Finally, the western RPG games, like Diablo, are far different from the tradional Japanese fantasies. Often they involve more American orientated folk legends- Vampire rather than floating ships for example!
Finally, both America and Japan are both lucky enough to live in broadband societies that make online gaming atrue reality. In America, many American Football games are going online, and in Japan online RPGs have been emerging with games like FFXI and PSO leading the way.
______________
****EUROPE****
--------------
Out of all the regions, we get the short straw. No online gaming, no European console makers, and PAL TVs mean that the market here is the most expoited of all.
In terms of games, our needs aren't met as much as the other two regions. Sure, we get plenty (too many!) Football games, however other sports, like Cricket, just aren't supported.
That said, the large presence of UK developers created suring the Sinclair age means that we don't ahve it all bad. Racing games from studios like Bizare, FPS games from Rare and general American style games make enough choice for any casual gamer.
Sonic
I think that 'European' gamers are given too much from the American side of the coin, and not enough from the Japanese.
Sonic
Sonic
> Out of interest, are there any of you that like obscure japanese games?
The only obscure Japanese game I've got is "Tokyo Bus Guide", and perhaps "Maken X" - but that was released over here wasn't it.
I wish more of "their type of games" would make it over here - especially the quirky ones.
True, but the US also have ZOE, and all 3 Armoured Core games will be on PS2 soon enough. 1 and 2 already are - I think.
”Well, as you'd expect the Americans love their sports games. American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey and the like are prime examples of sports that the Amerians love to play, despite the rest of the world not taking and interest in them. (The love of baseball in shared with the Japanese).”
Baseball is quite big in Japan as well! There are quite a few games there. Also, Basketball is growing in popularity over here – and we’ve had quite a few games to prove it! The American sports aren’t so prominent over here, but they do exist to a very decent scale.
”Finally, both America and Japan are both lucky enough to live in broadband societies that make online gaming a reality. In America, many American Football games are going online, and in Japan online RPGs have been emerging with games like FFXI and PSO leading the way.”
There is actually broadband available here. You have to use 3rd party hardware, and it probably isn’t cheap, but it’s a reality here – just not to the same scale!
”Out of all the regions, we get the short straw. No online gaming, no European console makers, and PAL TVs mean that the market here is the most expoited of all.”
The GameCube will support the 60hz mode, which I’m sure you already know. Basically, this means that the straight ports from US and Japanese games, like Mario and Metroid will run at optimum rate, just as they do in America! PAL TVs no longer matter - GameCube saves the day! ^_^
”In terms of games, our needs aren't met as much as the other two regions. Sure, we get plenty (too many!) Football games, however other sports, like Cricket, just aren't supported.”
Actually, amid the many football titles, there are quite a number of other sports games, including Cricket! We have Golf, Tennis, Cricket and Rugby, all available on PS2 and PC! Check out Cricket 2002 (PS2) – Looks Good! And there’s International Cricket Captain 2002 coming out for the PSOne!
”FPS games from Rare”
ANY Games FROM RARE!!! – I honestly think they’re the best developers around. I know there are other good developers, some of who may have released some better games, but still – Rare rule, and I can’t wait for SFA!
Game
The
> GameCube will support the 60hz mode, which I’m sure you already know. Basically,
> this means that the straight ports from US and Japanese games, like Mario and
> Metroid will run at optimum rate, just as they do in America! PAL TVs no longer
> matter - GameCube saves the day! ^_^
All the other consoles use 60Hz, the PS2, X-Box and DC. 60Hz doesnt mean a direct port of the game to the UK, the developers have to chose whether the game will include the 60Hz option. The DC had many games that were full screen and contained a 60Hz mode. While the PS2 has very little 60Hz games. If a developer doesnt bother to add the 60Hz feature into the game, then the game wont be a direct port. I would think that most of the GC games will come with a 60Hz option but not all will contain it.
And to run 60Hz you need a pretty good PAL TV, if your TV is old then they may not run.