The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
_______________
*****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
Sonic
I think that 'European' gamers are given too much from the American side of the coin, and not enough from the Japanese.
_______________
*****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