The Tokyo Game Show 2008 (TGS 2008) just ended yesterday, and the Japan Game Awards 2008 “Games of the Year Division” Award Winners were chosen on October 10th. Below is the list of the award winners (http://awards.cesa.or.jp/english/press_081009n.html):
Games of the Year Division Award Winners
(Title, Platform, Company)
Awards
Wii Fit, Wii, Nintendo Co., Ltd.
MONSTER HUNTER PORTABLE 2nd G, PSP, CAPCOM CO., LTD.
Award for excellence
Wii Fit, Wii, Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Super Mario Galaxy, Wii, Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Wii, Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Devil May Cry® 4, PS3/Xbox360/PC, CAPCOM CO., LTD.
DRAGON QUEST IV The Chapters of the Chosen, DS, SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time / Explorers of Darkness, DS, The Pokémon Company
Mario Party DS, DS, Nintendo Co.,Ltd.
MONSTER HUNTER PORTABLE 2nd G, PSP, CAPCOM CO., LTD.
RYU GA GOTOKU KENZAN!, PS3, SEGA Corporation
Professor Layton and the Devil’s Box（tentative title）, DS LEVEL-5 Inc.
WORLD SOCCER Winning Eleven 2008, PS2/PS3/Xbox360, Konami Digital Entertainment Co. Ltd.
Best Sales Award
Wii Fit, Wii, Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Global Award Japanese Product
Wii Play, Wii, Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Global Award Foreign Product
Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock, PS2/PS3/Xbox360/Wii, ACTIVISION Ltd.
Special Award
Call of Duty4 Modern Warfare, PS3/Xbox360/DS, ACTIVISION Ltd.
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To make a comparison, we got the list of the The Game Critics Awards 2007 Nominees:(http://www.gamecriticsawards.com/2007nominees.html)
Best of Show
- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, Xbox 360)
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Mass Effect (Bioware/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Rock Band (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Original Game
- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, Xbox 360)
- de Blob (Blue Tongue/THQ for Wii)
- Little Big Planet (Media Molecule/SCEE for PS3)
- Rock Band (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Wii Fit (Nintendo for Wii)
Best PC Game
- Call of Duty 4 (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Crysis (Crytek/Electronic Arts)
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/id/Activision)
- Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)
- World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment/Sierra)
Best Console Game
- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for Xbox 360)
- Call of Duty 4 (Infinity Ward/Activision for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
- Rock Band (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)
Best Handheld Game
- Contra 4 (WayForward/Konami for Nintendo DS)
- Dead Head Fred (Vicious Cycle/D3 for PSP)
- God of War: Chains of Olympus (Ready at Dawn/SCEA for PSP)
- Silent Hill: Origins (Climax/Konami for PSP)
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo for Nintendo DS)
Best Hardware
- PSP-2000 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Rock Band Instruments (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Wii Balance Board (Nintendo for Wii)
- Wii Zapper (Nintendo for Wii)
Best Action Game
- Call of Duty 4 (Infinity Ward/Activision for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Crysis (Crytek/EA for PC)
- Halo 3 (Bungie/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Retro Studios/Nintendo for Wii)
- Unreal Tournament 3 (Epic Games/Midway for PC, PlayStation 3)
Best Action/Adventure Game
- Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Bioshock (Irrational Games/2K Games for PC, Xbox 360)
- Heavenly Sword (Ninja Theory/SCEE for PlayStation 3)
- Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo for Wii)
- Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (Naughty Dog/SCEA for PlayStation 3)
Best Fighting Game
- Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft for Xbox 360)
- Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega for Xbox 360)
- WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 (Yuke’s/THQ for Nintendo Wii)
Best Role Playing Game
- Eternal Sonata (Namco Bandai Games for Xbox 360)
- Fable 2 (Lionhead/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Hellgate: London (Flagship Studios/EAP for PC)
- Mass Effect (BioWare/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
Best Racing Game
- Burnout Paradise (Criterion Games/EA for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Need for Speed ProStreet (EA Black Box/EA for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Project Gotham Racing 4 (Bizarre Creations/Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360)
- Stuntman: Ignition (Paradigm/THQ for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360)
Best Sports Game
- Madden NFL 08 (Tiburon/EA for All Systems)
- Skate (EA Black Box/EA for PS3, Xbox 360)
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (Tiburon/EA Sports for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground (Neversoft/Activision for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Best Strategy Game
- Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution (Firaxis/2K Games for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)
- Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts (Relic/THQ for PC)
- Halo Wars (Ensemble Studios/Microsoft Game Studios for PC, Xbox 360)
- Universe at War: Earth Assault (Petroglyph/Sega for PC, Xbox 360)
- World in Conflict (Massive Entertainment/Sierra for PC)
Best Social/Casual/Puzzle Game
- Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Neversoft/Red Octane/ATVI for PS2, PS3, 360, Wii)
- Little Big Planet (Media Molecule/SCEE for PS3)
- Rock Band (Harmonix/MTV Games/EAP for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Wii Fit (Nintendo for Wii)
- Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure (Capcom for Wii)
Best Online Multiplayer Game
- Burnout Paradise (Criterion Games/EA for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage/Nerve/id/ATVI for PC, PS3, 360)
- Halo 3 (Bungie/Microsoft Games Studio for Xbox 360)
- Little Big Planet (Media Molecule/SCEE for PlayStation 3)
- Unreal Tournament 3 (Epic Games/Midway for PC, PlayStation 3)
Though the former is a summary and the latter is sort of a prediction, they are all about the global game market in the past one year. In these two lists we can see some very interesting differences between the criteria for games in the US and Japan. Here I don’t wanna reach too deep to the layer of ideology, for that may be too heavey for this small article. However, as I point out some of these differences, you can still see some ideological aspects within.
1. Games which are deemed as successful in the east (west) are not guaranteed to do well in the west (east).
Though there are some globally successful games such as Wii Fit, Super Mario Galaxy and Guitar Hero, a lot more just earn partial success all over the world. Take Monster Hunter series for example. Since its debut in 2004, this series has gained popularity in Japan and a lot of Asian countries, and has already become one of Capcom’s most influencial masterpieces. However, in the west this series is not popular at all, let along being successful. The same goes for some west big hit such as Halo series, which is snubbed in the Japanese market.
2. The dominating game genres in each market are very different.
Since Nintendo’s new strategy was lauched, a lot more casual game began to prevail, while the traditional game genres still dominate the shares of the global game market. In the west, the dominating genres are first-person shooter, racing and sports games(examples: Halo, Need for Speed, Madden NFL). On the contrary, in Japanese market it’s the role-playing and action games that keep selling all the time (examples: Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter).
3. The Japanese market is more secluded than that of the US
As we can see above, there are some Japanese titles in the list of Game Critics Awards for E3 2007 Nominees, such as Wii Fit, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime, Virtual Fighter 5 and Naruto. Although only Virtual Fighter 5 is on the final list of winners, we must admit that a lot of Japanese games sell very well in the US market. On the contrary, although on the list of Japan Game Awards 2008 there is a made-in-US game Call of Duty 4, you can’t find many successful foreign games in Japanese game market, indeed. Just see how difficult the Xbox360 sales have been in the past few years, and you’ll understand how secluded the Japanese game market is. This is in fact a reflection of the ideological gap between the east and the west.
What do you think of these differences? Is there any guideline for making successful game which can stride over the cultural gap between the east and the west? What can we do to our educations with respect to these differences? …Now I want to stop here, and just leave the topics not discussed to you all.
How do the sales figures compare in the West vs. the East? Given the number of Wii’s sold in the US, and the constant, multi-year demand outstripping supply, methinks the US critics are not in touch with the average US consumer.
I think that part of it is because of the difference in preference as you mentioned. However, even though Japan is considered as an “open market”, many outside products are “kept out”. This is particularly true in the electronics area. You can find a very wide selection of electronics in Japan, but almost all of them will be Japanese. I would imagine that this probably transfers over to games as well.
For instance, Karaoke is huge in Japan, but no Karaoke games. More than likely held back by karaoke businesses.