Why Isn't Grand Theft Auto HUGE In Japan?

[wraggster]

Game developer Yoshiki Okamoto is best known for his years at Konami and Capcom, where he worked on titles like Gyruss and Forgotten Worlds as well as his involvement in Final Fight and Street Fighter II. He's an industry vet and has been around. When he looks at the current Japanese game landscape, Okamoto says there's at least one thing that does not compute:

Rockstar is not unsuccessful in Japan, but their success here is on a much smaller scale than elsewhere in the world market. The low Japanese sales of the sandbox-style GTA series simply do not make any sense to me.

But does it to you?

http://kotaku.com/5065716/why-isnt-grand-theft-auto-huge-in-japan

[Mc_Logical]

Well the same fact that I don`t like japanese games, they have they're own style, and the side of action/killing reality doesn`t relate to them, as they like all the fantasy crap, plus japanese games allways have a shit gameplay feel to them, more of taking your time to think, whch where im better at reactions, not saying I can`t think, it`s just there time consuming

[devdj]

i prefer the old japanese games like on snes the dragon ball ones were the best and easy to understand but now we have likes of all these cool new looking rpgs that will probably never see any english translation the jap games i can't wait to play are star ocean 1 and 2 which will arrive soon in english for the psp.

[jrsmaster411]

They'd rather play average rpgs than a great shooter, and bad hack and slash like monster hunter and dynasty warriors rather a great one like god of war or devil may cry

[cornervizion]

I think this could boil down to a comment made by someone in the magazine GAMEStm even though the remark was made in respect to the Xbox360 not being huge in Japan I think it could be applied here as well... "It's not that the Japanese are anti-american there more pro-japan" So naturally they're more loyal to home-grown than US or European Titles.

[KeenCommander]

Japan and the US/West are two completely different game markets. I don't consider one better than the other, but they both have very different preferences. GTA is very much oriented towards the Western style of gaming, I don't find it at all strange that it does at least relatively poorly in Japan...it just doesn't suit that market's interests for the most part.

[Coolie4]

i dont think the reason is because they rather play rpgs. japan has indeed produced some (good and well known) rpgs, along with some quirky wierd games. but they have also released alot of gory, scary games. so i dont think its the violence that they dont like.

i think its because gta is very very americanized. everything about it is. the music, the big explosions, the 1 man army. even europe can adapt to gta because they are familiar with some of the culture. but i think it would be hard for the japanese to adapt to gta. maybe if gta5 was set in tokyo, threw in some jpop on the radio, and made it more rpg-like, like san andreas was with weightlifting, then it would be more popular.

edit:not to mention alot of the humor is westernized. americans can get japanese humor, but i doubt japanese would appreciate katt williams stand up.

[WhizzBang]

The appeal of GTA is lost on me so I am with the Japanese on this. I found GTA 3 sort of fun for about 3 days and then got bored with it because I couldn't be bothered to plod through the missions.

[Accordion]

Maybe the majority of Japanese gamers dont like buying tech demos will no substance?

[Justise]

Maybe they found it too... American.
The game is full of american colture, and their colture is very deferent. They simply "didn't get it".

[jrsmaster411]

Wasn't Vampire Rain big in Japan? I think that explains a lot

[alanparker05]

Well i like playing games either with a clear goal to work towards, like rpg's and simulation racing games or games you can just have a quick 5 minute blast with no story to think about, and i think the japanese gaming tastes are quite similar to mine... But gta is about just moving around with nothing to really aim for, and i quickly got bored of it

[juiceface]

easy, there weren't enough tentacles in GTA

[Mc_Logical]

i dont think the reason is because they rather play rpgs. japan has indeed produced some (good and well known) rpgs, along with some quirky wierd games. but they have also released alot of gory, scary games. so i dont think its the violence that they dont like.

i think its because gta is very very americanized

Yeah! thats what I was getting at americanized, I never meant they don`t make anything with gore

[Veskgar]

The appeal of GTA is lost on me so I am with the Japanese on this. I found GTA 3 sort of fun for about 3 days and then got bored with it because I couldn't be bothered to plod through the missions.

I'm with you on that. I got bored quick with all of the GTA games. Except the newest one. I have GTA IV for the PS3 but haven't opened it yet to try it out and see what the hype is about. I'm sure I'll get enjoyment out of that one.

Its probably also worth noting that there is likely some vague correlation relating to the fact that Japan has one of the worlds lowest homicide and violent crime rates. The ridiculous hip hop or "urban" culture that is becoming more and more widespread in America is probably a big turn off to a lot of other countries and societies.

I like a lot about Japan and its culture and people. I also like more games that originated in Japan than America. However, I do feel Japan needs USA and should not count us out when it comes to the global gaming industry.

[luminouslight]

I took a visit to Japan, and I went to a used game shop. I ended up finding Grand Theft auto San Andreas mixed in with PC eroges. I was quite surprised.

[Coolie4]

easy, there weren't enough tentacles in GTA

lawlz.

theres probably only a select few who get that.

[b8a]

The real question to be asking is "why is Grand Theft Auto HUGE ANYWHERE?" It's a mediocre, uninspired game, riddled with poor design and aesthetics. The only reason why it's as big as it is in the west is becuase of all of the controversy they were able to attach the game to. And all of those controversial issues simple aren't big in Japan. Drugs? Japan doesn't care. Carjacking? Japan is a tiny nation where driving a car is a bigger headache than a convenience. Random violence on an unsuspecting populace? Granted, Japan has their share of sociopaths, but they are already on the very fringe of a society where conforming is the norm, and not nearly numerous enough to buoy GTA's sales. Hookers? Japan has plenty of well controlled red light districts. Awful polygon sex? Please, this is a country where, if you find the right stores, there are more adult games available then "safe", "normal" console games.

GTA just isn't a good game to begin with, and once you've stripped away everything that gives it even a glimmer of appeal in the west, there isn't nearly enough to interest the average Japanese gamer. The mechanics, the design, the thematic elements, the aesthetic... If ever there was a game that said "we couldn't care less about Japan", it's GTA.

[Nookadum]

I've thoroughly enjoyed all the GTAs, specifically San Andreas. There's just so many things to do, well, that and sometimes I just want to randomly run people over or drive around. That's what the GTAs were primarily made for.

Well... the GTAs on the consoles aren't that popular in Japan.

However, on the PC ports there are lots of Japanese modders who put their own content into some of the games, especially Vice City and San Andreas. :P Hopefully I'll be able to see more of their stuff in the upcoming GTA4 PC port.