Top games of 2011

[TheLongshot]

just because it's available here doesn't mean people buy it. Anyways that was just one example of a laundrylist of godawful Japanese games that nobody else cares about.

Actually, I bought it. So have a lot of people. It is a cute game and it didn't cost me that much.

The Japanese gaming industry is tanking hard. If Ni No Kuni (the collab between Studio Ghibli and Level 5 - two mammoth companies in Japan) couldn't even break 100,000 copies sold in the first week in Japan, that's a horrible sign of things to come for that scene.

I had to figure out what you were talking about, when I realized you are talking about the PS3 port. The original Ni No Kuni release on the DS did quite well, selling 170k in the first week of release. Maybe they didn't feel like they needed to buy the game again. In any case, it is coming to the US and I'm going to buy it.

Even Nintendo, arguably the wealthiest video-game exclusive company in the world lost ONE BILLION dollars this year. That's enough to sink most companies, and while Nintendo has billions in the bank, and could take this hit and run -- they cannot consecutively get burned as bad as they did this year.

Admittedly, Nintendo's wounds are self inflicted. They don't release a significant game for the Wii for a year, they depend on 3rd party games to sell the 3DS, when the 3rd party tends to let Nintendo down. The 3DS probably did cost too much at launch, but they have adjusted fast. I think the 3DS will be fine ultimately as Nintendo puts out their titles. The real wild card is the WiiU, which most of us know almost nothing about what it will be, other than the controller.

That being said, I'm looking forward to the US release of Xenoblade, which many are calling the best JRPG of this generation.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

I had to figure out what you were talking about, when I realized you are talking about the PS3 port. The original Ni No Kuni release on the DS did quite well, selling 170k in the first week of release. Maybe they didn't feel like they needed to buy the game again. In any case, it is coming to the US and I'm going to buy it.

First of all, 170k in one week for a DS game made by Ghibli and Level 5 is awful. Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS, which isn't in anywhere near as many households as the regular DS did quadruple that in one week.

Secondly, the PS3 Ni No Kuni is not a port. It's a complete reboot from the ground up using a PS3-based engine (and I too will be buying it unless the reviews are as bad as White Knight Chronicles'). Under 100,000 units sold is a disaster. This is coming from the animation studio whose movies have broken ticket sales records for highest grossing film in the history of Japanese cinema for many years, and a development company who is so huge that they can afford to ignore TGS for their own massive convention JUST for their games.

Admittedly, Nintendo's wounds are self inflicted. They don't release a significant game for the Wii for a year, they depend on 3rd party games to sell the 3DS, when the 3rd party tends to let Nintendo down. The 3DS probably did cost too much at launch, but they have adjusted fast. I think the 3DS will be fine ultimately as Nintendo puts out their titles. The real wild card is the WiiU, which most of us know almost nothing about what it will be, other than the controller.

That being said, I'm looking forward to the US release of Xenoblade, which many are calling the best JRPG of this generation.

The point is that all of these companies' wounds are self inflicted, because they are not putting out games that appeal to the Western market. Part of Nintendo's loss has to do with the fact that our economy is terrible now, and for the first time the yen is actually becoming stronger than the dollar. Originally, they would make a killing spending yen in manufacturing costs and receiving profits in dollars, but with the dollar so low, they are actually spending more on manufacturing costs and LOSING money in sales now.

That's part of the problem though, the solution to those losses is to subsidize them with software sales... but with no software, there's a huge problem. Square buying Eidos and then releasing Deus Ex this past summer was a brilliant idea that more and more companies in Japan are going to have to start thinking about. Weeaboos and Otakus (not saying you are either of these things) are most certainly not going to finance these companies. I say this as a huge fan of Japanese games, but one who is also very cautious about the future.

 

[TheLongshot]

First of all, 170k in one week for a DS game made by Ghibli and Level 5 is awful. Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS, which isn't in anywhere near as many households as the regular DS did quadruple that in one week.

First off, anything Mario is going to do gangbusters. Second, I think you overrate the size of Level 5. Let's take their A-list title, Professor Layton. The Curious Village sold about 700k in Japan in 2007. In about 3 months, Ni No Kuni sold about 500k. Numbers aren't really that much different.

Secondly, the PS3 Ni No Kuni is not a port. It's a complete reboot from the ground up using a PS3-based engine (and I too will be buying it unless the reviews are as bad as White Knight Chronicles'). Under 100,000 units sold is a disaster. This is coming from the animation studio whose movies have broken ticket sales records for highest grossing film in the history of Japanese cinema for many years, and a development company who is so huge that they can afford to ignore TGS for their own massive convention JUST for their games.

No doubt it is a disappointment (since stock levels told they expected to sell more), but I don't know if it is a disaster, particularly with the US release coming up. Sales were solid (they were the #3 game that week), but it wasn't quite up to expectations, for whatever reason.

The point is that all of these companies' wounds are self inflicted, because they are not putting out games that appeal to the Western market. Part of Nintendo's loss has to do with the fact that our economy is terrible now, and for the first time the yen is actually becoming stronger than the dollar. Originally, they would make a killing spending yen in manufacturing costs and receiving profits in dollars, but with the dollar so low, they are actually spending more on manufacturing costs and LOSING money in sales now.

That's part of the problem though, the solution to those losses is to subsidize them with software sales... but with no software, there's a huge problem. Square buying Eidos and then releasing Deus Ex this past summer was a brilliant idea that more and more companies in Japan are going to have to start thinking about. Weeaboos and Otakus (not saying you are either of these things) are most certainly not going to finance these companies. I say this as a huge fan of Japanese games, but one who is also very cautious about the future.

While I agree with you that we probably will see more east-west partnerships, I don't think the answer for Japanese companies is to make American-style games. The real answer is to start getting some fresh blood and maybe some fresh IP. But, we buy Japanese games because they have their own identity.

 

[AngraRULES]

just because it's available here doesn't mean people buy it. Anyways that was just one example of a laundrylist of godawful Japanese games that nobody else cares about.

First part of the statement... wrong.

Second part of the statement... wrong.

To be fair, those are less boring than yet another FPS that drives people fucking crazy around here... (not that they're bad, but it's always the same crap)

 

[nailz]

First part of the statement... wrong.

Second part of the statement... wrong.

To be fair, those are less boring than yet another FPS that drives people fucking crazy around here... (not that they're bad, but it's always the same crap)

Right, which is why Modern Warfare is the best selling game in the world. Because his second statement is wrong.

"Around here"? Do you mean this forum? Because trying to compare anything on a global scale is like trying to take a pool of who likes what music in the world only from here.

 

[dcowboys311]

Just so you all know, Skyward Sword lives up to the hype. Dunno if it's better than OoT but I'm also well aware that I have major nostalgia bias towards that game.

Top game of 2012 is gonna be Tony Hawk HD.

 

[booB]

I don't get enough time to play all the games I want to play, so my opinion probably isn't worth much here. However, I will say that Skyward Sword is currently my front-runner for Game of the Year. I don't know how it compares to Ocarina (as I didn't play it when it came out and I still haven't had a chance to finish it yet), but Twilight Princess is my favorite Zelda game, and Skyward Sword matches up favorably with it. Twilight Princess has the better story of the two, but I think Skyward Sword has more challenging gameplay and more difficult and satisfying boss battles.

I still haven't spent much time on The Witcher 2 (my early front-runner) due to its hellish learning curve, and I haven't had a chance to touch Skyrim or Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

 

[dcowboys311]

I don't get enough time to play all the games I want to play, so my opinion probably isn't worth much here. However, I will say that Skyward Sword is currently my front-runner for Game of the Year. I don't know how it compares to Ocarina (as I didn't play it when it came out and I still haven't had a chance to finish it yet), but Twilight Princess is my favorite Zelda game, and Skyward Sword matches up favorably with it. Twilight Princess has the better story of the two, but I think Skyward Sword has more challenging gameplay and more difficult and satisfying boss battles.

I still haven't spent much time on The Witcher 2 (my early front-runner) due to its hellish learning curve, and I haven't had a chance to touch Skyrim or Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

If time is your issue, stay far away from Skyrim.

It's the reason I've gotten back into video games after about a 8 year break.

 

[TheLongshot]

If time is your issue, stay far away from Skyrim.

Heh. There is a reason why I haven't played an Elder Scrolls game since Morrowind.

Course, I likely will end up with a copy of Skyrim because a friend of mine works for ZeniMax. In fact, I probably would have had a copy by now if I owned a 360.

 

[ApolloFC]

late entry: Battlefield 3. Before its release: Battlefield 2. Didn't care for the single player campaign stopping maybe 5-10 minutes into it. Bout the same amount of time I spent on the single player campaign for the 2nd one too. So im looking for a decent single player game for PC.