@ハリセンボン: Our dollar is at a 5-year high, and we're going into the same boat. =P

Paul_Is_Drunk

Isnt this because everyone hasa Wii/4 DS systems and an huge stack of games they have yet to beat.

I honestly thing that the Japanese market is oversaturated with games and that high profile games have a good amount of competition from anime based titles...

Or maybe its because western are gaining... or have gained alot of ground on JRPGs which havent made the full transition to ANY of the new systems. PS2 is still a heavy hitter for a reason.

SaanZ

I got a loan of my friends PS3 just to play MGS4. From my experience, I'm not surprised there're so many 2nd hand copies lying in that bin.

I'm not going to get into MGS4, because I'd need to write a book on it. My point is: I just can't see many big-budget games like MGS4 coming out in the future.

CHONGLISS

Poor Snake,
Nobody wants you anymore...
Poor guy, never gets a break in life.

sander_dutch

Ironically, our yen is at an all-time high, even though a lot of companies are losing a ton of money due to the financial situation in the USA.

ハリセンボン

It makes me sad to see all those MGS4 copies not being thoroughly enjoyed by people.

Silveth

Maybe everbody is waiting for Dissidia to drop next month. I thoroughly enjoyed playing it at TGS.

equin0x

Sad news. Though if you think about it Japan's videogame market declined is still loads better than most countries. I'm actually surprised they can keep each month's hardware and software sales momentum. I mean it's not like Japan is as big as the US or Europe.

excaliburps

Nope, it's now down 21.6%, your maths are screwy. But yes, it'd down alot. But it was so very very high in the first place.

CaptCHAOS

@CHONGLISS: Surely we deserve some explanation for such a sweeping statement?

Bum_Trumpet

@lancaster1: BTW are those the limited edition mgs4?

lancaster1

MGS to me has always read more like a story, a book if you will, rather than a game. Sure the gameplay is new(at the time) but now it seems... too much of the same yes?

Mercsenary

How much are those price tags? How about getting Ashcraft to ship a box of discounted mgs4 state side? The price of mgs4 here is still around $50 and I would love to hear some Japanese VO for some of my favorite characters. Play-asia is charging $80 for the Japanese import.

lancaster1

@Paul_Is_Drunk: And yet the dollar is still essentially worthless.

Polysics_2004

@notquitedeadyet: Nice.

Mercsenary

HOLY SHIT! GET ANIMAL CONTROL! THERE'RE SNAKES EVERYWHERE!

notquitedeadyet

Japanese should travel with their high yen and deposit it into our economies. Show off teh big Yen and j-j-jam it into our tummies.

gtr06

@ariete: God, $36 for the special edition of mgs4? Even if it was $40 it's still worth it.

lancaster1

@Soldier_CLE scratches himself, seems pleased.: I was happy seeing how careful they put into reasearch in regards to real issues that were presented in the game such as PMCs, PTSD, Arms trade and such. So was quite pleased alone with that regardless that I didnt pass the game.

My main point with MGS4 was to see how they presented the PMC issues initially and what kojimas stance on the new modern "war" was.

Really would love to meet the person / team behind the research that went into production, since once again they did a bang up job.

Witzbold

I recently sold my copy of MGS4.. however I sold it so I could get ahold of the Collectors Edition of the game.

Handbanana37

@Soldier_CLE scratches himself, seems pleased.: I agree with you 100%.

Also, Epic name is Epic.

Silveth

@ariete: damn. " \ " being yen

ariete

@lancaster1:

well on amazon japan the special edition is on the bargain bin. the retail price is \9800 but they're 63%off so they cost \3614.

im not sure whats the exchange rate now but it should be around $1 = \100

ariete

Consumerism has changed...

On a similar note, I am going to break from the mold and say that I enjoyed MGS4. While I see punditry and all about the game, I will say that I *both* enjoyed watching the game and playing it, as well.

On the watching, it had some of the best voicetalenting that I have heard in a while.

On the gameplay, it was MGS, and it were a great MGS at that. It were a fitting conclusion to the Solid Snake saga, if you gave it a chance.

It certainly were a better storyline than Halo, that's for sure.

Regardless, I expect to see people hate the game for different reasons; especially if they haven't played through the game.

Soldier_CLE scratches himself, seems pleased.

does this count pc game sales?

hmmmm
if not, I guess it's my turn to say this:
CONSOLE GAMING IS DYING!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!!

if pc games are included, then I guess i wouldn't say it.

No need to answer me with stuff like: "but its the japanese market" or "its not dying its just something that happened this year" or stuff like that. Just take my comment as something not serious.

Waka in Japan

@Polysics_2004: There are other dollars in the world. The Canadian dollar, for instance, has been doing very well lately.

ZeroBlade

@ZeroBlade: well too bad that no one keeps canadian dollars for their foreign reserves!

kitsuneconundrum

@Waka in Japan: If this is the state of console games, I can't imagine how badly the PC market is suffering...

NeVeRMoRe666

@Bum_Trumpet: I understand what CHONGLISS means, MGS4 is a great game but really your only gonna wanna play through it a few times unless your a die-hard fan. I myself have completed it twice and haven't gone back to it since.

Vixtro

@ZeroBlade: Our dollar has unfortunately drastically dropped over the past short while.

It's gone done even more now that the price of oil is dropping.

VilgeDuin

@VilgeDuin: I've never heard of a dollar being depreciated with the correlation to oil price's dropping.

stretch

Luke you created a time paradox!! seriously i swear that i read the exact same article a few months ago along with similar comments.

Hunter217

That's because Japan has too many casual gamers, thanks to wii.

Those girl gamers, grandma grandpa gamers are hurting the game industry, whose only buying wii fit and wii sports.

ye0073

< 30K in one month is horrible in any territory. It's good to see that the 360 is picking up momentum but at this rate, will it ever be successful in Japan (aka have a profitable quarter)?

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

@ye0073:

Do you even look at sales charts?

Wii games are selling fine (not just Wii Fit and Sport), it's mostly HD games that are selling like crap and that's not Nintendo's fault people just don't want the games you like and have spoken (loudly) with their dollars/yen.

yomachaser

@Soldier_CLE scratches himself, seems pleased.: Consumerism has changed is the most awesome comment I have ever read. <3
Also, /agree on the rest of your post.
@Silveth: Epic name is indeed Epic.

Janxer

You know what it can also mean, that every damn household in Japan already own a console and they don't need 2 or three in their home.

TildaCachaco

You can't just add software and hardware and divide by two. One is surely a far bigger market than the other (software?).

valleyshrew

Every post is a good opportunity to show that picture, right Kotaku?

Daisuash

Seeing MGS4 on bargain bins saddens me. I think next MGS shouldn't even be released in Japan. That would teach those punks a lesson or two.

On the other hand, I think Konami should make a special edition version for X360 just to get their investment back and more people can experience one of the best games ever. Japan needs to get the short end of the stick either way.

gencid

@ハリセンボン: That's not ironic at all. In fact it's apt, a strong yen combined with the economic situation in the States means bad things for Japan a huge exporter of goods to the US.

PLAAND88

Microsoft's hardware is UP! Take THAT, trend!!!

DARTH_TIGRIS

@CHONGLISS: I agree with this cat. MGS4 is not worth buying a PS3 for. The Japanese must be consumer savvy and well aware of that.

vagrantscholar

@Soldier_CLE scratches himself, seems pleased.:

It felt like a bad episode of ghost in the shell, which I don't really like. To be honest I spent most of my time zooming around rather than listening to cutscenes. Also Otacon crying scenes were some of the worst acting I've heard in yonks. No don't get me wrong I really enjoyed the game, I'd rather focus on positives than negatives and the game also has moments of pure awesomeness, but it seems understandable that people who don't watch animes aren't into this kind of super contrived and convoluted sci-fi plot.

Fabrice

Probably because every family Japan at this point owns a Wii, 4 DSs and either a PS3 or 360...

eponym

Console gaming isn't dying - it's just that the economy is shite.

Reuptake

@Witzbold: Agreed! The PMC side of the element (combat, not support) was a nice touch; as well as some of the bartered feel of Drebin's undertones. PTSD being used in a game is revolutionary in concept, and the different directions of emotion that do hit when you reach your crises point.

Perhaps that is the point of the game to begin with. Most of the people that I have met that gave the game any real acclaim are those "in the know." The interpretation of the story, from a certain callousness on one end, and the emotional breakdown on the other end. If you see it from a certain view, there is a proverbial push that ends in a stalemate on all parties, and that I believe were Kojima's point when you fight for the sake of fighting, and not for the sake of a true cause.

@Fabrice: I guess it depends on how you look at it (crying scenes) ... Ever see a person breakdown in a moments of prolonged crises? I looked at it as a series of events that accumulated through his timeline reaching it's epicenter.

I personally didn't see it as a GitS episode, since I were looking at it from Metal Gear 1 to present day (MGS4). Looking at it as episodes of MG, I noted that each were trying to have certain political/stately messages, even if the NES/MSX versions were rudimentary.

As far as contrived/convoluted: It depends on how you percieve it; since Natick/DARPA/MIT in real life do work on concepts that are similar, minus Metal Gear. I do think that Metal Gear is supposed to be symbolic though, in that if a superior arms device got in the wrong hands, that the brink of chaos would ensue, and that responsibilities are in order with determining what should be developed/concieved. The players of the stories each have different lessons with them.

If anything, I equate it to a modern Akira Kurosawa film, since he likes to put in alot of side stories in his movies, with a mix of Toei live action (Think Red River).

Soldier_CLE scratches himself, seems pleased.

I wanted to add that there are some points of this game that were indeed revolutionary and innovative that I hope makes it's way back to more games.

There were moments of the game that you saw split screen gaming, where you were interacting with Old Snake; trying to keep him alive, while also seeing the realtime events that are occuring with the other characters; which added to the epic feel of this episode.

Getting past the sci-fi feel (which I still enjoyed, for the record), the game seemed to involve more emotion than any of the other games that I have played before, which says alot, since Lunar 1 gave alot of emotion and remains a close second to me. The game will be far fetched; as would other bits of any game of this magnatude. But for a game that costs $49.99, it were worth it to me, since I import Asian Action films for half it's price.

To me, at the worst, I am playing an Asian action film redubbed.

At the better, I am playing a great game with added CG cinematics.

At the best, I arguably played the best MGS ever.

Either way, it were still worth every penny :) If I were in Japan, I would capitalize on buying a cheap copy somewhere if you don't already have it!

Soldier_CLE scratches himself, seems pleased.

@gencid: Owning both a X360 and a PS3 (with a Wii just collecting dust..), I honestly wonder if an MGS4 is feasible for different reasons.

One (the more important one) has to do with the Apple products placed in the game (iPod, MacBook), which would look funny on a Microsoft gaming system. It would make me wonder if there were a deal made by Konami and Apple to ensure that it remains included in MGS4(?)

That, and with some of the things that were presented in the game, I wonder if it could be done on an X360 without requiring a slew of discs. There is a convenience in having the game on one disc without switching back and forth.

Just saying... I blame SONY more for the lack of sales than I do Konami. But that's just me.

Soldier_CLE scratches himself, seems pleased.

Is that a 360 in a bargain bin? O.o

ChalkdustTorture

@notquitedeadyet: that was the funniest comment i've seen in a while

VardonAegyptus

@stretch: Well, since Canada is a net exporter of oil (80% of production I think), it makes sense that the canadian dollar drops (or rise) with oil prices.

SwarupaAdrastus

I am totally convinced famitsu just makes up sales numbers, 4-13 thousand units difference from what the simple2000 are, it just seems fishy.

ShrabanaTeucer

Snake?! SNAAAAAAAAKE!

Dira

@Silveth: Those look to be limited edition versions too :(

skaterguy18

@CHONGLISS:

Um, the games in the bin are hugely discounted NEW copies.

Gameboy415