Traditionally, the best-loved game consoles have almost always come from Japan. From the early days of Nintendo vs Sega to Sony entering the market in the ‘90s, Japan has coughed up the consoles the rest of the world wants to play games on. But the past eight or so years have seen the rise of the Xbox 360 and the decline in popularity of consoles made in Japan. Nintendo still dominates the handheld space but Wii U has so far failed to set the world alight. Is Japan’s hardware going the same way as its games?
Sony’s unveiling of the PS4 at Wednesday’s PlayStation Meeting 2013 would suggest it is, for now at least. Although Sony Computer Entertainment has become one of Japan’s most iconic game companies, its next console has an American passport. Apparently designed in the US, with American lead architect Mark Cerny taking the stage at a New York press conference at an awkward time for the Japanese (8am Thursday), PS4 is rich in exciting new features – and clearly many of these were born in the States.
Ken Kutaragi’s mad policy of creating exasperating bespoke processors is out the window, with a more dev-friendly “supercharged PC” chipset in its place. While Japanese media companies avoid streaming their content at all costs, for fear of damaging their highly controlled retail income, California-based Gaikai will power PS4’s exciting content delivery. And of the games shown at this week’s event, only two and a half were from Japan (Capcom’s Deep Down, Square’s vaguely promised Final Fantasy title and Cerny’s Knack, developed in collaboration with Sony’s Japan Studio).
Comcept’s Keiji Inafune.
Not that Japanese developers think unveiling PS4 in New York as opposed to Tokyo was necessarily a bad thing. Nintendo first announced the price of Wii U in the US, and released the console there several weeks before Japan.
“I think Sony were absolutely right to do it in the States,” Comcept’s Keiji Inafune tells me a few hours after PlayStation Meeting. Inafune famously declared the Japanese game industry “finished” in 2009, and among his many projects he is developing Ninja Gaiden Z: Yaiba in collaboration with California-based Spark Unlimited.
“There’s no rule to say that a Japanese console-maker has to announce its new hardware in Japan,” he says. “The most important thing was for Sony to get the maximum amount of global attention for its new hardware, and the place with the biggest market for console games now is America.”
Yosuke Hayashi, head of Team Ninja at Tecmo Koei (which is also collaborating on Yaiba), has a slightly different view on the New York presser. “As a Japanese person, it does feel sad to some extent,” he admits. “But we will continue developing to our best so that PS5 can be announced in Japan.”
Indeed, Japan does seem to be making a special effort to get ahead in the next generation, at least on the tech side. In Japan, software engines are often made concurrently with a game and are rarely as flexible or adaptable (or sellable) as Western tools such as Unreal Engine or CryEngine. Although Square Enix had nothing new to reveal of its Luminous Studio engine during its presentation at PlayStation Meeting, showing the same demo video we’d already seen at last year’s E3, it does reconfirm the RPG giant’s intentions to devise tools that make jaw-dropping visuals cheaper to achieve. Capcom’s Panta Rhei engine looked pretty spectacular too, while we’re already expecting big things from Kojima Productions’ Fox Engine.
The post Something About Japan: Keiji Inafune, Yosuke Hayashi and Toshihiro Nagoshi talk PS4 appeared first on Edge Online.
Good morning! Look who is so happy to see you this fine Saturday!
This jolly fellow is Robo-Robotnik, and he comes to you straight from the pages of Sonic Archives #20, the latest installment in Archie Comics' throwback series. This new collection spans issues #78-78, which first appeared in July-October 1999, and is due on February 27 for $7.99.
More proof that Archie Sonic can be every bit as bizarre as your typical Marvel or DC tale, Archives #20 covers alternate universes, threats from outer space, and even more convoluted plot twists with the aim of syncing the comic storyline with the official game canon. Namely, we've got Robo-Robotnik, a roboticized alternate dimension version of the evil doctor who eventually transfers his consciousness into an organic body that resembles his Sonic Adventure art style, upon which he takes up the name "Dr. Eggman."
Got that, everyone? Good, because I certainly don't.
When you put Platinum Games and Hideo Kojima on the same project, wackiness is bound to happen. One of the most peculiar things in Metal Gear Rising comes from slashing civilians' clothes off. Funny enough on its own, but even funnier when Raiden's comrades offer their dissenting opinions of his fetish.
Though, I enjoyed the video more before Conrad (who reviewed the title) put things into context for me. Glad to see a little God Hand is still in Platinum Games' blood.
One of the things you can always expect from a Dead Space game is that Isaac Clarke will get torn to bits in so many wonderful ways. You can also expect someone on YouTube to take the time to great a big old montage full of gore and dismemberment.
And yup, the Necromorph that decapitates you and then sticks its own head into your body thus taking control of it is still the most disturbing thing ever.
