There were 4 press conferences on the first day of E3, and well, all of them were kind of boring. At least I found them boring. Then again, my tastes usually gravitate towards Japanese developed games. And it was embarrassing just how small of a presence Japanese games had.

Where is Kingdom Hearts 3? Where is the next Metal Gear Solid? Where is Metal Gear Solid: Rising? Where is Shinji Mikami's game with Bethesda? Where is Itagaki's The Devil's Third? Where is Final Fantasy 13-2 or Final Fantasy Versus 13? Where is Dragon's Dogma? Where 's The Last Guardian? Where's Dark Souls? Where's Anarchy Reigns? What about Suda's Kinect game or Project Draco?

Of all the games shown on Monday, truth is, Shinobido 2 and Dragon's Crown are the two games that peeked my interest the most. You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you? Probably because they each got about 8 seconds of screen time. One is a "Way of the Ninja" game from the developer that made Way of the Samurai, and the other is the sequel to Vanillaware's elusive Princess Crown, the spiritual predecessor to Odin's Sphere. Cool games, but Sony decided to give 10 minutes of yet another shitty Mod Nation Racers game. YAWN.

And yes, I know this isn't the Tokyo Game Show -- but Japanese games used to have a much larger presence at these press conferences. And while you could argue that people care less about Japanese games these days, well... maybe this is part of the problem.

And I know there was an earthquake and all, but this is still food for thought.

Comments

  • Avatar
    RedAma131
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Shinobido 2 and Dragon's Crown (I didn't know the names) caught my eye as well even thought I saw it as one being a cool ninja game and another i recoginzed as the developers of Odin Shpere and 10 seconds were shown. Since when was there a Shinji Mikami game with Bethesda? What's the Devil's third?? What's Project Draco??? Curse you E3...now I have to do some research.

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    kd_battletoad
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Its the shame Japanese titles arent seen enough these days like they were before... :(

  • Avatar
    WingZero
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Hmm...I'm willing to guess that earthquake did more damage to the Japanese gaming industry than we think.
    Maybe this will mean that we will see a bigger and more awesome TGS this year. Here's hoping...

    Lack of excitement for this year's E3 and a practical no-show for Japanese games. Coincidence or is it just me?

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    Comradebearjew
    13 years, 5 months ago

    I was really hoping for a new Kingdom Hearts, but I guess my dream will have to wait.

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    Dimensaur
    13 years, 5 months ago

    There seems to be a mind set of "We already have TGS, let the west have E3" with Japanese developers. I don't know if that is truly how they feel but I think its a likely thought pattern for them. Call it avoiding looking greedy or drawing unnecessary attention to themselves, but to me it just says "we already have ours, lets let them have theirs."

    its a sad way of thinking if this is really what is going on. I'm with you on Shinobido Brad, that looked pretty cool. Dragon's Crown went right past me though I hate to say, will look into it more though. I understand that Japanese titles have been struggling for sales in the west and as you say lack of airtime at these briefings might be a big reason why. When Final Fantasy isn't part of the main show, something is seriously wrong.

  • Avatar
    Schimdidy
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Oh God Brad! Don't remind me of all the good games that I won't see that I've been looking forward to for God knows how long!

  • Avatar
    Sei
    13 years, 5 months ago

    "And while you could argue that people care less about Japanese games these days, well… maybe this is part of the problem."

    Seriously..Maybe if such events like E3 showcased such games, they would do better here. This is the main problem in why most of the Tales games never come here.

  • Avatar
    chad
    13 years, 5 months ago

    No Asura's Wrath either?
    Well at least there's Ninja Gaiden III.

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    Waari
    13 years, 5 months ago

    The reason is simple. E3 is filled with Americans who cheer for shit like Modern Warfare 3. The people there dominantly couldn't give a flying fuck about Japanese games. Sad but true.

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    Necrodancer
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Dragon's Crown might be the closest I ever get to a Shadows Over Mystara remake/port/sequel, I'm stoked.

    There wasn't a particularly strong Japanese presence at E3 last year either, if I recall correctly. It really sucks since most of the really unique or innovative titles seem to come out of Japan or Europe, but they are never particularly prevalent at E3. I suppose ultimately it is an American conference...

  • Avatar
    Zladko
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Fuck Japan, Madden is the real shit.

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    Kamui
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Dragon's Crown looks sexy awesome and the music fits so well with the game. Makes me think about Golden Axe or the Dungeon and Dragons game on the aracade since it seems to be multiplayer. Hell I think Vanillaware could handle Golden Axe well if they developed a Golden Axe game(Random thought).

    FF13-2 looks the same as FF13, Fuck paradigm shifts and leader deaths equating to game overs .....you know thats my initial judgement. I will try to be positive I guess.

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    SonicKitsune
    13 years, 5 months ago

    A lot of the games I enjoy more seem to have roots in Japan, so I would like to see more of those developers at these events so I know what to look for as it comes out. Dragon's Crown does look pretty cool, I like its art style and there's nothing wrong with a little hack-and-slash kind of RPG anywhere.

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    specdotsign
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Thought the same thing watching those keynotes.

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    Anon
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Princess Crown, the spiritual predecessor to Odin’s Sphere.

    :3
    I'm hyped for this already.

  • Avatar
    Anon
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Wait... Princess Crown is a game on Sega Saturn. Is there another game he meant?

  • Avatar
    RedUnit10
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Really Brad, the recent set of tragic events really did do a number on Japan; give them a break.

  • Avatar
    E3 2011: Brad’s Dissapointments | 4Player Po
    13 years, 5 months ago

    [...] Where is Japan? I posted about this here. [...]

  • Avatar
    jon2435
    13 years, 5 months ago

    I love Japanese developed games. I like older titles and the newest ones. The Japanese game I want to play this holiday season is Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny. I didn't know about most of the games you talked about. That's not a issue of my interests, as I looked at about 10 hours of live footage, many vids, and articles. That's just poor coverage.