Japanese Gamers Getting More Interested In Western Games

Based on the most popular pre-ordered games for the PlayStation Vita, the president of Sony Worldwide Studios is claiming that Japanese gamers’ tastes are starting to change.

While Western gamers often have to fight for certain publishers to release games outside of Japan, the opposite isn’t always true; games created outside of Japan often have a tough time doing well in the country. According to Shuhei Yoshida, president of SCE Worldwide Studios, this is starting to change.

Yoshida’s viewpoint extends from his observation that Everybody’s Golf (known as Hot Shots Golf here in the West) and Uncharted: Golden Abyss were the most pre-ordered games corresponding with the Japanese launch of the PlayStation Vita. For Yoshida, speaking to the European PlayStation Blog, the fact that a US-developed game like Uncharted is so popular with Japanese gamers has larger indications:

“Japanese people traditionally have a strong local preference, particularly with the Manga style look of characters that they love. But as technology and presentation advances in games like Uncharted and Call of Duty, they are rightly seeing their quality.”

Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not Yoshida’s predictions turn out to be true. It’ll certainly be interesting to see just which Vita games prove to be the most popular in Japan over the next few months.

Source: PlayStation Blog via GamesIndustry.biz