Nintendo Titles and Exclusives Clean Up At The Japan Game Awards

Nintendo makes quality games, games that stick with people longer, so awards aren't that strange in my opinion. I just wish it translated to better sales numbers lol

But in Japan, from what I have seen, Nintendo is doing well.

Eh, at least Monster Hunter is finally getting some attention over here. lol

Meanwhile in the West... Call of Duty and EA clear up.

Delighted for Sakurai, thoroughly deserved. Super Paper Mario deserves all its success too.

Well done to CD Projekt for somehow breaking through the cultural divide.

Sakurai always wears the fanciest shirts.

Witcher 3. Oh god that game is a masterpiece

Games for NX?

When announced. Confirm.

Nice games- congrats to all

@HappyMaskedGuy Last warning, enough with the NX comments.

Yep. In my book, Nintendo definitely deserved those awards, especially (and personally) this generation since I found more games that I want on the Wii U and 3DS than other systems (Sony only has Ratchet & Clank for me while Microsoft has...nada) and many of the third party games don't appeal much to me compared to the days of the PS3, 360, and Wii (Where's a console Rayman Legends sequel? Where's Saints Row V that is not Gat out of Hell? Where's anything?).

@cfgk24 Stop with the spam.

It's very strange to me that Japan no longer has the prevalence it once had within this industry. Ignoring the mainstream COD-alike hype and grind of modern day gaming and being principally a Nintendo console owner has caused the change in culture to have just sort of crept up on me. Reading this really hits home that Japan really doesn't hold as much sway in the industry as it once did ....

@ottospooky I know. It's sad to me because most of my childhood in terms of gaming (GBA and PS2) were dominated by Japanese titles. When HD gamng hit, it seemed like Japan couldn't keep up. I was watching an interview a few months ago with one of the Art Directors of FFXV and he was saying that western devs who has gotten practice modeling their characters realistically and exactly had a leg up when HD gaming hit in comparison to the Japanese devs who used a rule of thumb that as long as a character looked fine it was good to go.

My personal thoughts are that Japan sorta gave up on trying to reach a global audience once HD gaming became a thing. They became content telling the same anime inspired stories, producing similar playing games in the same tired genres, and were fine with only appealing to Japanese tastes instead of trying to make something that has global appeal.

It frustrates me because the JP market is shrinking and while some devs find success there, those successes are not enough to keep them afloat (look at how Neverland and the devs behind Stella Glow went bankrupt). I really do want to see Japanese games be relevant on a global scale but I think for that to happen Japan needs to start thinking globally when making games and not just trying to please the Japanese

@eltomo darn gun toting cowboys !

@HappyMaskedGuy Congrats. My source tells me you pushed back the NX reveal by 1 entire day!

What happened to Brick Racer? No special category for "Best New 3DS game" ?

It's interesting to see western games slowly creep into Japan. More and more they're playing western games over there.

Still isn't enough to save poor old Xbox in the country, but before you know it, western top 10 lists will pretty much match those in Japan.

I dread the day.

Splatoon has been killing it in every award show in the past year which is very impressive.

Congratulations to Nintendo! Even though I didn't enjoy the newest Smash Bros as much as the Wii and Gamecube entries, I'm still glad to see the love for the game...does anyone know if Mario Kart 8 won awards the past year?

Can't wait for the next Zelda entry...that'll give Nintendo some more awards! Hopefully the next system does incredible for them, and they can get even more awards! Nintendo is the best game company around!

@Oat
Do Western developers try to appeal to Japanese gamers? Why does it only have to be in one direction? What about people who prefer Japanese gaming?

I used to think "I have a PS3, but everything I want to play is anime", but then I read an important comment on here. I sadly don't remember who wrote it and I think it might have been someone, who doesn't/didn't post all that much anyway. To paraphrase, the person said that Japanese developers are more budget concerned and that's why they use anime-like graphics.
There were lots of attempts to "westernize" games to a point were the games themselves don't really feel like what they used to be. Like those 3D Castlevania games. Fire Emblem shows how to try to appeal to a wider audience.

@JaxonH
Will it ever, though? I guess there will always be a place for some quirky experiences.

@Rin-go I'm not trying to say that Japanese games have to lose their unique flavor in order to appeal to the west (there are way too many bland hyper-realistic games over here). What I'm saying is that they can make things that are uniquely Japanese but have elements that appeal to people outside of japan. Look at TWEWY, i know vgchartz isn't always the most reliable sales tracking site but according to the numbers posted there, the sales of that game largely came from the west, despite the fact that it's a Japanese title. Speaking for myself, I loved the story, characters, music, and combat. Another series is ninja gaiden, which is very popular here. For a more recent example, look at Nioh, which has been getting very positive reactions here in the west, despite the fact that it's a game where you play as a samurai fighting yokai. I feel as though Japan focuses, especially in regards to gameplay elements that specifically appeal to japanese audiences ( a lot of slower paced games). Whether or not it's fair, it seems like in the west people like fast action oriented games.

And as for why western devs don't try to appeal to the JP market, it's because it's small, and literally everyone knows it. Nintendo has stated that 66% of its game sales come from overseas. The PS4 has largely been a success this generation due to overseas sales, NOT Japanese sales. I don't mean to come off as rude. I LOVE Japanese games, but I want them to sell better so Japanese devs can be prominent and relevant outside of the niche market that they cater to.

edit
looking back at my original comment I guess I'm mainly getting tired of how anime inspired the rpgs comming out of Japan are. That's a personal gripe I'll admit. I like anime style characters as long as the design is good. What I don't like is the formulaic anime stories where it's some random teen gifted with some magical power/gift/weapon and now has to save the world with his (usually annoying) childhood best friend, comedic relief talking animal/fairy/creature, and a motley crew of individuals he gathers along the way. Usually the big bad is some sort of god/godlike being or someone trying to become god. It can be done well, but I find that a lot of recent jrpgs tend to hit the same story beats in the exact same ways

@Joeynator3000 lol . sorry .