Japan Is More Excited About Nintendo Labo Than God Of War

I cant wait to pick up my labo kits

Just put him in a schoolgirl outfit... And give his beard pigtails.

I don't blame them. While a lot of people see it as overpriced Cardboard. I know some fans are going to make some amazing projects with the Joy-con garage. I can't wait to see just what people make with the switch.

@patbacknitro18
Agreed. I see the cardboard as a simple accessory to an incredibly good concept that opens video games to a whole new world.
People who see labo as cardboard probably saw guitar hero as a simple piece of plastic, and yet it was a great concept.

That doesn't surprise me. God of War, as good as it maybe, is like a lot of Sony's titles - aimed purely at the Western market while Labo is certainly something though I hate, is gonna do very well in Japan - will see how it does in the West.

@FragRed I think it is more than that. It's tailored for not just Western Audiences but adults as well. Reducing the target audience (well, those who respect the age ratings). Whereas Labo is catered for pretty much anyone who likes to be creative and kids. Japan especially.

I've actually never understood the appeal of God of War. As a character action game it stood out as weak to me when compared to Devil May Cry, Bayonetta and even recent games like NieR: Automata.

I might pick it up, but unfortunately I barely touch the PS4 anymore so I might as well dip into some fresh smelling cArdbOArD HeLl YeAH mastApeece BaBy!!

Why would Japan rate a remake on an older style console over a concept playkit on the Switch? Culturally there's not really any reason.
The programming features on Labo look awesome (check out the robot tank or rubber-band guitar videos) and Japanese kids love DIY. Actually western kids do too, but in the west gaming marketting has been targeted at manchilds not real kids.

I wouldn't read too much in to Amazon.jp data as it's not their biggest game seller.

I don't doubt Labo will do better over there but it's a peculiar comparison.

Meanwhile, in the UK Amazon chart, the Wii version of Just Dance 2018 is currently higher than Toy-Con Kit 1.

Japan gotta be Japan xD

I'm more surprised at how consistently well Kirby Star Allies is doing. It seems to be a very popular kirby game despite it being far from the best out of the most recent entries imo.

It's nice that both games seem to have an audience.

@Oat I consider it to be one of the best Kirby Games. It's definitely easier than most. But its just a true love letter to the Kirby series. And I think Kirby fans can really appreciate it celebrating all things Kirby, which hasn't been done since the 20th-anniversary game.

I'll be playing God of War this weekend as well as Super Mario Odyssey as I continue my quest for all of the power moons.

Scowling white men don't really go down too well over there.

Japan has never been that fussed about the cinematic action/adventure genre.

Is this really newsworthy? There are no hard numbers and it's not like anyone really expected that the new GoW would do amazing in Japan.

See ?
There are some people who really care about Creativity & Fun way to play video games like LABO rather than that $&#@ rated 18 games.
Some peoples are really HATE strong violences and blood games.
I'm in Nintendo LABO side 100%.

@Anti-Matter Seemingly cussing down at "mature" games is rather ironic, don't you think?

I'll be picking up God of War, but when it's been reduced a bit. Too much to play at the moment anyway. I've always enjoyed the series. Well-made, entertaining, and the stories are good fun. By all accounts this entry is to the series what Breath of the Wild was to Zelda in terms of the way it's been reinvented.

You don’t hear about Japanese people interested in Norse Mythology very often. I think the current pre-orders make sense for Japan, but I’ll be playing GoW instead of Labo

Of course, for honesty's sake one must remember that several God of War-fans will download the game digitally, which will not be the case with Labo.

Personally, I definitely prefer Labo (not least of all because I too think that Kratos is only bearable as long as he's a caricature; he's too vile and arrogant for a responsible or mature character and frankly beyond redemption).

@JohnnyC
Expect that "Breath of the Wild" did go back to the roots in some way and "God of War" got adapted to nowaday's mass market.

@Eef @Varkster
Eh...
I just replied from what i realized from Japanese peoples over there.
That's TRUE if there were some Japanese peoples who really care about LABO more than rated 18 games like above.
Beside, to bring LABO presentation in public is more Acceptable & Educating than bring those gory & blood to public.
To tell you, even other peoples over there will so pissed off by the Inappropriate contents, not just only me.

Card of Board

@Anti-Matter wow. Take a deep breath. Everything’s gonna be alright.
You don’t need to pick sides

Who cares? God of War was never that much of a good series anyway. Bring on Labo! ^^ something new and fun!

@MH4
I'm sure Cardboard and LABO will going Viral on Youtube.
Japanese gamers will popularize a priceless Cardboard into Money Maker. $_$

@gcunit One of those games is released, the other is pre-order. Apples and pips.

Here's my real comment:

Although God of War looks excellent and like a masterpiece, it doesn't really look like something I would play. On the other hand, I've already preordered the Variety Kit. But that's just me and my tastes. We'll see how the West truly reacts on 4/20 when everyone gets lit on cardboard and Kratos.

Where are the people who were quick to say this was gonna be a huge flop??

@Anti-Matter I know! Don't think I was bashing Labo, I love it, in fact. I just saw the pun and had to make it. 😂

"Nintendo Labo launches in the West on 27th April."

Actually Labo launches "in the West", and in the East, on April 20th, only in the middle on April 27th.

"Labo Kits. Two Labo Kits, Variety Kit and Robot Kit, were announced for launch in North America, Australia, and Japan on April 20, 2018, and in Europe on April 27, 2018."

Have GoW pre-ordered, planning on trading in GoW for Labo when I'm done. I think GoW has more spoilers than Labo, and I can build and play with Labo outside, if and when the weather ever gets nice enough, maybe by June when school is out.

I will be playing both in 2 days, very excited for each one!

Maybe in Japan, but Kratos is going to slay everywhere else.

From resetera (sales insider):
‘I can say this much, GOW has destroyed whatever Gamestop was projecting. Reserves are 200%+ to its reserve goal.

Labo on the other hand is really trending below exceptions and there just isn't enough awareness of it. COULD seem some traction if it gets popular on youtube and twitch but right now I don't see it doing well to start off with.’

Anyways they’re targeting completely different audiences & seems like it’s going to do good business for both Sony & Nintendo.

Everybody wins .

It’s mental how important preorders are though. No wonder game companies try to lock away content as ‘preorder bonuses’.

Nice for Labo. It’s a great concept and it’s going to be awesome for creative people (kids or not). But I have no interest in it in the least.
On the other side, I’m on the fence of buying a PS4 (!) just for God of War. I don’t know yet if I’ll take the plunge, but I’m very close to...

Because Japan has more sense and Labo is way more interesting

God of war looks a cute little time filler - 25 hours to complete- it’s no Zelda is it

I think there's probably room for both Labo and GoW. They literally couldn't be more different.

@MrBlacky Probably true. But I don't think any company is actively trying to produce a game that won't be accepted by their target audience, Nintendo included (though they sometimes do their best to prove otherwise, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival). The point is that they've both changed significantly following several entries which had similar underlying mechanics, and both for the better too, it seems. A good time to be a gamer!

@Zuljaras Funny you should say that. I also love Greek mythology, and for me, that's actually the very reason that I don't play or like God of War games. In fact, I totally hate them.

If you really like Greek mythology, then that doesn't really compute for me, because the God of War games are over-exaggerated tripe, with a lot of "never in a million years" scenarios, that are a complete affront to the Greeks and their long tradition of actual myths and legends.

No matter what weapon or contraption, it is ridiculous to think that some puny, angry human would be able to slay gods. They would crush him before he ever even had a chance to get his hands on any of these weapons. Him even forming a thought about it, would already be enough to alert one of the gods.

And as evident in all the actual Greek mythology stories, it's clear that the Greek gods hardly ever perished, and certainly not at the hands of humans; they would have always had some kind of counter-/safety measure in place. (come to think of it, that might be why the current Nordic setting is a better choice, since these gods did perish, so that makes that game a little more palatable for me)

And it goes even further: seeing as the Greek gods represent certain aspects of life and/or earthly domains/elements, they are virtually immortal, so they can actually never die. They can potentially only become irrelevant, but in order for that to be achieved, you'd have to remove that belief/worship or their home domain, so for example in Poseidon's case, that would mean having to either stop believing in him and everything he stands for, or destroying/removing the oceans, the latter of which is obviously impossible, so yeah...

In my honest opinion, over the top is fine for a beat em up or for third person adventure games, but truly over-exaggerated fits best in a comical scenario, not in something that is supposed to be serious and/or involving the player in a somewhat emotional story...

And agreed, he certainly is a highly unlikable person, so he's got that going against him as well...

Sorry for the rant, nothing personal. The "liking Greek mythology" just kinda triggered me...

@Anti-Matter what’s inappropriate about it? It’s rated 18 for people of that age and over so it’s appropriate content.

@anti-matter I'm starting to think there are no moderators or admins on this site to take care of your [removed]. You are the [removed] that wants no one to play anything other than Nintendo. If you were President and you announced your cr*p to the world, about 1/3 of the country will move somewhere else.

You act like this should be a surprise. Labo is an incredibly creative software/hardware hybrid.

@Sgt-Jack-V
Gosh...
Now who was talking Very Inappropriate here ?

@Mr_Pepperami
Rated 18 = Very Inappropriate for Public.
PERIOD !
Think about other peoples out there who still consider Appropriate things.

@Anti-Matter no it’s not. It’s appropriate for that age range. Are they inviting kids to play God of War in public places? No they aren’t. The age rating is there so people under that age don’t play it. If you are an adult of that age or above you have a choice to play that game or not to. Thankfully you do NOT have the choice to pick what other people play so please stop with your restrictive antics.

In japan they have definitely better taste in games.
I don't understand why people like all those violent games, the world is not getting any better with all the violence printed in people's minds!

@Sgt-Jack-V Everyone is entitled to have an opinion, even though people think it's wrong. There is no need for @Anti-Matter to state his opinion on every article which has something to do with age rating, but then again, it's a forum. Best thing to do is to ignore it.

However, there is no need to insult someone. Ironically, your comment will probably be removed by the mods while Anti-Matter's won't.

@Anti-Matter I think he means rated 18 games are suitable and appropriate for people of that age and over.

Edit. I worded it same as his. Sorry

In other news: Grass is Green, The Sky is Blue, and people would rather feed a blatant dogmatic troll rather than just reporting them, hitting the "ignore" button, and moving on with their lives.

Labo seems like an interesting concept, however, I think my puppy would see it as delectable doggy treats.

I'm baffled people are even discussing whether it is appropriate or not to play God of War for PS4 in public. Where exactly are you gonna do that anyway, on the bus? Where you gonna hook up that screen mates? I mean I was mad enough to play PS4 on the train using a battery-powered screen back in the days before Switch, but... I just don't know why such a discussion is even relevant. I mean I'd already be considered part of the 0.0000000001% mad enough to do something like that, while the rest would bunker up in their home anyway.

As a sidenote: Thank goodness the Switch came. It was one hell of a bother to setup that stuff on the train, even though it worked fairly well

@saego I didn't report him just because of that one comment, I reported him because I wanted him off this site. There's no report user button.

EDIT: THERE'S AN IGNORE BUTTON?! GOD DAMNIT WHY DIDN'T I KNOW ABOUT THIS SOONER?!

@Zuljaras Yeah... I can agree with that. I do like my screen-filling end of level bosses...

Now Japan can stop polishing their aluminium balls.

@Mr_Pepperami
Even i am an adult 33 years old, i still Consider rated 18 = Inappropriate things No Matter what.
I have Rights to Refuse and Reject their existences because for me, they are Unacceptable things that i have ZERO Tolerance about.
Btw, Could you leave me in peacefully because i wanna focus on Nintendo LABO with a lot of interesting ideas from my brain ?
I wanna play LABO with a lot of Fun and Appropriate things.
Being a Cool gamer doesn't have to adore rated 18 things, right ?

@Sgt-Jack-V
See ya !
I press Ignore button right now.

@Anti-Matter If you just want to talk about Labo then why bring adult games into it? You are the one who started it so you don’t get to play the victim who’s being set upon. Why don’t you leave people who want to play adult games alone and we will call it quits then? As said you have a choice to play them or not to but not to choose for others

@Mr_Pepperami
This forum talked about TWO games here : LABO and that rated 18 game.
I tried to carefully talking about LABO, while at the same time i realized a lot of Japanese peoples over there Adore LABO more than that rated 18 game.
When other Users replied me, i explained with honest feeling. No attacking purpose.
Btw, i wasn't the one who talked like that. Look above a little bit. There was an User also complained about rated 18 games.

@Ngamer
Oooh...
I love your ideas.

@Anti-Matter you swore when discussing the 18 rated game to once again demonise the genre. There was no need but you can’t help yourself. The language used showed that you were attacking it

@Sgt-Jack-V Still a bad reason to report and insult someone.

@Saego I have ignored him and he has ignored me. It's over now.

@Anti-Matter also the other user who doesn’t like 18 rated games also comments on you hating on it and requests that you let everyone play what they want to play.

@Sgt-Jack-V think I need to do the same. He’s doing my head in

I'll most likely buy neither, but if I were to buy one of these it would be God of War. As cool and unique as Labo is, it also seems to be another short-lived gimic. The idea is fresh but I don't think the game will be deep enough to give it a long life. My prediction is that owners will complain in two months that the game is fun for about a week.....I hope I'm wrong.

@Saego
Don't worry.
I had Ignored him first.

I am equally excited for both.

@Mr_Pepperami
Oh...
Look at Ngamer post.
"In japan they have definitely better taste in games.
I don't understand why people like all those violent games, the world is not getting any better with all the violence printed in people's minds!"

@Anti-Matter Although I agree that games that are rated highly for bad things are, well, bad, and I completely understand where you're coming from, it's time to take a chill pill.

At the very least, keep your comments calmer. Instead of saying that all violent and bloody things should be banned every time it's brought up, why not simply state you don't plan to buy it, and then be on your merry way?

I highly respect you, my dude. You're not afraid to state what you believe, and you put up with a lot of crap-ola™ from a lot of people. I just think it's time to stop shaming the bad and to start focussing on the good. And while I am a firm believer in calling out what I believe is bad, there are much lighter ways to do it.

I humbly apologize if I've offended you today. I just feel like there's more respectful ways to say that something makes you feel uncomfortable or wrong.

Haha I’m so excited for God of War that I forgot Labo comes out the same day! How cool! I’d like to get the Labo packs eventually 😊

I will be getting god of war. Its got a great metacritic score. And its open world this time. I expected labo to perform better than God of war in japan, cause they like the wired and the wacky. Sorry can't spell wired lol. I look forward to seeing the sales of it in the west but i think god of war will outperform it in the west on both metacrtic and sales. I won't be picking this up but it does look fun.

@MH4
Thank you.

I thought it was already known that Anti-Matter has some very specific issues and arguing with him is not productive or even particularly entertaining.

Yes, 18+ games make him upset and he's very smug about cute games being on top or condescending about them not being on top. And that's OK. People are allowed to like or dislike things and express their opinions about them, even if they're stupid and only mine are objectively correct

@Mr_Pepperami The thing is, I don't understand why you comment on him. Like that is going to help you.

@SmaggTheSmug
Aw....
I love your comment just now.

@Saego I just want him to let people play whatever they want to and leave it alone. Not a fan of nanny state mentality and implying(like he has in the past) that there is something wrong with you if you enjoy mature content here and there.

God of War might be considered a mighty and potent series, but it appeals to a smaller crowd. Nintendo Labo appeals to parents and grandparents everywhere. I am not particularly interested in either to be honest. Put either in front of me, and I will play them, and probably like them. But neither entice me enough to get them myself. There are SOOOOO many other games I would rather have. lol

Put me in the "Don't particular care about either one" category.

Although Labo is definitely cool. It's just not my sort of thing, y'know?

@Mr_Pepperami Uh, it's not like he has any power to stop anyone from playing whatever they want. Also he comes from a vastly different culture to UK. Indonesia is a very conservative and religious country.
Maybe it's just your avatar, but I think you need to calm down.

Well cardboard is probably more exciting than mashing buttons to cut off someone’s head or make love to a goddess.

@GraveLordXD it was very much tongue in cheek - looks amazing and for a standard game looks really deep and long - but still Zelda is a monster for time!

@SmaggTheSmug I’m totally calm. I’ve not swore or anything but he’s wrong in what he is doing. It’s not right to ram things down other people’s throats. Sorry I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t say something when I think it’s wrong. Doesn’t mean I’m angry or out of control. Ive also stopped responding to him.

Can't wait to play God of War! Just need to wait another week for my payday though. I don't really give a heck about labo, but I'm happy for people that are.

@NIN10DOXD Good thing you don't do any of those things in this new game.

@Zuljaras thanks for the insight as I wasn’t aware of this. He’s still wrong for doing it though 😉

I'm in the minority I know, but I do find Sony games too cinematic for me.

Japanese gamers probably saw the new GoW trailer, analyze the old games and saw a roided rage man killing gods and having sudden intercourse with them. Even Witcher 3 wasn't high up in the list long. The only reason why it gottem into Witcher 3 because most of them see as almost a Monster Hunter game in a way fused with JRPG combat.

But why do westerners care about Japanese charts and their interests anyways? They will almost always have a different opinions. Just enjoy GoW or wait for the upcoming Labo.

@GrailUK I agree with you. Just look at the Last of Us. The story is amazing, one of the bests in my opinion. But the gameplay is just so bland.

Why are people not allowed to enjoy 18+ rated games? Just because it's hyper-violent doesn't mean that it's not enjoyable for people who don't have a problem with gore. In this case, even though I dislike Sony and 18+ games, I still think they are more interesting to hear about than interactive cardboard (yeah, I said it).

(Also, I heard Anti-Matter has mild Asperger's syndrome. I also apparently have that, and I don't think it really has anything to do with his dislike for violent games.)

I loved killing everybody in God of War, that was really fun, but, then, they start talking, and I got lost doing some puzzle type thing; I don't know, I'm really just into games for the action, and they want to shove story lines down my throat. Even if they fixed that this time, it's still just another hack and slash/beat em up that I've played a thousand times already. Labo, however, looks awesome, and completely different than anything, there's really nothing to compare it to, and the variety kit comes with a ton of things to do. I'm really looking forward to see what people are going to come up with.

@rjejr Sounds like something fun to do with the family especially after the winter blehs.

Most places are warming up now so they've definitely chosen a good time to do their release.

Can I live there please

God of War... well I tried to like the game but just not my cup of tea. An other titles way overrated. At least for me

@ThanosReXXX it’s just a game... did you noticed? “Realism” couldn’t be farther from it (and from Greek or any other mythology for that matter). Just a game.

Getting both but GoW is awesome! cant wait.

@Ernest_The_Crab "chosen a good time to do their release."

It's an ok time, I think a week or so before Easter would have been better, those $9.99 sticker boxes would have made good Easter basket gifts.

Remember that NL article last year about whether or not Switch was having a "soft launch"? Well I kind of feel like Labo is having a soft launch now to figure out the market. Nobody has ever really done a product like this before, a $60 STEM kit that requires a $300 gaming console to use. I think this is a test and they'll really start pushing it in late June and then again for the holidays when they should have a few more sets available and kids are getting Switch for Christmas.

God of War is, in my unpopular opinion, extremely overrated, and kinda sucky.

I still say Labo is a silly, overpriced gimmick.

@ThanosReXXX

I want to give you a million likes for this brilliant post.

@Gaisaph

Probably because a lot of our games and gaming systems come from Japan.

Even if I had a Switch, I'm honestly not sure I would care that much for Labo. I don't get the concept at all, and it looks like something I would not really get into anyway. I understand games like that and Minecraft have a massive audience, but I can never get into them.

My time playing games is limited, and when I play games, I want to make progress by getting through a single-player game, getting some rare treasure or side-quest beaten, playing a CPU in a fighting game, or fighting people online, especially in games like Smash and Street Fighter V.

So for me, God of War holds more appeal then Labo would. God of War is one of the reasons why I wanted a PS4, and while I'm not going to get it day one, its one of my top games to pick up this year alongside Dragon Ball Fighter Z, and a few others.

Labo is great for people who enjoy that kinda thing, and I hope they get a blast out of it. As for me? I'm looking forward to God of War and killing things from Norse Mythology.

prolly cuz Japan knows whats up

@FragRed and their titles should be aimed at the western markets. It's how they've become the #1 gaming company in the world. The western markets are huge, whereas Japan's market share is a blip on the radar.

How did the other GoW games sell in Japan? I mean. If you guys were real journalists you'd compare apples to apples, and not severed heads to cardboard.

@gatorboi352
I'm sorry, but Nintendo LABO will dominated Japan and soon will silenced your saltiness about Nintendo as always !

@maruse Of course I know, and so is mythology. And yet, mythology is so interwoven in so many cultures, that over-exaggerating, ignoring or blatantly re-writing it to suit your own purposes, definitely could come across as insulting and/or disrespectful, and so it does to me.

But that's just my opinion, much like you'll probably have yours...
(although I do know several Greek people, and it IS one of my favorite holiday locations, so I might possible have a bit more respect for their traditions than the average Joe)

Having said that, though: you do realize that mythology has its origins firmly based in reality, right?

It's just people back then interpreting certain things in a certain way, partially due to lack of understanding and such, but also because of them being WAY more connected with nature and the world around them.

The exact opposite is true nowadays, which is kinda strange if you think about it, because thanks to things like the internet and social media, the world itself is more connected than it has ever been before, but more and more people are socially disconnected from the actual world around them, because of all that tech.

@Tempestryke Thanks ever so much. I'll simply interpret that one like as many, many more. It's the thought that counts, after all. (tips hat and bows in gratitude)

@MH4 Just ignore him. It's easier that way.

Well I rather play God of War before mucking around with cardboard any day of the week.

But I live in the US where GOW is #1 - Every intention of playing GOW. Anything that hits 95 metacritic Ill play to find out if really that good.

The Japanese market would like a pachinko machine over GTA V (which is the 3 highest selling game ever) they are a different market I dont get the point of this story

@LUIGITORNADO

That is an interesting metaphor. And very accurate.

Did this site really make an article on just pre-order numbers? Wow

@Varkster the appeal of God of war over something like Bayonetta or DMC as far as the character is exactly that. Those two games are quirky and very Japanese in design. Both Dante and Bayonetta are really not characters you take seriously. Both their backstorys really don't fill into a relatable or deep place. Their motives are generally shallow. They are meant to be cool, charismatic characters. I personally hate Bayonetta pretty much on every level of discussion, the character herself is boring, so I don't understand how anyone finds those games more than mediocre. DMC I've found enjoyable and I get it, but it doesn't serve the same audience that would put God of War above it. I'm one of those individuals. There is a sound explanation to kratos with a classic revenge plot to go with his absurdity that DMC lacks. I find God of war to be more rewarding than DMC gameplay wise as well, they both play very differently from each other. Especially God of War Ascension which took some serious risks in changing how it plays, making it the second most dramatic change to the game as of gow2018.

There is nothing wrong with DMC or Bayonetta, but they serve very different audiences. Honestly lack the maturity of the story development. To be fair, a lot of what those two games has for story needed to be completely developed from scratch. While gow has had all of the Greek mythology to fall back on in everyway. If you geek out over that historical stuff , then you have a recipe for success and should already have a huge audience familiar with that back story. Schools teach and cover much of that material in examination of one way or another. So entry is less of an obstacle.

Neir is an odd duck. As much as I enjoyed those games, including drakengard (dragon dragoon). I can't honestly see how it is comparable. Story wise it's interesting, combat wise the, best of any Yoko taro game, but still pretty weak at the end of the day. Based on the above you might be able to see why the story might be a problem. It's a convoluted mess and how it goes into the rest of the game takes a few YouTube videos to really understand. Even then your not guaranteed to understand everything. Unlike the former games, it's hard to find people who have truly completed the game beyond the first play through.

God Of War takes itself seriously, some people enjoy that. They enjoy the imperfect hero who is victim of not only the gods, but his own rage.

At the end of the day, I'd take any of these games over card board simulator 2018. People are going to get this, then ask themselves if it was really worth it to have cardboard widgets sitting around their home. Granted the more expanded stuff will get and audience of creatives who will do interesting things. Just expect the majority of early adopters to stick with this fad for very long.

To each their own. I personally don't understand the appeal of Labo at all but there are cultural differences at work here and Labo, while something that can be enjoyed by adults, is definitely aimed more at the younger crowd.

The real take away I'm getting is what a toxic community NL can be from time to time. Some of the insults slung at God of War are just pathetic. Don't like the game fine, it doesn't mean the people who are looking forward to it are 'idiots' or 'manchildren.'

@Anti-Matter

thumbsup.jpg

@SethNintendo has the potential to outsell Xbox One maybe. They ain't catching Sony.

@SethNintendo Would rather have those indies articles than this to be honest. This is just some lazy attempt to get clicks.

@NotSoCryptic While I've never played Bayonetta(I missed it on the platforms the games came out on and no longer own my Wii U, PS3, or Xbox 360) I have tried to play Devil May Cry and never really gotten into it.

On the other hand, besides God of War, I also enjoyed Ninja Gaiden(even 3 due to the Razor's Edge update on Wii U) and the 3D Castlevania games such as Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness, and Lord of Shadows 1.

I like having serious characters as my main characters in hack and slash games, and while I can't speak for Bayonetta's violence, God of War and Ninja Gaiden are brutal, violent games that fully take advantage of the fact that you're chopping things in half.

Some people might call me sick, but I enjoy it. When I play games like those, I'm reminded of the old beat-ups where there was joy from beating in a thug's face with a lead pipe.

That I think is where God of War stands above its peers. Yes, you could argue other hack and slash games are deeper, but God of War excels in the fact that you can unload on things and just have a blast.

One other thing, while this is a Nintendo-fan site and people should be saying every idea Nintendo comes up with is a winner, I can't help but shake my feeling that Labo will be just like R.O.B., the old E-reader, the Wii Fit Board, and countless other attempts by other companies like the Kinect or toys to life to move beyond the controller and interact with a game system in a new way.

In other words, it will be supported for a while, and might even be a hot seller, but once it cools off Nintendo will give up on it and move on to something else. Gaming history is lined with countless ways to "innovate and expand gaming beyond controllers" and all of them have died once the novelty of the technology wears off.

I see Labo sharing this same fate.

Reyn reading the comment section: What a bunch of jokers.

@Caryslan
"One other thing, while this is a Nintendo-fan site and people should be saying every idea Nintendo comes up with is a winner, I can't help but shake my feeling that Labo will be just like R.O.B., the old E-reader, the Wii Fit Board, and countless other attempts by other companies like the Kinect to move beyond the controller and interact with a game system in a new way.

In other words, it will be supported for a while, and might even be a hot seller, but once it cools off Nintendo will give up on it and move on to something else. Gaming history is lined with countless ways to "innovate and expand gaming beyond controllers" and all of them have died on the novelty of the technology wears off.

I see Labo sharing this same fate."

LABO will NOT ended like previous devices like that.
LABO will be a BEGINNING of New Way to play for 3rd party developers.
Not a Novelty, Not even died off quickly.
You just underestimate something like that.

@ThanosReXXX Kratos isn't human though! But I do kinda agree. I had Classic Greek in high school, and we read pretty much every myth there is. GOW always seemed like something that used a few Greek characters here and there, but not something that would be possible (in the mythology sense of course).

However, the fortunate thing is that we don't know a lot about Norse mythology. There's only a handful of sources, and most of those weren't written down until the 17th and 18th century, when the old beliefs were pretty much incorporated in another popular western religion. Anyway, that means that they have a lot more creative freedom here. So I am actually looking forward to this one, especially since it's a bit more open, a Metroidvania in structure. It's a reboot in every sense of the word, might as well be a new franchise.

Anyway, I don't even know why I'm still here, I just got the game, two days early! So I'm going to enjoy dinner and play some GOW for the rest of the evening!

Want both GOW and Labo. They're very different propositions though. Any kind of comparison is kind of redundant. Two very different markets, with a huge crossover of people who like anything fun and worthwhile which both GOW and Labo appear to be.

Understandable. GoW looks cool but it's really the same old mindless virtual violence you can get in tons of other games. Labo is something fresh.

Nobody ever accused Japan of knowing what's good.

And physical preorders for Nintendo Labia kits will be high since it's the only way to get it. You cash get GoW digitally.

Meanwhile, everywhere else GoW is destroying the cardboardocalypse.

Cya
Raziel-chan

Is God of War big in Japan anyway? If not then it's hardly a triumphant comparison.

Which is understandable. I'm very much looking forward to Labo and don't care about God of War, whatever it is.

Labo comes out on the 20th...

As expected just by reading the headline, this comment section is nice and salty. The Japanese sales charts thread next week should be popcorn worthy.

I wish Nintendo the best of luck with Labo, personally though I literally only preordered God of War since it comes out the same day as Labo and I don’t find Labo interesting in the slightest... and it’s like the only big May release on the Switch so I had to get something new this month.

@LUIGITORNADO I don't have a good reason to. I was just offering a genuine suggestion to him if he wanted it.

Just give me a Labo cardboard guitar and I'm happy.

I think Labor is going to take the world by storm, particularly the variety kit

@Morph Labor 😂

How much rubbish can this guy write? For crying out loud Sony and Amazon are clearly having some issues as all Sony exclusive games are virtually unavailable on Amazon. So perhaps this has as much to do with low Amazon pre orders as anything else, it may not as it's not a game many would expect to be a huge seller there but certainly may be contributing

@Octane Yeah... I guess you got a point there. Have to correct myself: Kratos is an aspect of the powers that Zeus taps into, and is more or less the personification of strength, much like Heracles, although more ethereal.

Still too much creative freedom, though...
Or rather, and dare I say it being one myself, an Americanization of the myths, which is never good. Kinda reminds me of the decidedly stupid Percy Jackson tales. Another one of those blasphemies...

And Kratos himself, with all his bravado and dark moods and what not, always reminded me more of a white-washed black guy (no offense or anything racist intended, just a personal observation).

As for Nordic myths being less known or less known about: I wasn't really aware of that, so I had to look it up and you're largely right, although the earliest tales and histories were already written down in the 12th century (if it interests you, then you might want to look up the so-called "Icelandic sagas"), which was basically less than a generation later than the end of the Vikings as we knew and feared them in Europe, which was between 1066 and the end of that century.

All in all, I can remember and recite quite a few stories, although if those are from the (early) middle ages or from before that era, I wouldn't be able to tell.

When I was young, I always thought most of these tales came from the Vikings themselves, and that the stories have been handed over from father to son during the following centuries. And the Vikings have existed for quite a few centuries (approximately from the year 700 to 1100), and although they didn't record everything as meticulously as most schooled scribes did, they were somehow still able to get these stories passed on, much like other people, such as the native American Indians did, and they did have their own short-hand: runes.

Anyway, enough history lessons/discussions (although it does always interest me)...
Have fun playing GoW 4, I'm sure it'll be an enjoyable experience. On a personal note, I do wonder why he's still called Kratos, though, or isn't he, in this new game? Wouldn't make much sense to transport a Greek avatar of strength to the Nordic regions, unless that's somehow explained in the prologue...
EDIT:
Want to play an actually good and "true-to-the-source-material" Greek mythology game? Then be sure to check out Rise of the Argonauts. Available on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. It's a VERY well put together adventure game, which only takes the slightest bit of freedom with some of the story line, but other than that, it's more or less spot on, and a very enjoyable game, in my opinion, and they also manage to get the whole Greek atmosphere and aesthetics pretty darn right, which is obviously an important factor in being drawn into the story.

Doesn't surprise me. God of War, despite it's quality, is pretty much a perfect example of everything that is wrong with the current state of gaming. Basically, video games journalism has become a sensationalist extension of marketing when it comes to titles like this, and the whole cinematic approach to games seems to be really at odds with what a lot of people enjoyed about video games in the first place. It is a big push for that whole "video games as art" movement which strives to take video games very seriously as something they are not.

I have seen no shortage of games like God of War come and go, it seems to happen multiple times every generation and it reminds me of games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Uncharted 4, games that, although impressive from a visual and overall "quality" standpoint, weren't nearly as fun to play as the reviews would have made you expect.

@MH4 stupid autocorrect!

@Haywired No, it's like 1 or 2% of the worldwide sales. I'm more surprised that it is number two actually!

@ThanosReXXX I get where you're coming from. I feel this one sticks a bit closer to the original source material though. There's a separate tab on the menu screen that says ''lore'', and that's always a good thing IMO! Of course, I'm certain the game will take a bit of creative freedom here and there, they have to, but as long as they don't go over-the-top, I'm fine with it. I view it as an adaptation of Norse mythology. I feel it's similar to how the Witcher dealt with its mythology, except that that was all made up of course (I mean, Norse mythology is too, but you get my point ).

And no, no explanation yet, but they're hinting towards one. It's part of the premise of the game.

@Octane Yeah, I get the point.
For me personally, civilization-based are pretty real, though, in the sense that they're at the very least always partially based upon true events, combined with the whole, whereas most fantasy stories, such as in games, either take a lot of creative freedom, or just make up stuff. Nothing against that in general, though, mind you.

I'm just a bit protective of my favorite kind of mythology, is all...

By the way: here's some gameplay from Rise of the Argonauts, just in case you might decide to give that a go. But that's obviously up to you:
I certainly wouldn't want to be responsible for adding to your backlog...

@ThanosReXXX Kratos was Zues' son in the games. He was given power by the gods to kill Ares. The game was loosely based on Greek Mythology, mostly just using the characters.

@ThanosReXXX I didn't see your edit, had no idea that game existed until now! If it's ever on sale on GOG or something like that, I'll keep it in mind!

By the way, a little over an hour in and I'm scribbling down Norse runes on a piece of paper. It's just a literal transliteration of English, but it's pretty cool! I'll give you an update in a few weeks on how close it sticks to the original source material!

@cloud36426 Yeah, I know, and I also know that across all the games, some gods/demi-gods help him with tools and/or weapons, so it's not as black and white as you might think from how I described it earlier, but for me, it's still too much of a generalization/bastardization of the real life myths, and that's a MASSIVE turn-off for me, regardless of whether or not it might be a good game besides it being loosely based upon a certain mythology.

But hey, if others do like it, then I'm still happy that they can play something they can enjoy. I'm not the kind of person to want a game to not exist simply because I'm not interested in it personally...

Choice is good, and we don't all have to like the same things, luckily.

Me too! Not really into God of War anyways. (but probably not gonna get the Labo anyways either).

@Octane Haha, yeah, sorry about that. I was doing the edit after you'd already replied, so I was already wondering if I shouldn't have made it into a separate comment.

Oh well, you've read it now, so we're all good. And thanks in advance. I'd be interested to know how the story goes. Mythology is always an interesting topic, far as I'm concerned. And good luck with those runes. That's true hardcore deciphering stuff...

Creativity product for popular console outpaces interest in foreign-styled game on unpopular console, according to data from regionally unpopular game retailer? I'm stunned!

GoW isn't exactly a game meant for Japan. Never was.

I'm amazed though that Labo has not been all that marketed here in the US. I'm sure childrens-specific advertising has seen some ads, but not much of anything for the general populace (Switch itself had multiple commercials during the Olympics, which amazed me...that is some EXPENSIVE ad space!) But nothing for Labo. I'm glad, actually it means Nintendo hasn't lost sight of the US momentum they built. But I'm surprised. Part of me wonders if they intend it largely as a "this is for Japan" product.

I do wonder, though, where on earth all those Japanese kids will find room to build the larger kits in those one room doll-sized apartments.....

@Zuljaras
Well they did force him to brutally slaughter his wife and child. Not sure how stable anybody would be.

Yes, that makes sense — why would they be more excited by GoW?

I’m personally psyched about the Labo - nothing makes you feel like a kid again like some cardboard boxes. Seriously, this is nostalgia at max volume. I’m in love with it.

@NotSoCryptic I very strongly disagree. When I play a character action game I play it mainly for the depth of the gameplay, the challenge curve and its variety in combat.

Story has never been a strong factor in any character action game and it's never been the focus. That's why Japanese titles such as Devil May Cry never take themselves too seriously. They're very well-crafted and designed original games (DmC doesn't count) which to me surpass GoW in every way. You mentioned that the character in GoW is more relatable and until this recent reimagining I don't see how that could possibly be the case. To my knowledge almost everybody, even the most diehard Sony fans, agree that he is a trashy character. He seems like a stubborn crazed old a**hole who just runs around and likes to kill s**t for no real good reason other than "revenge". I understand you may not see the appeal in 'quirkiness' of Japanese titles, but in terms of character I think it's safe to say Devil May Cry beats GoW in every way. Dante, albeit a cocky and sarcastic character, feels like he has emotions and is actually alive when he speaks. Kratos? Feels like a walking piece of wood and just a vessel for the player to destroy s**t in after a rough day at work.

When it comes to story GoW is just as shallow and basic as any other character action game, however instead of being based on a completely new original setting with original designs the GoW games don't startle me as much as it is just mythology inspired artwork and world. NieR's story in my opinion is nowhere near bad and its design and world building is some of the strongest I have ever seen in a game of its genre.

Gameplay is the most important part and where I really think GoW pales in comparison. DmC introduced so many ways in which you can vary your combos and learn to beat everything on the screen. Even though they restrict you room-by-room to defeat whatever is inside, it never feels boring or slow-paced. Every level feels fluid and fast. Every level you feel like you're in control and depending on how much you mastered the combos and using your weapons - you get a rank at the end. GoW is like a much more simplified, basic version of these games on gameplay level. It seems to be that way to be able to appeal to the Western crowd. No ranking system, no combo styling, very clear animations showing you when the enemy will attack which would be FINE if the game moved as slow as Dark Souls, but that's not the case. Other character action games also give a much harder challenge to the player. Go play Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition and you will see how much harder these games are from your typical GoW games. Even Normal difficulty will have you pulling your hair at the FIRST BOSS. God of War 3 to me seemed like a breeze on Hard difficulty when I was doing a trophy run, and even then I stopped half-way because I got bored.

I'm not throwing your opinion at the ground or anything - I think everybody is entitled to their own. But this is my opinion until I play this latest installment (when it drops in price or gets a discount). I know a lot of people will share it and go even more in-depth if you just do an easy google search about how God of War stands up against other character action games. The only real reason this game seems to make Kratos likeable is thanks to the cliche Last of Us inspired plot device - the kid.

@Morph hey it's okay! It was really funny!

@Anti-Matter There's nothing wrong with someone not liking Labo. You can't force people to get hyped for something that they have no interest in.
If you like the idea, nothing wrong with that.

I'm hyped for God of War, but I'm not shaming people for dismissing the game for their own personal reasons. On the flip side, I have zero interest in Labo, but I'm not slamming others that are hyped for it.

@Varkster I can appreciate that you love DMC, but you're wrong. lol

Anyway I'm going to skip a lot of what you had here (I did read it though), simply say just understand the game design. I have played all of these games, all on the hardest setting. God of War Ascension proving some ground for conflicting game play systems getting in the way of each other. Conversation for another forum.

Let's get down to your real issue here. How does god of war stand up to other "Character Action Games". Pretty well honestly. You seem to fixate on the character of Kratos himself. I have to say after playing 6 games, I like the character, I like the power fantsy of him, in some ways I can even relate to him. He is a man who is fighting against fate, had his family taken from him multiple times, forced to choose between his daughter or the world (though some may say his vengeance, but its pretty muddy in COO), had his brother murdered in front of him (though thanatos is a bit justified, but who is the bigger [removed] here?), had the furries incur madness upon him and placed unrighteous judgment upon KRatos, Manipulated by Ares, I mean I could keep going. The man has every right to be an angry [removed]. You don't like him, that is fine. However ever I know many who have been playing GoW games since 2005 who would disagree with you on your whole "The Last of Us" assertion. Though honestly you should be saying "Uncharted", because that is where that form of storytelling in games was born.

Atreus doesn't make Kratos instantly likeable. That's a very shallow explanation of what is going on there. For starters most people haven't played GoW (2018) yet. They have no idea what to expect. In fact its garnered the game negative reaction in the community on initial reveal of the game. Atreus is what part of what might be what is making GoW(2018)'s story good. He's a FOIL for this man. A man who basically destroyed the greek pantheon to satisfy his revenge, rage, and bloodlust. In his last moments also had to deal with the consequences of his actions in the last of Pandora. A loss he partly blames himself for at the end of the game. Though she understood she was a pawn and her purpose to free us all from that state. The greek gods were not nice people and God of War is very clear about that. So we have a man recovering from this. Who is also haunted by other aspects of who he is. Include the line of patricide that works its way through his family line. The Rage that consumed not just Kratos, but Zeus and Cronos. These are things Atreus will have to deal with, that is how Atreus further humanizes him. not because Atreus brings something to the character that was absent before. Deimos and Calliope already supplied those factors for him. It's been a far less shallow explanation of human nature than many of the other games out there.

I won't deny that God of Wars early beginnings under Dave Jaffe were a bit on the shallow side. Tricked into killing his family and now seeking revenge, but it was a starting point. By time you got to God of War Ascension there was so much more to work with. You still have to satisfy Kratos' final goal. There is a lot more going on there than then what you'll find with Dante or Bayonetta. Those two compared to works not just outside of gaming from japan are pretty weak by comparison. Nothing wrong with that though. If every game had Kratos as the lead character I would be bored, just as much as if Dante or Bayonetta were also some sort of template to live by. We should be happy there is a rich plethora of characters out there with varying backgrounds, levels of depth, and intensity. Happy we have the Joel's, The Nathan Drake's, The Krato's, The Master Chief's, The Peach's, the Mario's, the Ratchet and Clank's, Jak's and Daxter's, etc of the gaming world. Except the Rider Twins from Mass Effect andromeda, they suck. Also silent protagonists, creepy bunch they are, set them on fire (sorry Crono).

@Anti-Matter @Sgt-Jack-V Both of you, mind your language.

And @Anti-Matter, you don't have to talk about games you don't like.

@NinjaWaddleDee IKR I can do a bunch of riveting old man things. 😏 lol

Seriously though, it’s fine if people have more interest in one thing than the other GoW is established while Labo is an entirely new concept. It’s not that weird.

Don't mind me. I'm just dropping off my opinionated comment.

God of War is #1 in Japan right now, you should probably update the article.

@psgltch I was just about to post this. It seems japanese people like this kind of games too, @Anti-Matter

@Syntaxkita Not anymore.

@10basetom @NEStalgia GoW is #1 right now.

@Devlind I doubt they will update it, it goes against the narrative the writer was trying to spin. The funny thing is that God of War has been #1 for the past week up until earlier today and now it's back at #1.

@psgltch Maybe Labo had a discount? That happens in my country. The Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival pack was #1 once just because it was dirt cheap.

@Devlind
Don't mention that rated 18 game again in front of me !!

I don't believe this article sooooooo IDIOT!

Last week Switch already sold 36k unit. And PS4 only 9k unit.

IF half of switch user buy LABO, and all PS4 owner buy GOW. Of course the sales will be more than GOW.

This article should like this, x% of switch owner want to buy LABO.
and only y% of ps4 owner want to buy GOW

@NIN10DOXD Sure. And if this game came out on a Nintendo platform, people would be eating it up on this site.

@Devlind maybe #1 where you are, but not in Japan. I wouldn't expect everybody to be into violent video games, especially Japanese (they are more likely to be into things that most westerners find weird).

Will be picking up God of War on the 20th. As for Labo not really interested in it, but I might pickup a pack when it's either on sale for really cheap or in the bargain bin.

@1UP_MARIO yes- yes he does. And he does it all the time. The guy is like a TV preacher.

@10basetom God of War: Reflexions, the game where you give Kratos a soothing backrub, on Switch in 2019!

That's a bit of a surprise 0_0. I guess God of War is built to pander perfectly to Western "alpha males" (edgy dude bros) so it's one of those games that'll never translate well to Japan's Gatchawaifu audiences.

@OctoInk20 The thing that annoys me- & it doesn't seem like a common thought around here, is that imo Nintendo are using Labo to try and gloss over a fairly barren release schedule for 2018.

For me 2018 has been very quiet on Switch & its mid-April.
I wish Nintendo had waited a couple of years on Labo and focused on building the game library first.

Oh well Nintendo beats to its own drum.

The new God of war looks amazing, but we sadly won't see it on Switch (of course). Maybe one day we Nintendo followers get a collection, like with Crash and (probably) Spyro!

@Fight_Teza_Fight I don't think it's barren, rather not spread out enough like some of the May releases should've been April instead. Sure if you don't want to buy Wii U ports, 2018 seems rough but last gen ports filling up the release schedule is common for any modern console.

Can't wait until they release Nintendo Styrofoam for $90, the fangirls here will go nuts.

@Henmii Kratos for Smash!

Sony keeps regurgitating its one or two IP to death.

@dumedum The irony of writing this on a site dedicated to Nintendo. By a person with a Mario avatar no less.

@Grumblevolcanon Yeah I get that. Just not alot for me the personally. The last game I got for the Switch was Bayonetta 1+2, which was great.
Was looking forward to Dark Souls Remastered, but then that got delayed.

@NinjaWaddleDee You’re right.

@SmaggTheSmug,

Haha, that probably won't happen.

@SmaggTheSmug
Seriously. I've seen a lot of ridiculous comments on NintendoLife over the years in regards to games on platforms the fanboys here never both with but that one takes the cake.

@SmaggTheSmug
That's actually a solid advice considering the audience.

@patbacknitro18 I'm so conflicted on Star Allies. I absolutely adore all the fanservice in this game and I actually agree that it's a wonderful love letter to the series, the likes we haven't seen since the anniversary collection. With that said I'm disappointed in a lot of aspects. Only having puzzle pieces as the collectible is disappointing as there's very little challenge involved with getting all of them. They feel like they would have better served as a secondary collectible like the keychains in triple deluxe or the stickers in robobot. The game is painfully easy even for a kirby game and usually that's not much of a deal breaker for me. (Kirby is my favorite platforming series of all time). My issue with it this time is that the arena feels like a step back from prior games. There's no ex bosses to be found at all and it's a lot easier than prior arenas even on the hardest difficulty. Like for me Star Allies is a decent game but I feel like Hal has done better in the past and can do better than this, despite how much fun it is.

Excited to play the new God of War, now give me the flame boys.

@Zuljaras
Agreed, not a uphill worth dying for man.

@SmaggTheSmug triggered alert.

@10basetom No, no, literally it was #1 in Japan, but it seems it fell down again. I wonder if this tracks all preorders made no matter the time or just the preorders made in a specific timeframe. Probably the later.

Yet another clickbait console war article. Imagine how much room there would be for some quality articles if it wasn't clogged with all of this garbage.

@Devlind oh really? I didn't know that, but then again, what do I know — I never even played the original .

@dumedum I don't play on any console besides the Switch. But dude. Nintendo is pretty infamous for trotting out nothing but Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and Kirby. It is very ironic to put down people getting excited for a God of War game and discuss new Smash Bros on the same website.

@dumedum
Regurgitating its IP has pretty much been Nintendo's business model for the past 30-40 years... I don't know why you'd criticize this for it.

@SmaggTheSmug If they did that I would buy 50 copies

@SmaggTheSmug i was triggering the fanboys. Can't stand Sony anyway.

@R_Champ I had to log in to reply to this BS. This game is not alpha male material. This is between a man and his son. It's very emotional but if you don't play games other than Nintendo you should not judge it.

@dumedum Can't stand Sony? Boy, you have a difficult life if a company triggers you:P

LOL this comment section makes me realize how stupid nintendo fanboys are. Y'all are seriously delusional.

And I love my Switch, I love Zelda but some of the crap you idiots are saying is cringe inducing.

@Sanquine so you're using the word that I just used, LOL. original.