Why isn't SC2 big in Japan?

On October 15 2010 02:34 Piski wrote:
In Japan console games are a huge market, pc market not so much.. When I was there I saw only one add for SC2 and it was at it's release.
So it's not like there isn't any PC players, but they are quite a minority

On October 15 2010 02:25 Eknoid4 wrote:
Probably because Japan makes and plays its own games a lot more. Also, there is no K-On in starcraft 2.

On October 15 2010 02:46 Go0g3n wrote:
Because Japanese always concentrate on features and StarCraft II really doesn't have an outstanding one, just a solid mix of good(ish) and a few bad ones.

On October 15 2010 02:51 aepal wrote:
I think i heard a while ago that the reason E-Sports is not so big in Japan is cause they have very strong laws against Gambling ? And that E-sports "Playing a game for money" is considered gambling. Something like this, someone to confirm ?

edit*
i now notice it was why sc2 isnt big :p sorry, thought it was meant to be esports.

On October 15 2010 02:59 itsMAHVELbaybee wrote:
I'm not even sure the popularity of WoW in Japan which aided SC2's success overall.

On October 15 2010 02:52 okuraku wrote:
(again, Blizz games aren't localized)

On October 15 2010 02:59 itsMAHVELbaybee wrote:
I'm not even sure the popularity of WoW in Japan which aided SC2's success overall.

On October 15 2010 03:54 Tiax;mous wrote:
i don't know much about gaming in Japan so not much to contribute but I'm seriously shocked that no one said
+ Show Spoiler +
yet.

On October 15 2010 02:31 Keitzer wrote:
Sony PS3 = console (which don't have RTS)
Sony PSP = handheld console (which don't have RTS)
Nintendo franchise (alot) = (handheld) console (which don't have RTS)
Fighting games = not RTS
Pokemon = not RTS

so as you can see. Almost every game that comes out of Japan is either on a system that isn't good at all for RTS, or just not an RTS straight up.

So all the would-be japanese RTS players are having too much fun playing SF4, Mario, and Pokemon (obv others but for the sake of argument) and don't know too much, or don't care too much, to play RTS at a competitive level like the Koreans, who don't make any games as far as i know.

On October 15 2010 02:39 StimCraft wrote:

and ff14 (mmo) just went into beta i believe

On October 15 2010 02:32 StarSense wrote:
Japan revolutionized consoles. Korea banned Japanese stuff for a while. Thus you have the great East Asia console / PC divide.

On October 15 2010 05:21 crazeman wrote:

Also I think the PCs in Japan can't run SC2. I know that SC2's system requirement isn't sky high, but the average computer in Japan is probably a lot less beefier than in america. I have no statistics or and have never been to japan but my reasoning is that there's absolutely no reason to upgrade a perfectly working PC unless if you need it for work or if you play PC games. Seeing how the majority of Japan's pc gaming market seem to consist of low end porn/anime games, I doubt many of them do upgrade to play the latest games.

On October 15 2010 02:33 ZlaSHeR wrote:
They play arcade games.

They are the Korea of Tekken, Street Fighter, crossup games etc.

Daigo is the combination of boxer oov nada flash jaedong in one.

On October 15 2010 06:02 eggs wrote:


i would figure FFXIV to have stricter requirements than SC2.

and although Raynor's model in SC2 does fit ridiculous anime body proportions, zerg units don't have enough tentacles.

On October 15 2010 07:21 ktimekiller wrote:
Zerg isnt moe enough for Japan

On October 15 2010 02:31 Keitzer wrote:
Sony PS3 = console (which don't have RTS)
Sony PSP = handheld console (which don't have RTS)
Nintendo franchise (alot) = (handheld) console (which don't have RTS)
Fighting games = not RTS
Pokemon = not RTS

so as you can see. Almost every game that comes out of Japan is either on a system that isn't good at all for RTS, or just not an RTS straight up.

So all the would-be japanese RTS players are having too much fun playing SF4, Mario, and Pokemon (obv others but for the sake of argument) and don't know too much, or don't care too much, to play RTS at a competitive level like the Koreans, who don't make any games as far as i know.

On October 15 2010 07:27 rlagksquf wrote:
if they like console so much, why do they still lose to Koreans? such as Tekken

On October 15 2010 02:31 okuraku wrote:Just want to summarize that I think the lack of localization of basically any blizzard game (no sparkling history like they have elsewhere) is the biggest factor. I mean consider if SC2 wasn't localized to South Korean (I know, farfetched).. would it be as big as it is, if you had to jump through all kinds of hoops to even buy the thing & then log onto a server outside of your country?

On October 15 2010 07:58 jackarage wrote:
Japanese are very busy, they work a lot more than 80hours per week so they are not at home for playing starcraft2 on a computer, handheld console are popular because they can bring it with them on the train/subway like manga also.

On October 15 2010 07:43 Bagi wrote:
Are there any western games that are huge in Japan?

I was under the impression that they mostly play their own games.

On October 15 2010 08:24 chocopan wrote:


This is basically it.

It's true there are differences in gaming culture, the most obvious being that console gaming is more important than PC gaming, compared to other places. But a lot of the other speculation is off in my opinion. The single most important factor is Blizzard never tried to get SC/BW sold in Japan and now SC2 is come around they aren't trying with that either.

I'm sure if the original game had a localized Japanese release history would have been different.

On October 15 2010 02:31 okuraku wrote:
Most of the comments are off in my opinion.. there are plenty of uber competitive japanese gamers - just look at any music game at any random arcade anywhere in the country, you'll find someone better than you could be after a month's training lol.

I think the biggest reason SC and WoW are not big in Japan is that they aren't localized there.. so just starting to consider it you are in the realm of "underground" and "youge". Which, is still fairly large - PC youge's have a fairly good following but they don't typically hit mainstream... I think another big factor is that PC gaming is fairly small because of the cost of entry both moneywise and how much space you need (don't laugh, there's a reason the first nintendo was called Family Computer). Also, PC gaming as you know is saturated with eroge & dating sims, If you go to any old non-import PC game soft store I guarantee upwards of 75% of the inventory will be those.

MMOs are about the only thing that gets "big" in Japan on PC gaming side, I would say. Mostly because they aren't that available on consoles (yet).

Just want to summarize that I think the lack of localization of basically any blizzard game (no sparkling history like they have elsewhere) is the biggest factor. I mean consider if SC2 wasn't localized to South Korean (I know, farfetched).. would it be as big as it is, if you had to jump through all kinds of hoops to even buy the thing & then log onto a server outside of your country?

On October 15 2010 08:55 Shiragaku wrote:
Japan already has their own e-sports scene
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tougeki_-_Super_Battle_Opera

On October 15 2010 06:29 woolly wrote:
Most Japanese households don't have PC's, as they take a lot of space and are expensive. PC market in Japan is not very large because of these 2 things, and the Japanese have steered more toward mobile devices and gaming.

On October 15 2010 08:54 Adeeler wrote:
PC's aren't that common in households still. You have to realise there are way more japanese made games that are only released in Japan for consoles and handhelds so that plays a major role.

Starcraft did have a Japanese version. It sold so poorly that Blizzard didn't bother making Brood War in Japanese. On the other hand, there was never a Korean Starcraft/BW, and we all know how that turned out.

I think the explanation that the Japanese simply like Japanese games is spot on.

On October 15 2010 08:59 vizniz wrote:


The asian domination of the music game scene is nothing more than an ignorant stereotype.

Take it from someone who played DDR in tournaments for 4ish years. All the events I attended were dominated (attendance and performance wise) by white players. That asian guy hanging out at your arcade playing 321 Stars on Heavy? There's probably a non asian player out there better than him.

I definitely agree however that the main reason it isn't big is that SC2 isn't localized for JP. It's a bit of a paradox however. It isn't big because it isn't localized, but it isn't localized because it wouldn't sell? Which came first?

On October 15 2010 10:07 Manifesto7 wrote:


This is the biggest factor. It isn't so much about PC gaming, but the fact that PC home ownership is 10-15 years behind what it is in other countries. It is catching up, but since I poll all my students about who owns computers at home I have a pretty good idea of the situation. It is pretty amazing.

Since most people use their phones for what other countries use their computers for, growth is still slow.

On October 15 2010 08:29 toadstool wrote:


so they work 'a lot more' than 80 hrs a week, so in a 5 day working week they're working 'a lot more' than 16 hours a day?

where do you get this stuff from? The majority of sc2 players don't even have full time jobs. School kids are too busy working 80 hr weeks?
look at the general demographic of teamliquid. half the people playing starcraft 2 don't even have full time jobs.


I think a more accurate answer would be: Japanese people have different tastes in games. look at the top selling 2009 games in Japan:

1. Mario & Luigi RPG3!!!: 631,165
2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (PSP the Best): 556,650
3. Ryu Ga Gotoku 3: 485,630
4. Resident Evil 5: 467,191
5. Wii Fit: 432,191
6. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: 385,799
7. Rhythm Heaven Gold: 384,191
8. Dynasty Warriors Multi Raid: 382,191
9. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of the Sky: 338,568
10. Tales of the World Radiant Mythology 2: 316,797

You can see from the general trend that they're:

1. Japanese
2. Console games
3. RPGs or Arcadey, no RTS games

It's equivalent to saying "How come no one is playing basketball in Japan?:

differnet cultures, different tastes.

On October 15 2010 02:24 echobong wrote:
shocked that he was from South America - I didn't even know there was a scene down there.

On October 15 2010 10:07 Manifesto7 wrote:


This is the biggest factor. It isn't so much about PC gaming, but the fact that PC home ownership is 10-15 years behind what it is in other countries. It is catching up, but since I poll all my students about who owns computers at home I have a pretty good idea of the situation. It is pretty amazing.

Since most people use their phones for what other countries use their computers for, growth is still slow.

On October 15 2010 07:27 rlagksquf wrote:
if they like console so much, why do they still lose to Koreans? such as Tekken

On October 15 2010 11:49 bubblegumbo wrote:
Western games dont do well in Japan. They may only sell a decent amount. Their small PC gaming market is dominated by their own local indie/visual novel developers.

But yea Japan has a culture of competitive gaming too, but it's all focused on the fight game genre.

On October 15 2010 13:23 sk` wrote:
Wow... 7 pages in and I'm probably the only person in this thread that works in Japan in the game industry.

Anyway, PC games at large are not big here because staying indoors a lot is culturally frowned upon, our apartments are too small anyway, and those tiny apartments don't lend well to owning anything other than a tiny laptop. Arcade games and portable games are big because you're out-and-about, it is mildly social, compact (or doesn't even come home), etc.

Japan does have SC and SC2 players, but I would say it is less than 1000 for both combined.
www.negitaku.org

On October 15 2010 13:23 sk` wrote:
Japan does have SC and SC2 players, but I would say it is less than 1000 for both combined.
www.negitaku.org

On October 15 2010 02:25 Eknoid4 wrote:
Probably because Japan makes and plays its own games a lot more. Also, there is no K-On in starcraft 2.

On October 15 2010 02:31 okuraku wrote:
Most of the comments are off in my opinion.. there are plenty of uber competitive japanese gamers - just look at any music game at any random arcade anywhere in the country, you'll find someone better than you could be after a month's training lol.

I think the biggest reason SC and WoW are not big in Japan is that they aren't localized there.. so just starting to consider it you are in the realm of "underground" and "youge". Which, is still fairly large - PC youge's have a fairly good following but they don't typically hit mainstream... I think another big factor is that PC gaming is fairly small because of the cost of entry both moneywise and how much space you need (don't laugh, there's a reason the first nintendo was called Family Computer). Also, PC gaming as you know is saturated with eroge & dating sims, If you go to any old non-import PC game soft store I guarantee upwards of 75% of the inventory will be those.

MMOs are about the only thing that gets "big" in Japan on PC gaming side, I would say. Mostly because they aren't that available on consoles (yet).

Just want to summarize that I think the lack of localization of basically any blizzard game (no sparkling history like they have elsewhere) is the biggest factor. I mean consider if SC2 wasn't localized to South Korean (I know, farfetched).. would it be as big as it is, if you had to jump through all kinds of hoops to even buy the thing & then log onto a server outside of your country?

On October 15 2010 12:03 Deadlyhazard wrote:
But yeah it seems like only Japanese products do well in Japan. I wonder why western stuff isn't as appealing to them, other than that it's from another region.

On October 15 2010 15:03 Slago wrote:
probablly only because they only play J RPGs I dont wanna be part of that culture and they prob dunt wanna be part of ours :/

On October 15 2010 18:38 eksert wrote:
JAPAN plays go, best strategy games ever...
any other games arent complicated as GO..

On October 15 2010 18:50 eksert wrote:
Actually they start playing from at the age of 4 in Japan in go schools mate
so u are kinda right!

On October 15 2010 18:58 nihoh wrote:
The Boxer of Nippon.

On October 15 2010 02:25 Eknoid4 wrote:
Probably because Japan makes and plays its own games a lot more. Also, there is no K-On in starcraft 2.

On October 15 2010 18:58 nihoh wrote:
The Boxer of Nippon.