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[grim_d]

QUOTE(twistedsymphony @ Dec 4 2006, 07:18 PM)

Biohazard 5 (known to the rest of the world as Resident Evil 5) is also coming to the 360, which I think counts for something.

not to mention it will be out on 360 before the ps3.

[The Bat]

QUOTE(twistedsymphony @ Dec 5 2006, 07:47 AM)

Japan is one of the most important markets, not because of sales but because of developers.

Japan has some of the best game development houses in the world. If you don't interest the Japanese game buyers then the Japanese game developers aren't interested in you either.

Gaining support in Japan isn't about sales, it's about winning over the Japanese game developers that can make or break a system worldwide.

With the rising costs for game development, Japanese developers might not be so picky.  Capcom is one of those japanese developers who, last I heard, were campaigning other developers to create games for the world market and not just the Japanese market due to costs.

Square have already stated that they have no interest in making the PS3 the dominant platform, and will create games based on how well each platform is at the time.  My guess is that they see the profit from 360 sales to be more than what Sony would be willing to spend to not develop for the 360 -- especially since PC ports would do over 90% of the 360 coding on its own thanks to XNA.

These days, Japan can no longer make or break a system.  Even if all developers in Japan based their decisions at the complete exclusion of the outside world, there are still developers such as Bungie, Rockstar, UbiSoft, Bioware, EA, Epic, and others that won't be affected.  Capcom is not likely to shun the global market considering their history, and Rare is now owned by Microsoft, meaning they'd be unlikely to drop the 360 even if Microsoft pulled out of Japan entirely.

If Sega could succeed worldwide with the Genesis, when Japan meant much more to worldwide sales, Microsoft should find it possible as well.