Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
PlayStation (Games) Entertainment Games

Capcom Takes Grand Theft Auto To Japan 66

Posted by simoniker from the grand-evil-theft-fighter-alpha dept.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a press release announcing that Capcom will publish the phenomenally successful Grand Theft Auto 3 in Japan. It appears the big Japan publisher will "..localize, publish and distribute.. Grand Theft Auto 3" for both Playstation 2 and PC, and "Grand Theft Auto 3 is scheduled for release in the Japanese market in Fall 2003." Interestingly, one commentary about GTA3 in Japan says that the author's Japanese friends "..have been disgusted that such a game exists, and judgmental, as in 'that's the kind of game only an American would like'", but the game's suitability for the Japanese market will only be definitely proved/disproved by sales figures.
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Capcom Takes Grand Theft Auto To Japan More

Capcom Takes Grand Theft Auto To Japan

Comments Filter:

  • Waiting for a Serbian version (Score:5, Funny)

    by AtariAmarok ( 451306 ) on Monday June 16, 2003 @11:22AM (#6212695)
    Wouldn't "Grant Theft Yugo" be a lot of fun?

  • Refined Japanese taste (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 16, 2003 @11:25AM (#6212733)
    "author's Japanese friends "..have been disgusted that such a game exists, and judgmental, as in 'that's the kind of game only an American would like'

    This is coming from a place that just loves tentacle-rape Hentai.

  • eh? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Hadlock ( 143607 ) on Monday June 16, 2003 @11:26AM (#6212751) Homepage Journal
    ...GTA3 hasn't been released in japan as of yet? truly bizzare.

  • Yes, we Americans are horrible people :) (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Lendrick ( 314723 ) on Monday June 16, 2003 @11:26AM (#6212755) Homepage Journal
    that's the kind of game only an American would like

    As long as they're tossing out generalities, what about games featuring animated rape and incest [somethingawful.com]? There isn't much of a market for those over on this side of the pond.

  • ...the way they think is diffirent from here (EU/US) and it is quite obvious that GTA3 will do badly there for pointless violence (as mentioned before) is not really their thing. Metal Gear Solid 2 got a lot of bad response in Japan because it was too American which, in all aspects, it is.

    Fun/Happy games do better in Japan as the action-based games are a smaller market but are the topsellers in the EU/US.

    • Re:In Japan... (Score:2, Interesting)

      by TalMaximus ( 681873 )
      It also appears (and I don't like making generalities) that RPGs tend to do more successfully in Japan. According to the Gaming Life in Japan column at ign.com, the most anticipated game for the past few months has been Dragon Quest VII. That game appears to have a role playing style, as well as in-depth storytelling which is what Japanese gamers tend to want the most. Not to mention the immense popularity of games such as Pokemon, or Yugi which have no similarities to GTA in terms of gameplay, storytelli
    • ...the way they think is diffirent from here (EU/US) and it is quite obvious that GTA3 will do badly there for pointless violence (as mentioned before) is not really their thing.

      Two things stick out to me in your post:

      1. Most citizens of the EU would resent being lumped in with the US and vice versa - it's not just nationalism (continentism?) as we're very different from each other in many ways.

      2. "Pointless violence"? The violence in GTA3 is only as "pointless" as you want it to be. If you follo

  • Well Rockstar is going over seas to Japan and I'm really happy about that it's about time a real game with everything in it and more make it overseas. Capcom has made great games in the past but Partnership with Rockstar games in this venture is good for the gaming market in Japan which is declining even as we speak, they need a game like GTA3 Which was the highest selling game in the USA and think about the possibilities of GTA Vice city as well Capcom and Rockstar will make a killing in Japan granted in t
  • by letting you dress up the main character and obsess over his blood type. I bet they'll also make it so that you can collect various accessories to decorate your cars and houses.

    Seriously, I WANT to see a game that will offend the Japanese.

  • Uhm.. American? (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The GTA games are made in Scotland by the company formerly known as DMA. We sort of like it on this side of the pond as well, and we probably get the dark scottish ironical comedy in it better than most Americans. No offence, like.

    Something that really struck me as funny was a stand up comedy show on the BBC filmed in Glasgow. Some canadian comic was doing a routine about how violent the Americans are, and used GTA3 as an example.
  • Interestingly, one commentary about GTA3 in Japan says that the author's Japanese friends "..have been disgusted that such a game exists, and judgmental, as in 'that's the kind of game only an American would like'"...

    This is coming from the country who produced Yatta, Fecal Japan, Tokyo Breakfast, and more tentacle-rape hentai than America has action movies?

    • Re:Hypocrites... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by TalMaximus ( 681873 )
      I sincerely doubt that we can take the comments of two or three people and equivocate them to the beliefs or opinions of an entire country. Although their comments were stereotypical, let's not stoop to the same level in return.

  • This makes sense... (Score:3, Funny)

    by clambake ( 37702 ) on Monday June 16, 2003 @12:24PM (#6213424) Homepage
    Interestingly, one commentary about GTA3 in Japan says that the author's Japanese friends "..have been disgusted that such a game exists, and judgmental, as in 'that's the kind of game only an American would like'"

    Not enough tentacles, I guess...

  • Top 10 Localized Versions of GTA (Score:5, Funny)

    by AtariAmarok ( 451306 ) on Monday June 16, 2003 @12:26PM (#6213447)
    10. "Grand Theft Auto, eh?" (Canada)

    9. "Grand Theft UNIX Code" (SCO Offices)

    8. "Grand Canyon Theft Auto" (Arizona)

    7. "Grand Theft Electric Auto" (Ed Begley Jr's Garage)

    6. "Grand Theft Item #6" (This list)

    5. "Grand Theft Poland" (Nazi Germany)

    4. "Grand Theft Evil Otto" (Berzerk! videogame)

    3. "Grand Theft Exploding Auto" (Israel)

    2. "Grand Theft Rickshaw" (China)

    1. "Grand Theft Entire Country" (Iraq)

  • I don't think so. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by gklinger ( 571901 ) on Monday June 16, 2003 @12:47PM (#6213679)
    My Japanese girlfriend (29 years old, has been in Canada less than two years) and her brother (25, also newly arrived from Japan) both love GTA3. In fact, they like it better than all my other games (on any platform). He plays the game in the intended fashion, doing missions and generally causing mayhem while she enjoys driving around looking at the scenery and looking for packages. Heck, she even stops at lights and comes to a full stop before turning.

    I don't usually go in for violent games but GTA3 has a certain charm and it is one of the most playable games I have ever encountered. I imagine that the Japanese market will react the same way everyone else in the world reacted to GTA3 -- they'll buy millions of copies.

  • Japanese Gaming (Score:1, Redundant)

    by TomSawyer ( 100674 )
    For objective reporting on the tasteful and refined Japanese game scene you can refer to these reputable reviews [somethingawful.com].

  • *eyeroll* (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonvmous Coward ( 589068 ) on Monday June 16, 2003 @01:01PM (#6213815)
    "..have been disgusted that such a game exists, and judgmental, as in 'that's the kind of game only an American would like'"

    That smells more like somebody who heard all about the game on CNN as opposed to actually playing it.
  • 'that's the kind of game only an American would like'

    Isn't Rockstar a UK company? I know Rockstar North worked on State of Emergency and Vice City, but the origional GTA series didn't start on this side of the pond.
    • Err... Didn't seem like these posts answered your question, but yes, Rockstar North is located in Edinburgh, Scotland... Although all their publishing people (Rockstar Games, Take-2) are in US...
  • Okay, 1001 comments about tentacle rape aside I'm actually very interested in the comments here and from the japanese fellow quoted so many times above me. Being a fairly avid Anime fan I can say for sure that there is no lack of tolerance for violence among the Japanese. Sensless or otherwise. So the question I have is, Why did he say what he said? Is it the aspect of playing as a criminal? As I try and look back at the Japanese movies/anime/games I've played I seem to remember that the largest maj
    • The reason why this person said what he said is simple - he doesn't particularly like the kind of game that GTA3 is and thus found it particularly easy to make a really stupid sweeping statement about what kinds of games Japanese gamers don't like. Nothing more. Whether Japanese gamers will actually dislike the premise and gameplay of GTA3 is something that we will have to wait and see.

      As far as my two cents go, Japanese people really like America (although that doesn't mean that they always agree with

  • Anyone remember this positive Japanese perspective [gamespy.com] on the game, from a rather unlikely source? (Slashdot story here [slashdot.org].
  • I guess they will change the fish market vans into hot dog carts...

  • More harm than good? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by amuro98 ( 461673 ) on Monday June 16, 2003 @02:54PM (#6215045)
    Most Japanese think Americans are loud, violent gun-toting maniacs thanks to the movies they see in theaters and on TV...

    "Yes you too can pretend to be an American in this realistic American city simulator!"

    I wonder if they'll make the cars drive on the other side of the road?

  • Not a surprising reaction (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Kirby ( 19886 ) on Monday June 16, 2003 @05:08PM (#6216650) Homepage
    Really, most _Americans_ are appalled by the GTA series, once you get outside gamer circles. And even moreso if they've actually _seen_ the game being played. I mean, this is a game where you pull drivers out of cars, beat them to death, and run over pedestrians while trying to avoid the cops.

    It doesn't exactly take a puritan to find that disturbing.

    (I have played the game, and found it not to my taste. I don't mind that it exists, and hey, if that's what the market likes, so be it, but this is a far stronger case that the game has objectionable content than the typical anti-3D-shooter sentiment.)
    • I mean, this is a game where you pull drivers out of cars, beat them to death, and run over pedestrians while trying to avoid the cops.

      No. This is a game where *YOU* apparently did that stuff. The actual game can be 100% completed without ever running over a pedestrian, beating any civilian to death, or harming a single cop. Just because you let your dark side go doesn't mean the game *forces* you to do those things. You can choose to play within most of society's rules (although you do have to kill some
  • ...the developers of Grand Theft Auto don't live in New York, Miami or even the USA. They're in Europe, although I don't remember the country, it ain't the USA.
  • Before you all go crazy crucifying the Japanese for saying only we Americans would like such a game, remember a few things. -This is based soley on a few friends of some guy we don't even know. -I studied Japanese culture in college and it is far, far more repressed than ours. It is not socially acceptable to express your true feelings or desires. Those things are expected to be explored only in private.. hence they tend to take them to the extreme when they have the privacy (tentacle rape, etc). All
  • Are they going to have the main Guy have tenticles? For that occasional full body cavity search. Include a cute but obnoxious side-kick? Perhaps they are going to change the Guy to a Gal! Nothing better then a gun-packing honey!

Slashdot Top Deals

Those who can, do; those who can't, write. Those who can't write work for the Bell Labs Record.

Close