Some people presume that Japan doesn’t like Western games, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Grand Theft Auto sold fairly well and Ratchet & Clank has always been a hit even though the box art has cartoony characters. Similar to how there is a growing niche market for strategy RPGs in North America, a first person shooter market is beginning to emerge in Japan. Case and point Famitsu’s recent most wanted list. Dragon Quest IX and Final Fantasy XIII take the top two spots. No real surprise there, but let’s skip down to number 20, Halo 3. That’s right Bungie’s shooter managed to creep its way into the top 20 list beating out Itadaki Street DS (one of the few Square-Enix games not on the list) and Disaster: Day of Crisis.
1, Dragon Quest IX (DS, Square Enix)
2. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Square Enix)
3. Biohazard 5 (PS3, Capcom)
4. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3, Konami)
5. Monster Hunter 3 (PS3, Capcom)
6. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS, Nintendo)
7. Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (Wii, Square Enix)
8. Super Robot Taisen: Original Generations (PS2, Banpresto)
9. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii, Nintendo)
10. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360, Microsoft)
11. Everybody’s Golf 5 (PS3, Sony)
12. Animal Crossing (Wii, Nintendo)
13. Devil May Cry 4 (PS3, Capcom)
14. Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII (PSP, Square Enix)
15. It’s a Wonderful World (DS, Square Enix)
16. Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3, Square Enix)
17. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo)
18. Gran Turismo 5 (PS3, Sony)
19. Trusty Bell: Chopin no Yume (Xbox 360, Bandai Namco)
20. Halo 3 (Xbox 360, Microsoft)
