Japan Game Awards See Promise In Asura’s Wrath And Final Fantasy XIII-2

Every year at Tokyo Game Show, CESA (short for Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association) honors top selling games. With over 4.6 million sales in Japan it’s no surprise Monster Hunter Portable 3rd was the winner of the grand prize. Games in the excellence award category include titles that sold well and those that were well received by fans. Catherine is in this category along with Ni no Kuni: The Jet Black Sorcerer.

Red Dead Redemption was honored with a special award because of its realistic graphics, brilliant scenario and world view, and its flexible game design.

Grand Prize

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd (PSP / Capcom)

Excellence Award

Wii Party (Wii / Nintendo)
The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki (PSP / Falcom)
Catherine (Xbox 360 & PS3 / Index Digital Media)
Gran Turismo 5 (PS3 / Sony Computer Entertainment)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii / Nintendo)
Xenoblade (Wii / Nintendo)
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii / Nintendo)
Ni no Kuni: The Jet Black Sorcerer (DS / Level-5)
Pokémon: Black and White (DS / The Pokémon Company)
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP / Konami)
Monster Hunter Portable 3rd (PSP / Capcom)

Special Award

Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360 & PS3 / Rockstar Games)

Best Seller Award

Pokémon: Black and White (DS / The Pokémon Company)

Global Award for a Japanese Product

Pokémon: HeartGold and SoulSilver (DS / The Pokémon Company)

Global Award for an Overseas Product

Call of Duty: Black Ops (Xbox 360, PS3 & PC / Activision)

I usually find the future awards section more interesting. These are games CESA believe will be well received and sell strong in the near future. Usually, the list is filled with familiar franchises, but this year a number of new IPs such as Asura’s Wrath, Dragon’s Dogma, and Binary Domain received honors.

Future awards

Asura’s Wrath (Xbox 360 & PS3 / Capcom)
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Blue (PSP / Falcom)
Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs. (PS3 / Namco Bandai)
Dragon’s Dogma (Xbox 360 & PS3 / Capcom)
Binary Domain (Xbox 360 & PS3 / Sega)
Battlefield 3 (Xbox 360, PS3 & PC / Electronic Arts)
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Xbox 360 & PS3 / Square Enix)
Final Fantasy Type-0 (PSP / Square Enix)
Phantasy Star Online 2 (PC / Sega)
Monster Hunter 3G (3DS / Capcom)
Dragon Collection (Mobile phones / Konami)

What’s Dragon Collection you say? It’s a social card collecting game Konami released on the mobile pone service GREE.