Japan likes Gears, they really like it!

by Dustin Burg { Jan 22nd 2007 at 8:00PM }

UncleGamer is reporting that our beloved Gears of War is selling like crazy in Japan. Gears was only recently released in Japan last week and from the looks of things, not a copy is to be found. Analysts were a tad skeptical that Gears would sell well in the country even though Famitsu (the holy grail of gaming magazines in Japan) gave it a high score. We all know that the Japanese aren't known for their taste of FPS style or western games, but here's to Gears for possibly making a successful jump overseas. Welcome Gears with open arms Japan, but be gentle.

[Via Digg]

Tags: epic, gears of war, GearsOfWar, gow, japan

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Brian @ Jan 22nd 2007 8:41PM

This kinda makes sense. It's not a first person shooter and it has a lot a cinematic elements. I think if you turned Fenix into a thin and nimble spec-op type character with long white hair, put a bunch of japanese names in the credits, and sold it on a japanese console, it would sell like mad.

aragorn @ Jan 22nd 2007 8:56PM

I would love to hear Marcus Fenix, as voiced by a Japanese voice actor.

it's actually not that hard to imagine.

Shaggydelic2007 @ Jan 22nd 2007 8:59PM

Is selling becuase Japan loves and makes Third Person Shooters.

Jeff @ Jan 22nd 2007 9:18PM

Why do people call Gears a FPS??!?!?
UGH.

/end of rant

Slod @ Jan 22nd 2007 9:27PM

Its very simple. I actually have japanese friends who tell they dont like the fps genre because of not actually seeing the character they are playing. This is why gears is having a pretty outstanding effect over there.

Jonah Falcon @ Jan 22nd 2007 9:41PM

Gears of War is a 3rd person action game. It's NOT a first person shooter.

Wii360dsPC @ Jan 22nd 2007 10:16PM

Gears isn't even a traditional 3rd person shooter let alone an FPS. It's something special and maybe we've struck upon a western formula that sells there. More stunning, the game has managed to sell out while saddled with the restrictive CERO Z rating -- Japanese equivlent of AO (Adults Only). Wow.

While GOW selling well is nifty, the Japanese version of Viva Pinata is kicking ass as well. There's some fight in our little box in the land of the rising sun.

Bubba @ Jan 22nd 2007 10:18PM

The Japanese liked Gears before it was released here. I was at the import shop in Tokyo to pick it up the day after it launched in the U.S. and was shocked to see a bunch of other guys waiting for the store to open too. The Japanese GOW group on xboxfriends.jp stood at almost 300 members before the JP release and almost everyone on the list at the time had the import version.

Edge of Blade @ Jan 22nd 2007 10:26PM

Congratulations to Microsoft, as this is one hell of a tough nut to crack. Keep it up and you will win them over.

BklynKid @ Jan 22nd 2007 10:35PM

I wonder if this will sell any systems there. We shall see.

puddlejumper @ Jan 23rd 2007 12:22AM

Jesus Christ. For an xbox360 fanboy, it's sad that you don't know the difference bettwen FPS and 3rd Person Shooter. I cringe like the posters before me. sigh.

Brian James @ Jan 23rd 2007 12:27AM

Woohoo! I hope this sell a lot of 360's in Japan!

Gears is a fantastic game... most impressive is it's co-op. Aren't MMO's and multiplayer games much more popular in Japan, than the US?

pixelate @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:41AM

someone said they wanted to hear Marcus Fenix w/ Japanese voice acting... here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETYQ0UJ8e4Y

ZenGaijin @ Jan 23rd 2007 4:31AM

Finally now I can kick some japanese ass and return the ass kicking they've been giving me in LostPlanet.

Rob K @ Jan 23rd 2007 4:48AM

If you read it, you'll see that he didn't actually say that Gears is a FPS.. But it was still a pretty strange comment to make!

edhe @ Jan 23rd 2007 4:59AM

Nice!
Maybe Epic have just come across the elusive formula that will help western games succeed in JPN then - a little more protagnoist interaction in all our games then eh?

Except Half-life... of course..

Pulse @ Jan 23rd 2007 7:19AM

Good to see, a few Japanese friends I have want this game as well, lol, they hate FPS and find it rather generic. Thier opinion, not mine. I'd pick Gears over Halo any day, but thats just me.