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NEWS: Mamoru Oshii Supervises Opening Movie for Phantom of Kill Smartphone Game




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Aquasakura



Joined: 01 Jan 2014
Posts: 700
Location: Chesterfield, Virginia, U.S.A
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 5:26 pm Reply with quote
I just have this thought. Why does Japan get all the cool and interesting smart phone games with possibly amazing stories, while over here we don't most of the time (at least for me it seems)? I might consider playing games on my smart phone if we have games such as this license.

Anyway the concept of this game's story is neat, and the fact that the main characters are name after legendary weapons is interesting...could their be a link to them and those said weapons, because I just get the feeling there could be a link between the two. The tagline seems to hint about this.

Quote:
"Princesses. Imitations of the 'Killers.' They share the same blood. Several Thousand Souls. Several Thousand Bodies. All Sharing the Same Heart."


By "imitations of the killers" it could be referring to them imitating their respective name of those legendary weapons. By "they share the same blood" could be referring to they are link by the fact they are all weapons in the end. "Several Thousand Souls. Several Thousand Bodies." could be referring to all the people they have slain over the years. Lastly the "all sharing the same heart" could be they all share the same conviction whatever that may be. Of course all of this is just an hypothesis, and I wouldn't know until either I have played game (somehow) or watch a possible let's play of it (if I ever decide to).

On another note I like the promotional art with it's cool, bright colors and the character designs are stylized (which I like personally). I could give a full critique of the cover art, but I have things to do so I would leave it at that.

I checked out the website and I find it cool at you can see the animation unfolding on the front page while sobering music is playing (even though it repeats itself constantly as the music plays until the music itself stops). I never seen something like that done on a webpage before so kuddos to whoever design the website. Smile
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 6258
Location: Katy, Texas, USA
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 5:29 pm Reply with quote
Aquasakura wrote:
I just have this thought. Why does Japan get all the cool and interesting smart phone games with possibly amazing stories, while over here we don't most of the time (at least for me it seems)?


Well, probably because the developer and the Japanese licensor think there's no market in the US for this game. This is just my 2 cents.
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Hoppy800



Joined: 09 Aug 2013
Posts: 3331
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 5:35 pm Reply with quote
Another title that needs to be ported to Vita or 3DS even if it's digital only.
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Aquasakura



Joined: 01 Jan 2014
Posts: 700
Location: Chesterfield, Virginia, U.S.A
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:01 pm Reply with quote
mdo7 wrote:

Well, probably because the developer and the Japanese licensor think there's no market in the US for this game. This is just my 2 cents.


Awwwww...Well on one hand that could be a possible reason as I think the majority of U.S gamers are not into rpgs. This is especially the case for gamers who focus mainly or only on smartphone games, as the majority of them seem to be casual gamers from I've heard/observation). In fact maybe the developers and licensors from Japan view smartphone gaming in the U.S as being dominated by casual gamers. On the other hand there is a market for people who like rpgs in the U.S (or in particular jrpgs) so as Hoppy brings up they could port this game to either the Vita (which reminds me of wanting to get one as I don't have one so far) and/or 3DS be it physical, digital, or both.

I would like to play this game if given the chance.
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EricJ2



Joined: 01 Feb 2014
Posts: 4016
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:13 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Mamoru Oshii Supervises Opening Movie for Phantom of Kill Smartphone Game


...Annnd, it's twenty minutes of discussing the nature of Reality. Razz
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Kaioshin_Sama



Joined: 05 Feb 2005
Posts: 1215
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:55 pm Reply with quote
Aquasakura wrote:
I just have this thought. Why does Japan get all the cool and interesting smart phone games with possibly amazing stories, while over here we don't most of the time (at least for me it seems)? I might consider playing games on my smart phone if we have games such as this license.

Anyway the concept of this game's story is neat, and the fact that the main characters are name after legendary weapons is interesting...could their be a link to them and those said weapons, because I just get the feeling there could be a link between the two. The tagline seems to hint about this.

Quote:
"Princesses. Imitations of the 'Killers.' They share the same blood. Several Thousand Souls. Several Thousand Bodies. All Sharing the Same Heart."


By "imitations of the killers" it could be referring to them imitating their respective name of those legendary weapons. By "they share the same blood" could be referring to they are link by the fact they are all weapons in the end. "Several Thousand Souls. Several Thousand Bodies." could be referring to all the people they have slain over the years. Lastly the "all sharing the same heart" could be they all share the same conviction whatever that may be. Of course all of this is just an hypothesis, and I wouldn't know until either I have played game (somehow) or watch a possible let's play of it (if I ever decide to).

On another note I like the promotional art with it's cool, bright colors and the character designs are stylized (which I like personally). I could give a full critique of the cover art, but I have things to do so I would leave it at that.

I checked out the website and I find it cool at you can see the animation unfolding on the front page while sobering music is playing (even though it repeats itself constantly as the music plays until the music itself stops). I never seen something like that done on a webpage before so kuddos to whoever design the website. Smile


Yeah the same thing springs to mind. They get these sorts of apps that get updates and storylines that go along with some really nice looking artwork and what looks like moderately involving gameplay and then we get stuff like Angry Birds and....what else is popular in the cell phone market anyway.

It's not just Cell Phone apps though, lately it looks like the PS Vita and 3DS JRPG market is booming over there while we're only getting a casual taste of it with things like Bravely Default and the upcoming Persona Q.

Then again the idea of battle princesses is such a uniquely Japanese concept that I wonder if people would just misinterpret the idea. See when an average Westerner thinks of "Princess" or princess like character they typically think damsel in distress that's nothing more than just a pretty face to act as a plot device whereas the term "Hime" kind of has multiple connotations in Japan ranging from the traditional ideal of royalty to person of great authority, charisma, ability and inspiration in general. The question then becomes how do you market something like this to a Western audience that is going to associate the idea with something more girlish more than likely.
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Hoppy800



Joined: 09 Aug 2013
Posts: 3331
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 7:11 pm Reply with quote
Kaioshin_Sama wrote:
Aquasakura wrote:
I just have this thought. Why does Japan get all the cool and interesting smart phone games with possibly amazing stories, while over here we don't most of the time (at least for me it seems)? I might consider playing games on my smart phone if we have games such as this license.

Anyway the concept of this game's story is neat, and the fact that the main characters are name after legendary weapons is interesting...could their be a link to them and those said weapons, because I just get the feeling there could be a link between the two. The tagline seems to hint about this.

Quote:
"Princesses. Imitations of the 'Killers.' They share the same blood. Several Thousand Souls. Several Thousand Bodies. All Sharing the Same Heart."


By "imitations of the killers" it could be referring to them imitating their respective name of those legendary weapons. By "they share the same blood" could be referring to they are link by the fact they are all weapons in the end. "Several Thousand Souls. Several Thousand Bodies." could be referring to all the people they have slain over the years. Lastly the "all sharing the same heart" could be they all share the same conviction whatever that may be. Of course all of this is just an hypothesis, and I wouldn't know until either I have played game (somehow) or watch a possible let's play of it (if I ever decide to).

On another note I like the promotional art with it's cool, bright colors and the character designs are stylized (which I like personally). I could give a full critique of the cover art, but I have things to do so I would leave it at that.

I checked out the website and I find it cool at you can see the animation unfolding on the front page while sobering music is playing (even though it repeats itself constantly as the music plays until the music itself stops). I never seen something like that done on a webpage before so kuddos to whoever design the website. Smile


Yeah the same thing springs to mind. They get these sorts of apps that get updates and storylines that go along with some really nice looking artwork and what looks like moderately involving gameplay and then we get stuff like Angry Birds and....what else is popular in the cell phone market anyway.

It's not just Cell Phone apps though, lately it looks like the PS Vita and 3DS JRPG market is booming over there while we're only getting a casual taste of it with things like Bravely Default and the upcoming Persona Q.

Then again the idea of battle princesses is such a uniquely Japanese concept that I wonder if people would just misinterpret the idea. See when an average Westerner thinks of "Princess" or princess like character they typically think damsel in distress that's nothing more than just a pretty face to act as a plot device whereas the term "Hime" kind of has multiple connotations in Japan ranging from the traditional ideal of royalty to person of great authority, charisma, ability and inspiration in general. The question then becomes how do you market something like this to a Western audience that is going to associate the idea with something more girlish more than likely.


The Vita market is a great place for third person shooters and hunting games (albeit no good Monster Hunter title), Japan is getting a very good so far EDF 2 remake and Bullet Girls was excellent (also it's a 60 fps game). Gundam Breaker is getting a sequel and Toukiden is very good.
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Aquasakura



Joined: 01 Jan 2014
Posts: 700
Location: Chesterfield, Virginia, U.S.A
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:07 pm Reply with quote
Kaioshin_Sama wrote:


Yeah the same thing springs to mind. They get these sorts of apps that get updates and storylines that go along with some really nice looking artwork and what looks like moderately involving gameplay and then we get stuff like Angry Birds and....what else is popular in the cell phone market anyway.

It's not just Cell Phone apps though, lately it looks like the PS Vita and 3DS JRPG market is booming over there while we're only getting a casual taste of it with things like Bravely Default and the upcoming Persona Q.


Well there's Candy Crashers I keep hearing about for smartphones, but otherwise I do not keep on top of those games.
Anyway I am thankful at least that we are getting some Jrpgs instead of it being a dry spell. However I feel where you are coming from. It would be neat if Jrpgs were more mainstream like they are in Japan, but then if that did happen we may be left with a bunch of potential games for us wanting to play, and I heard late this year as well as spring of next we are going be dump with a ton of potential games for us to play. That would be a lot of temptation.

Kaioshin_Sama wrote:

Then again the idea of battle princesses is such a uniquely Japanese concept that I wonder if people would just misinterpret the idea. See when an average Westerner thinks of "Princess" or princess like character they typically think damsel in distress that's nothing more than just a pretty face to act as a plot device whereas the term "Hime" kind of has multiple connotations in Japan ranging from the traditional ideal of royalty to person of great authority, charisma, ability and inspiration in general. The question then becomes how do you market something like this to a Western audience that is going to associate the idea with something more girlish more than likely.


That with the idea of princesses carrying the connotation of royalty, authority, charisma, and inspiration reminds me of something that Disney try to focus on with their princess line up but fail for the most part. They can't even make a strong princess unless the character was base around a legend/fairytale that did star a strong women. Anyway you are right in that it seems that many people here have this romantic view of what a princess is. I don't know when people began having this view of princesses (I wouldn't say it was Disney despite them playing a huge role in this, because I know this conception has existed long before Disney was founded). I'm not surprise that the Japanese view of the princess title is more close to what it actually is then what people in general in the western hemisphere would think otherwise. Authority is taken more seriously over there then here.

I'll leave you with this video that relates to how princess are viewed here in the western part of the world. It's by a person name Doug Walker who in this video plays as the character nostalgic critic. He explains well of the perception of princesses, why people don't like the Disney princesses and ends on a good point. You welcome to watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAXEQswcv44
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14766
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:15 pm Reply with quote
Let me just bring up mine earlier post for some clarification:

For anybody curious: "Smartphones Make up Half of Japan’s $10.8Bn Games Industry" - According to market-intelligence firm CyberZ, the Japanese games market was worth $10.8 billion in 2013, with smartphones accounting for half of all consumer spending on games. Smartphones games generated $5.4 billion, a huge jump from the $3 billion, or 30% of the market, generated in 2012.

By far, Japan's top-grossing mobile games are f2p puzzle and card games, led by GungHo and its game Puzzle & Dragons.


(Blue = puzzle-rpg, red = card games, green = casual puzzle)

February 4, 2014 (iOS):

  • No. 1 Puzzle & Dragons by GungHo
    No. 2 Quiz RPG Witch and black cat quiz (by Colopl)
    No. 3 Dragon Quest Monsters Superlight (by Square Enix)
    No. 4 Monster strike (by Mixi)
    No. 5 LINE Pokopang (by Naver Japan)
    No. 6 Pro yakiyu PRIDE (by Colopl Inc)
    No. 7 Tsuri Suta (by GREE)
    No. 8 Sengoku Enbu (by Sumzap Inc)
    No. 9 Puyo puyo!! Quest (by Sega Corporation)
    No. 10 Gunzei RPG aoi no sangokushi (by Colopl)
    No. 11 Bousou retsuden tansha tora (by Donuts Ltd) (a motobicycle race game)
    No. 12 Dragon league X (by Asobism Co Ltd)
    No. 13 Clash of Clans (by Supercell)
    No. 14 Love life! School Idol Festival (by KLab Inc.)
    No. 15 Candy Crush Saga (by King.com Ltd)
    No. 16 LINE (by Naver Japan)
    No. 17 Dragon poker (by Asobism Co Ltd)
    No. 18 Gundam Area wars (by NamcoBandai Games Inc)
    No. 19 Brave frontier (by Alim Co Ltd)
    No. 20 Chain cronicle. Original scenario RPG. Chencro (by SEGA Corporation)
    No. 21 LINE Play (by Naver Japan)
    No. 22 LINE Bubble! (by Naver Japan)
    No. 23 LINE Disney tsumu tsumu (by Naver Japan)
    No. 24 World soccer collection S (by KONAMI)
    No. 25 Hay Day (by Supercell)




  • Puzzle 48.0%
    Virtual pet, virtual garden 7.1%
    Simulation 6.4%
    Action 5.3%
    RPG 4.6%
    Sports 3.9%
    Quiz 3.9%
    Adventure 3.2%
    Trading card 3.2%
    Education 2.1%
    Table-top 1.8%
    Shooting 1.8%
    Escape 1.4%
    Board 0.7%
    Racing 0.7%
    Trivia 0.7%
    Coin (slot machine, etc) 0.4%
    Defence 0.4%
    Other 4.3%


GungHo and Puzzle & Dragons are so big in Japan, they also top the 2013 global mobile game revenues:

  • Here’s the full list of top-grossing mobile games on iOS and Google Play:

    1. Puzzle & Dragons (GungHo Online)
    2. Candy Crush Saga (King)
    3. Clash of Clans (Supercell)
    4. Hay Day (Supercell)
    5. The Simpsons: Tapped Out (Electronic Arts)
    6. The Hobbit (Kabam)
    7. Slotomania (Caesars Entertainment)
    8. Megapolis (Social Quantum)
    9. Pokapang (Line)
    10. Kingdoms of Camelot (Kabam)

    Puzzle & Dragons was so profitable that it was enough to help GungHo Online take the top spot as the highest-grossing publisher on mobile. Supercell was the runner-up, followed by King and Electronic Arts.

    1. GungHo Online (Japan)
    2. Supercell (Finland)
    3. King (United Kingdom)
    4. Electronic Arts (United States)
    5. Line (Japan)
    6. Gree (Japan)
    7. CJ Group (South Korea)
    8. DeNA (Japan)
    9. Kabam (United States)
    10. Gameloft (France)



EricJ2 wrote:
Quote:
Mamoru Oshii Supervises Opening Movie for Phantom of Kill Smartphone Game

...Annnd, it's twenty minutes of discussing the nature of Reality. Razz


Thought it was Existentiality? Wink
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Hoppy800



Joined: 09 Aug 2013
Posts: 3331
PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:24 pm Reply with quote
50% of the industry is mobile, I feel sick because it's going to grow to near 70% in a few years. It's not that mobile games existence makes me sick, it's the fact that the business practices haven't improved much and you'd think by now there would be more games like Phantom of Kill, Damascus Gear, Front Mission 2089 and 2089 II, and others that are actual games and not total cash grabs/money pits.
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