After months of anticipation, Tokyo Jungle finally has a U.S. release date and price. Set for September 26th, the post-apocalyptic animal wasteland adventure will be retailing for just $15 on PSN. As much as we love this price point, it’s saddening it’s not more.
The game retailed (literally) for ¥3900 ($49) in Japan — more than double the U.S. asking price. It’s not as if the game was released awhile ago and coming over here at a discount price; it came out in Japan in June. So why the low price? Unfortunately, it’s not much of a mystery. Sony thinks interest doesn’t warrant a retail release or a full price point. In an age where we’ve seen Japanese ports decreasing, they aren’t alone. XSEED has been forced to adopt this strategy a few times, with Way of the Samurai debuting exclusively on PSN this week. Max Anarchy (Anarchy Reigns), released at full price in Japan, will debut at just $29.99 in North America.
Not seven years ago, the market was flooded with Eastern games at retail. From Suikoden to Disgaea, there were enough games to form a strategy guide company dedicated to them. These releases prove a market was there, so unfortunately, the blame lies with the audience. Obviously at some point, publishers felt sales were sluggish enough for import games to only warrant digital releases — if released at all.
What turned off gamers? There have been plenty of stinkers, but enough to turn off an entire segment of gaming? It’s a sad state of affairs when a game as creative and unique as Tokyo Jungle releases a discount digital release. While we love low prices, it sends the message to the industry that not only do Western gamers not care about Japanese games, but that a unique game is a hard sell. In a world where Call of Duty and its respective imitators dominate the market — we need all the offbeat releases we can get.
5 Comments
It’s what we’ve come to expect. You gotta price your games appropriately, otherwise they won’t sell. The demand in America is mainly action games so why would someone pick up this out of the ordinary title for $40-60 when you can get something like Borderlands 2 or Dead or Alive 5 for the same price?
I know they’re different types of games, but for $15, it becomes appealing to people who maybe wouldn’t have given it a second look. For all we know it will get promoted heavily on PSN that week and will get in the hands of more gamers. Lower price at an appropriate time will always increase the demand.
You’re absolutely right. But the demand in America is what’s unfortunate.
I demand Tokyo Jungle!
Just be glad they didn’t rename it (American city) Jungle.
Albuquerque Jungle.