Sony And PS5's Performance In Japan Is Becoming A Grave Concern

The newest sales reports from Japan paint a very stark and interesting picture – the top 30 software sales charts for the week are all Nintendo-only. There is not one single PlayStation game in the top 30. And while it goes without saying, it bears repeating – the top 30 is all Nintendo, while being one system, which is obviously the Switch. One system has total and absolute domination over the software sales in an entire major market. This has quite literally never happened since the heyday of the NES (the Family Computer, or Famicom, in Japan), and it paints a rather sordid picture for the state of Sony's prospects in Japan going forward.

This is honestly shocking, because even though Nintendo has traditionally done very well in Japan, Sony has always held the lion's share of software sales in the country. The PS1 and PS2 were absolute monsters, the PSP was where most Japanese games migrated to even as the industry struggled with the transition to HD; the PS3 eventually managed to rally most of the Japanese industry behind it, with the PS3, PSP, and PS Vita forming a combined ecosystem that saw a lot of Japanese publishers continue to prioritize and emphasize PlayStation systems for their projects. Once the PS4 came on to the scene, it took a while to get going, but even while it was finding its footing, the PS3 and PS Vita held up the fort, and eventually, the PS4 and Vita continued that ecosystem further.

The issue is, PlayStation wasn't getting Japanese third party support because of any particular effort by Sony, or quality inherent to PlayStation platforms. It was getting that third party support because there were quite literally no other platforms for those games to go to. Xbox consoles are a non-factor in Japan – they're out of reckoning for this one (though Xbox has been gaining some good ground with the Series consoles in the land of the rising sun the last few months, surprisingly enough). So it always came down to PlayStation or Nintendo.

There, the answer was always obvious – yes, the Wii had sold more, but the audience it had cultivated wasn't particularly interested in buying RPGs, action adventure games, or visual novels – the types of games Japanese developers thrive at making. Yes, the DS was massively successful, and its audience did want to buy just about any game you could put on it – but it was extremely weak in terms of hardware, meaning a lot of games couldn't come to it even if the developers wanted. The PS3 and PSP became the platforms to go to by default, essentially.

The 3DS was a clear attempt at courting the PSP audience, and it actually did make inroads there, but the Vita allowed for easy cross-porting between it, the PSP, the PS3, and the PS4, which as a combined ecosystem was still far more valuable (and easier to get into) than the bespoke and singular 3DS could manage. So in spite of the 3DS' monstrous success in Japan, and the Vita's relative failure, most third party support in the country still went to PlayStation. The Wii U was an abysmal misfire, meaning it was never in reckoning, in turn making the PS4 the default system to go to.

ps3 ps vita ps4

Essentially, then, what Nintendo needed to do was to come out with a device that was capable enough to host games Japanese developers like to make, cultivated an audience that liked buying the kinds of games Japanese developers like to make, was easy to develop and publish games for, and which had a big install base. Until the Switch, one or the other of these factors has always been missing, which had only reinforced Sony's position as the de facto, default place to go to for Japanese developers. But that's the thing, if your success is built not off of your own merits or anything you have done, but rather, the competition's consistent misfires, then eventually you're going to lose the top spot. Unless you make active efforts to solidify your position, and just rely on the competition bumbling, it will come back to bite you.

Sony has not only not made the appropriate efforts to cultivate the Japanese market, but has, in fact, done everything in its power to alienate and diminish it. From closing its local in-house Japanese development studio to imposing arbitrary content and administrative restrictions on Japanese games and game creators, to simply arrogantly throwing their weight around, with things as trivial as their reversal of the X and O button functions in the PlayStation UI and the lack of support extended to local developers, Sony has been burning bridges with a lot of Japanese developers and publishers for a while now.

So between Sony's consistent sidelining of Japan, and Nintendo finally getting a system out that checks all the boxes, what has happened? We have ended up with a situation where a PlayStation system is no longer the default, where at the very least a lot of the Japanese support it commanded as de facto exclusive (because, again, where else would those games go?) has become at least multiplatform (such as with long running PlayStation exclusive franchises such as Atelier), or outright exclusive (such as with Disgaea). We've ended up at a point where Japanese games sell more on Switch – not just in Japan, but worldwide now.

None of this is really new information – but it does tie into a broader point about Nintendo and Sony's contrasting strategies, and how they are indicative of the broader directions the two companies have chosen to take for their respective brands. Sony has decided to go all in on the high end, the prestige associated with the next blockbuster big budget release. Those are the games Sony chooses to highlight and associate with – which isn't to say smaller fare isn't allowed on PlayStation, of course, it is, but Sony really doesn't care about any of that. This is why indie games have also suffered a similar fate as Japanese games on PlayStation – they are mostly sidelined, because Sony wants all eyes on the next big blockbuster, whether its own, or from its partners.

nintendo switch oled

And to be fair to Sony, those partners might well be indie or Japanese too. Sony does highlight Japanese games – such as Final Fantasy. Sony does highlight indie games – such as Kena: Bridge of Spirits. But all those games are carefully curated and selected high end "blockbusters", even within their own niches, and so they get Sony's approval. In contrast, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim can be an award winning, critically acclaimed game that is PS4 exclusive (not even on PC!), and Sony doesn't even acknowledge it on its own store page.

This is the reverse of Nintendo's strategy. Nintendo has embraced the mid-tier of the market, that segment of the market that the transition to HD all but killed until the Switch gave it a thriving ecosystem to subsist in. This is why Nintendo has no trouble holding 30 minute long streams dedicated to nothing but indie games every few months. This is why low- to mid-tier Japanese games such as No More Heroes III or Rune Factory 5 get showcased in their presentations so frequently. Nintendo has zero trouble highlighting the high end, of course – when it has high end games coming to its system, it pushes them for all they're worth. But to Nintendo, there is no distinction or difference between a high end game or a mid tier one, and as long as it's an appealing game, it will get marketed by the company.

What this has led to, in turn, is two very different software markets and ecosystems on PlayStation and Nintendo. Amusingly enough, they each seem to be imbibing what the other was like in the past. In the past, PlayStation was the platform that democratized game development, and highlighted and pushed everything. That's why so many of these once small developers and franchises, such as Persona, grew on PlayStation platforms to begin with. Nintendo was known to highlight a "premium software" strategy, where carefully curated hits, its own as well as from select third party partners, were what were marketed. This led to two very different software markets and ecosystems across the platforms – PlayStation owners were more willing to buy out different kinds of software, rather than just the next big hit, and a lot of smaller games and developers saw massive success on there as a result. On the other hand, Nintendo owners were likely to just wait for the next big hit – almost always just a Nintendo game, but sometime a carefully selected third party title too, whether it be Star Wars: Rogue Squadron on the N64 or Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube.

Right now, we're seeing the opposite of that. Sony has cultivated the blockbuster audience – the audience waiting for the next big hit from Sony, or the next major AAA blockbuster drop. This audience is focused on the latest and greatest, and as a result, a lot of it isn't really too interested in picking up a random indie or Japanese game that looks like it was maybe cutting edge back on the PS2. And that's obviously fine – there's nothing wrong with preferring the cutting edge as a player, and there's nothing wrong with Sony choosing to focus on that, given how successful they are right now.

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Nintendo players, on the other hand, thanks to Nintendo taking the initiative to actively cultivate an audience that is willing to try out a whole bunch of things – from the newest indie game that looks even slightly interesting to the newest Japanese game in a long running niche series – are now taking more risks, a broader approach with what they choose to buy. Obviously, given the Switch's freakishly high software attach rates, they're pretty happy with what they get when they experiment with these games too, leading to this kind of software support for the platform being further perpetuated, and customers being exposed to an even broader array of games. There's a reason that where once, smaller games would become huge on PlayStation before maybe migrating over to other systems, the opposite is happening now – there's a reason that Hollow Knight and Hades were big on Switch before they were on any other console, and that reason is that Nintendo has created an ecosystem where developers and customers alike are likelier to have an affinity for broad, varied software across the spectrum, rather than just sticking to the next big blockbuster.

This kind of embrace of all games is why the Japanese industry has ultimately rallied around the Switch at this point, why the Switch is the Japanese games industry, in fact. Obviously, the PS5 will continue to get Japanese support – high end Japanese games such as Resident Evil can't go anywhere else, and even with the smaller tier stuff, a lot of it will probably come to PlayStation because a multiplatform release strategy makes sense, with the ease of porting for modern systems. But more and more, we're going to start to see the kind of ecosystem PlayStation cultivated over two decades to slowly migrate over to Nintendo going forward – assuming, obviously, that Nintendo doesn't decide to pull a Nintendo and mess things up with the Switch successor.

Nintendo is probably going to mess things up with the Switch successor.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Call of Duty: Vanguard Will Have 16 6v6 Maps at Launch – Rumour

With Call of Duty: Vanguard seemingly edging closer to its official reveal soon, notable Call of Duty leaker Tom Henderson has been teasing out some interesting details of late. One detail in particular that has caught the eye of many series fans is the fact that the game is supposedly going to launch with quite a few maps, with the total number currently standing at 24.

According to Henderson, of those 24 maps, 16 maps are going to be for 6v6 games. Henderson says that though he had previously heard there would be around 8-10 6v6 maps in the game, there's apparently been a major "ramp up", and the final number is going to be more than expected.

Recent Call of Duty releases, Black Ops Cold War in particular, drew criticism from fans for their low map count at launch, so it's good to see that Vanguard is addressing those issues. Of course, this is all unconfirmed right now, so treat it as such.

We'll find out soon enough though, so stay tuned for more details.

Halo Infinite – Leaked Footage Shows a New Map, Launch Site

Halo Infinite leaks have been doing the rounds quite frequently of late. Just last week, we got details on four multiplayer maps from the game that had yet to be officially revealed by 343 Industries, one of which had a Saber preparing for takeoff as one of its dominating characteristics, with clear inspiration from Halo: Reach's Countdown.

Now, new footage has leaked online that shows more of that map. As shard by @LeakyHalo on Twitter and then further in a Reddit post, the map clearly focuses on verticality in its design, while it seems like there might be some dynamic elements as well. It's hard to be too sure about the exact characteristics of the map at this point (there's clearly some placeholder stuff in there), but it does give us a pretty good idea of what to expect from it. According to the game's files, the map is going to be called Launch Site.

Recently, spoilers from the game's campaign have also found their way online, so make sure to avoid those as best you can. Meanwhile, leaks also indicate that a battle royale mode might be in the pipeline.

Halo Infinite is due out this Fall for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.

The Callisto Protocol Director Shares New Teaser Art

Survival horror fans have quite a bit to look forward to in the near future where the AAA space is concerned. Dead Space is making a long-awaited comeback with EA Motive's remake of the first game (which is rumoured to be targeting a late 2022 launch), but of course, the people who created Dead Space to begin with are also working on The Callisto Protocol at Striking Distance Studios, a brand new science fiction survival horror IP which looks to be capturing much of the same crowd.

Glen Schofield, studio head and director of the title, recently took to Twitter to share some new teaser art for the game. It doesn't show a whole lot, and you shouldn't expect to get any ideas about the gameplay from it, but it's a cool reminder of the sort of aesthetic the game is going for- gleefully disgusting and horrifying. Take a look at it below.

The Callisto Protocol is currently targeting a 2022 launch for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. An exact release date for it hasn't yet been confirmed.

xCloud Works Well on Steam Deck, Phil Spencer Says

The Steam Deck is shaping up to be an exciting device, not only because it's essentially going to be a proper, well-powered handheld gaming PC, but also because, with its promise of being an open platform, it'll allow users to run third party applications as well, including other storefronts. Of course, as you'd expect, you'll also be able to use the Steam Deck to stream Xbox games via xCloud- and how exactly is that going to perform?

Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently took to Twitter, and according to him, it's actually performing very well. As it turns out, Spencer has had a Steam Deck in his possession for about a week, and has been trying out games on it, including the likes of Age of Empires and Halo, which he says "feels good." According to Spencer, xCloud "works well" on the Steam Deck- so there you have it. That's yet another use for Valve's upcoming device.

Steam Deck is getting a limited launch in some regions of the world this December (with more waves of stock following later in 2022), so we'll find out soon enough exactly how well the device runs games via xCloud.

Metroid Dread is the Most Pre-ordered Switch Game Over the Last Couple of Months, According to GameStop

Metroid Dread has been a long time coming, and as the first new 2D Metroid game in nearly two decades and the first new Metroid title since 2010, it goes without saying that series fans are quite excited for the game. And for once in the series' history, it seems like that's going to be reflected in solid sales as well- at least if pre-orders are anything to go by. 

GameStop recently sent out emails to its customers (via Nintendo Everything), in which the retail chain revealed the top 10 most pre-ordered upcoming Switch games over the last couple of months. Metroid Dread topped the list, beating out major upcoming games such as Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Shin Megami Tensei 5, Mario Party Superstars, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and many more. 

Metroid has historically not been a very high-selling series, which is probably why Nintendo hasn't focused on it as much as fans would have liked, so it's great to see that, according to early indications, Metroid Dread might turn out to be a much more commercially successful game. Here's hoping, for the series' sake, that this continues.

The full top 10 for the most pre-ordered Switch games (starting June 8) can be found below.

Metroid Dread launches for the Nintendo Switch on October 8.

No. Game
1. Metroid Dread
2. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl Double Pack
3. Mario Party Superstars
4. Pokemon Legends: Arceus
5. Shin Megami Tensei 5
6. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond
7. WarioWare: Get it Together!
8. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus
9. Sonic Colors: Ultimate
10. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

Upcoming Action RPG Faith of Danschant: Hereafter Impresses with Gameplay Debut

Major upcoming AAA games from lesser-known Chinese developers have really been making waves of late. Since its reveal last year, Black Myth: Wukong has continued to look impressive, and recently, developer Beijing Joyfun revealed their own new game, Faith of Danschant: Hereafter, with an impressive gameplay debut around a dozen minutes long.

Faith of Danschant: Hereafter is an action RPG based on Chinese mythology that serves as a sequel to the 2017 title, Faith of Danschant. Its gameplay debut shows densely wooded environments, with a focus on fast and kinetic combat. Something else that's highlighted is slick traversal, with the protagonist running up and along tall bamboo trees, and even using them in interesting ways during combat (such as cutting off a tree and then kicking the cut off part into an enemy). Check out the full debut below, courtesy of IGN.

Faith of Danschant: Hereafter is being built on the Unreal Engine (though there's no word on whether its UE5 or not). The game will feature support for RTX and DLSS. It's confirmed for PC and consoles (though the developers haven't specified exactly which consoles it's targeting), and does not yet have a release date.

Psychonauts 2 Devs Talk About Psychic Gadgets in New Video

With Psychonauts 2 finally coming up at long last to put years of anticipation to an end, the developers at Double Fine Productions have been talking about various aspects of the game. Recently, in a newly released video, the devs spoke about a couple of the psychic gadgets you'll be using in the game, in addition to Raz's own abilities.

The gadgets on display here are the Thought Tuner, which essentially allows you to read peoples' thoughts floating around in the world, while the second is the Otto-Shot Camera, which will function as a photo mode in the game, complete with editing tools, filters, and what have you. Both gadgets can be obtained from the lab of Otto Mentallis, the quartermaster and one of the six founders of the Psychonauts. Check out the video below.

Psychonauts 2 recently wrapped up development and will be launching on August 25 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Marvel's Avengers Spider-Man DLC Still Planned for 2021, Crystal Dynamics Says

Marvel's Avengers has added two DLC characters in the form of Kate Bishop and Hawkeye so far, and the third, Black Panther, is right around the corner as well. One of the first DLC characters to be announced for the game, however, was Spider-Man, who was confirmed as exclusive content for those playing the game on PlayStation consoles. It's been a while since we got any updates on his addition to the game's roster though, so when exactly can we expect him to arrive?

According to Crystal Dynamics, the plan is still to bring Spider-Man to Avengers by the end of this year. Speaking in an interview with Screen Rant, senior game designer Scott Walters said that the Spider-Man DLC is still on track for 2021, and Crystal Dynamics will have more details to share on that front later in the year.

"In terms of what we can say now, we've always scheduled and looked to bring Spider-Man out in 2021 for PlayStation owners," Walters said. "That is still on track, so we'll have more announcements later on this year."

With Crystal Dynamics currently focused on the Black Panther DLC, it makes sense that they're not going to be talking about any other upcoming content until that's been wrapped up. Whether or not they can stick to their planned timeline for upcoming content for the year following that remains to be seen.

Black Panther – War for Wakanda is launching in a couple of days, on August 17, for all platforms.

New Twisted Metal Game Reportedly in the Works

Sony's got a large number of beloved first party franchises under its belt that have been dormant for way too long, and there's a legion of fans who keep hoping for their revivals. One such franchise is the vehicular combat series Twisted Metal, which hasn't seen a new game release since the 2012 PS3 title. That, however, might change soon.

According to well-known leaker Tom Henderson, a new Twisted Metal game is currently in the works and is, for now, planning a 2023 launch. Henderson's tweet is a brief one, so there's plenty of questions surrounding the game right now- whether this will be a remake, a reboot, or something else entirely remains to be seen. A Twisted Metal TV series is also in development, so maybe this could tie in with that.

Of course, in spite of Henderson's solid track record with leaks, there's no guarantees that this is accurate. That said, Andy Robinson of VGC recently also took to Twitter to state that he's been told that a new Twisted Metal game is indeed in the works.

Meanwhile, Twisted Metal might not be the only dormant Sony franchise gearing up for a comeback. A recent leak also claimed that a new WipEout game is in the works for PS5 and PSVR 2. Read more on that through here.