[Discussion] DW7XL PS3 exclusivity.

[sakichi.livejournal.com]

I'm sure most of you have read about this by now: Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends is being released for the PS3 only in the west.

The original Dynasty Warriors 7 was ported to the Xbox 360 for its US and European release, where generally, Microsoft's console tends to sell better than the PS3 with copies of its games ranking higher on sales charts. Sales of DW7 seem to be divided between both with no console fully dominating the other*. But one must wonder why Tecmo-Koei has decided to only allow the release of the game on one console in the west as opposed to both when it's obvious that there are many, many people who bought the game for their 360s as well. Some may point to the reason being that the Xbox 360 is being gradually phased out in Japan due to extremely poor sales of the American console and nearly all current DW7 titles in Japan being exclusively for a Sony console as it was for many years (even though a lot of titles ended up being ported to PC, the original Xbox, and the 360 as well.) Some may theorize it's because the PS3 version sold better to begin with and releasing the expansion would not be profitable.

So Warriors, what's your opinion on the matter? Express your excitement, utter disappointment, whatever. But please, and I'm saying this now: DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT turn this discussion into a console war!

I mean it. No one wants to hear your reasons why you think one console is better than the other, okay? Save it for where it belongs, like 4chan. No flaming someone because they bought the game for one system and not the other. All I ask is you guys be mature about this. Now that that is out of the way... Personally, I'm a bit upset at their decision. I'm hoping there will be a Live Marketplace DLC release of the game in the future like there was with Samurai Warriors 2. I find it extremely unfair, to be honest. =\


*=By fully dominating the other, what I mean is, I don't see a huge difference between sales of the two. While I'm at it, let's compare them. Keep in mind that the game was only for the PS3 in Japan, so I'm not counting those sales to determine which version sold better in the west. I've read two different things from many souces, including referencing VGChartz. As for approximately how many copies sold for each version of the game:

—The Xbox 360 version sold about 87K worldwide. This version was not released in Japan.

—The PS3 version sold about 89K worldwide, not including Japan. Not a largely significant difference until the Japanese sales are factored in.

—In Japan alone, where the series is pretty popular, the exclusive PS3 version sold a whooping 457K alone.

I believe using the Japanese sales figures with the worldwide ones is a very poor way to determine how well the game sold in the west, since sales were divided between two consoles and not one. Also, I'm not saying that VGChartz and the like are fully reliable, but it's definitely something to consider.

Comments

[rydain]

What a crock. If KOEI didn't intend to fully support the 360 version with all the planned additional content, they should have made DW7 a PS3 exclusive. I feel bad for people who bought the game with the reasonable expectation of being able to enjoy the rest of the add-ons.

Though it's nice to see that XL has decloned a few characters, I'm disappointed at the apparently limited extent of such. So far, they've made new move sets that use the same base weapon, and I expect to see this trend continue. Tweaking motions is far faster than developing models, hit boxes, and all the other additional data required for new weapons. At least they're trying to mix things up, but I doubt I'm ever going to get my buckler blade back at this rate.

[sakichi.livejournal.com]

I didn't think they'd pull such a stunt, so I didn't think twice about getting the 360 version, as I'm sure a lot of other people thought the same at the time. What kills me is the fact that they're letting a high percentage (about 50%, give or take) of their sales go along with making a lot of people angry and disappointed. Unless something is announced and the decision is reversed in some form, I get the feeling this game will not sell very well. I hate sound like such a pessimist. Even if I would've bought the other version, I'd still be here in this discussion, trying to figure out what stupidity has infected their heads to come to such a fail decision. D=

They're trying, but fans will never be happy. They're always going to be someone complaining, but that's how it always is. I heard they've only decloned Shu characters, unless my info is out of date, that is. Koei has been treating Cao Ren badly since... DW6? I liked him in 4 and 5, but wtf is with the new character design? I really liked his old weapon, too. )=

[rydain]

Sad as it may be, I wouldn't be surprised if KOEI considers the Western fan base to be an albatross around their neck. We aren't getting SW3:XL or Empires, or DW7 Special for the PSP. The current generation character designs, a significant departure from the more traditionally Chinese costumes of the classic era, are clearly influenced by popular Japanese media tropes. Feh, at least I still have my full DW/SW/WO collection to enjoy.

Last I heard, Xiahou Dun, Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and Zhang Fei were decloned for XL. Guo Jia and Wang Yi got brand new move sets. KOEI hasn't handled an ensemble cast properly since Warriors Orochi, which managed to give everyone something meaningful - even if brief - within an overall narrative that was surprisingly good for a corny crossover fan service extravaganza. Nowadays, all they care to do is focus on a few people and phone in everybody else.

As to Cao Ren, I'm guessing that the designers don't like his somber sensitive badass archetype from 4 and 5, and his fan base is negligible enough that they don't care about maintaining the nuances of his original character. Same goes for everyone else drastically changed in 6 and later, like Elf Princess Yue Ying. (I heard that her old school battle dress designs were unpopular in Japan.) Revamps can work - O HAI THAR LU MENG - but you'd think they could do some market research to maintain that something for everyone appeal by keeping the niche characters' fan preferred characteristics. Then again, methinks I'm asking too much from a company that has no qualms about pissing off half of their paying Western fan base.

[sakichi.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't doubt it, either... *sigh* I love traditional Chinese clothes and I wish they would use them more, but since it's a Japanese game, anime-esque designs have definitely made their mark in terms of outfits and such. But since it's their culture, I suppose the influence is inevitable. Some characters are not too bad, but others really make me wonder sometimes. =\

I loved Warriors Orochi for that, despite it being a total fanboy's dream of a crossover (not that this is a bad thing.) It seemed like everyone was important in some way, and like you said, even if just a little. I think DW7's story mode is definitely a step in the right direction, though. But it's a shame that a lot of characters weren't featured as much as they should have been. I thought the Legendary battles in Conquest were going to somewhat make up for that, but I don't know about you, but I couldn't help but come away unimpressed after completing them. =( It seemed to be that they were rushed and shoved in at the last second. Pretty sad because there was so much that could have been done with those scenarios...

Some people were improved while others were, well... Is ruined too strong of a word? Sometimes, you have to wonder if they realize that changing a character to suit a certain archetype (like making the men more attractive or "bishounen" like, etc., as found in a lot of Japanese anime) tends to piss off that person's fans? Sometimes a revamp is great, but I can't help but feel that most characters were prettied up just to satisfy certain corners of their audience. I know it's a Japanese game and all, but come on. It's based on Chinese history for crying out loud. As a female fan, I love and hate them for what they've done to certain characters, but I suppose being too much of a stickler for historical accuracy and demanding it in a fantasy game is unrealistic.

Of course, what's not unrealistic is releasing a game for a large percentage of your fanbase. Why the stinginess? In the end, us as fans are gonna be the ones hurting, not them. I'm dreading the day this series ever tanks because some moron up at Tecmo-Koei thought it'd be a brilliant idea to play console favorites... again. Because, you know, it worked out so well last time it happened. *cough*