Japanese Army To Appear In New "Call of Duty"

[Mulboyne]

Gamer sites are reporting that the new Call of Duty title will feature Japanese forces for the first time in the series. Shack News says "The game is also said to be 'gritty,' with the opening scene showcasing a torture sequence in which a prisoner's eye is burned out with a cigarette before his throat is slit and 'blood splatters and dribbles down the side of the tent you are being held in.'" Japanese netizens predict that the game won't be popular in Japan but suspect that it might see good business in Korea.

[Charles]

For the record, there was an unofficial CoD scenario based on Japanese troops and weapons, it was an add-on for the first release. Jeez, that must be about 4 or 5 years ago now. Of course that mod was crude by modern gaming standards.

[Midwinter]

The sad part is that this new installment is being developed by Treyarch and not Infinity Ward, the true power behind this series. With a bit of luck however, this new theater of operations should inspire some memorable battles. Anything has to better than Battle for the Pacific's Iwa Jima stage... even another CoD3.

[Kuang_Grade]

While First Person Shooters (FPS) aren't as popular in Japan as they are in the West, they do have their J constituency. And a few years back, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun did surprisingly well in Japan given that it was FPS and nature of the content....A first person view of an US marine mowing down Japanese imperial troops...Granted they were tiny, tiny numbers compared to something like a Final Fantasy game but good numbers for a FPS in Japan.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4780423
From a April 2004 article

"FPS games have become more popular; however, most Japanese people are resistant to FPS games," said Kouji Aizawa, editor in chief of Famitsu PS, a popular gaming magazine in Japan . "A lot of people [still] resent the idea of shooting people in games."
...
More recently, the World War II-based FPS, "Medal of Honor: Rising Sun," has sold more than 200,000 copies in Japan since its launch in December.

I would imagine that J forces will only be the enemy to be killed in the single player game, although it is highly likely that any mulitplayer aspect of the game will have playable J Imperial forces.

[klimmer]

"A lot of people [still] resent the idea of shooting people in games."

I think the industry is trying to play safe and make games that the majority of otakus enjoy (more schools girls and inane plots), and ignoring other genres. 10% of a large gaming community is still a substantial market.

I also seem to recall many Japanese games that extremely violent and popular, like Metal Gear Solid 4.

[ttjereth]

"A lot of people [still] resent the idea of shooting people in games."

I think the industry is trying to play safe and make games that the majority of otakus enjoy (more schools girls and inane plots), and ignoring other genres. 10% of a large gaming community is still a substantial market.

I also seem to recall many Japanese games that extremely violent and popular, like Metal Gear Solid 4.

I've actually found among Japanese friends that game that a large number of the people who dislike FPS dislike them because they experience something almost like motion sickness when playing them. Be interesting to see if that is a common thing or just amongst the weirdos I know...

[Mulboyne]

[Charles]

[Greji]

and then you'd run into a hidden flamethrower and suddenly all your guys were on fire. Game over.

That happens when you go up against Aussie irregulars...

[Charles]

That happens when you go up against Aussie irregulars...

These were all WWII scenarios. I don't think the ozzies had discovered fire yet.

[craxican]

it would be kickass if you they made a made up senario of all that where the USMC would goto Nanking and have to a mission out there. then there would be debates on japans side saying it is to critical on japans past and we should forget that it ever happend. this seems more fun in my head i think

[Kuang_Grade]

I'm posting these US commercials for call of duty world at world due to their interesting style... They are narrated by the Japanese antagonists in the game and it struck me that the verbiage is probably not too far removed from thinking of Iraqi suicide bombers. The wii only version (while of poor image quality) is even more strange, with Japanese soldiers promising death in the commercial, and then ending with Nintendo Wii branding set piece of the two i's in wii, being very Japanese, and bowing.

the general, multiplatform CM
[yt]USxvgKS7Ux4[/yt]

the wii CM version
[yt]g9d_f0pHDAs[/yt]

[kurohinge1]

. . . And a few years back, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun did surprisingly well in Japan given that it was FPS and nature of the content. . .

Major Martin Clemens - the real Guadalcanal guerrilla fighter who featured in the MOH: Rising Sun's "Pistol Pete Showdown" level, has just passed away - aged 94. It sounds like he was quite a legend:

. . . When he descended in August 1942 from his small mountain-top eyrie, he was gaunt, bearded, dressed in rags and barefoot - a far cry from the immaculate, genial presence who would argue in 1947 in favour of reserving the Gaza Strip for Palestinians, defuse major disagreements between Greeks and Turks on Cyprus in the 1950s and become known in Melbourne for his community work.

. . . Representatives from Britain, the Solomons and the 1st US Marines flew from the US and Canberra to attend his funeral in Toorak . . . more