Sony is trying to woo Japanese game fans to the PlayStation 4 home console that went on sale in November in the U.S. and Europe, but didn’t arrive at stores here until February.<\/p>\n
Atsushi Morita, who heads Sony Computer Entertainment’s Japan operations, acknowledged Monday the momentum for the PlayStation 4 in Japan wasn’t catching up with the West, although its cumulative global sales reached 10 million recently, the fastest pace for any game console.<\/p>\n
The PS4 accounts for 78 percent of the home-console market in Japan, thrashing Microsoft Corp. of the U.S. and local competitor Nintendo Co., but Tokyo-based Sony Corp. won’t give a regional breakdown of recent sales.<\/p>\n
Microsoft’s Xbox One is set to go on sale in Japan Thursday, also much later than its November sale in the U.S. and some parts of Europe.<\/p>\n
Morita told reporters software games are in the works, mostly for early next year, including a revamped “Dragon Quest,” a game series that is extremely popular with Japanese. A “metal slime” PS4 model, a tribute to one of the game’s characters, will also go on sale. Pricing and other details were not disclosed.<\/p>\n
“We are determined to expand in this market,” Morita said at a Tokyo hall, showing trailers of dozens of games spanning genres including sports, car racing and shooting.<\/p>\n
Many powerful game franchises were born in Japan, such as “Super Mario,” “Monster Hunter” and “Final Fantasy” so it’s a tragic reversal to have the industry struggling here.<\/p>\n
One reason: People around the world are increasingly turning to social networks, games played on smartphones and tablets, and other online entertainment.<\/p>\n
Game machines are clinging on by promising a more sophisticated experience, such as playing online with others and adding a movie-like narrative and visual quality to the interactive element of games.<\/p>\n
“P.T.,” a collaboration between star game designer Hideo Kojima and “Mimic” movie director Guillermo Del Toro, resembles a horror film, in which players solve a mystery by virtually walking through a spooky house where mass murders were committed.<\/p>\n
To add to the fun, players can share video they take of themselves looking petrified playing the game. Kojima said some people were too frightened to finish the game.<\/p>\n
Another gadget Sony has in the works is Project Morpheus, a virtual-reality headset that delivers even more of an illusion of being somewhere else. Sony showed footage of a game where wearers can feel as though they are in the same room with a coquettish cartoon girl, wearing a miniskirt.<\/p>\n
Microsoft to reduce lag by predicting your gameplay<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Oculus Rift + Roller Coaster = Epic Ride<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n