As mentioned in “Why I’m a PC Gamer“, my only source of video games comes from the PC platform. However, my tastes tend to lean towards games of Japanese origin. Many people have, historically, questioned me on this, stating that not many Japanese games are released on PC. Here, I am going to explain the dramatic change in the world of Japanese games on PC and how it has got to this point.
First off, it is worth noting that PC gaming wasn’t always unpopular in Japan. At one point, it was the most popular platform for playing RPGs. In fact, Nihon Falcom, known for the Ys series and the Legend of Heroes franchise, established themselves as PC developers and only began to make the change to other platforms around 2006. However, consoles gradually led to a plummet in PC gaming in Japan with the release of console RPGs that were more colourful and story-driven.
I remember when I began to get into PC gaming, around 2008, noting how few Japanese games were available for PC. Instead, I played western RPGs such as Mass Effect, Dragon Age and the Witcher and RTSs such as the Dawn of War series and Company of Heroes. During this time period, the only Japanese games I can remember playing on PC were Devil May Cry 3 and 4 (on keyboard and mouse, shudder). It seemed I would have to rely on consoles such as the PS3 and PSP if I wanted to get my fix of Japanese games.
Sometime in 2010, I remember seeing a title called Recettear. A doujin (basically indie) game which had you run an item shop for adventurers, it was a big success on Steam, managing to sell over 100,000 units in a few months. I am proud to say that I was one of those 100,000 but even though I could see how successful it had been, I didn’t know how soon Japanese games would see a resurgence on Steam.
In 2012, after a successful petition, Dark Souls was released on PC and ended up being a gigantic sales success, selling millions of units! As big of a fan of Dark Souls as I am now, I am ashamed to say that I did not get into the series until late 2015 so I have little memory of the impact that this release had. However, I can clearly remember the joy I felt when Final Fantasy games such as VII and VIII followed this release and the steady wave of Japanese games that would follow.
Despite all of this success, it has not been a smooth transition for Japanese developers to release their games on PC. Dark Souls, the game that arguably began the Japanese PC games rush, was a weak PC port with a locked resolution and a capped frame-rate of 30 FPS. This problem would persist throughout the years with many Japanese games seeing releases that were substandard for the PC platform.
Much of the problem comes down to the lack of familiarity Japanese developers have with PC gaming, instead choosing to lock resolutions, frame-rates and struggling to make their games run efficiently. While things have definitely improved since the days of the Dark Souls PC port, there is no doubt that Japanese releases tend to lack features that many western games possess.
Despite all of this, I consider the PC to be the definitive way to play many of these games and while there can be some gaps (Where is Persona 5 for PC?), the variety of games now available on the platform means that you should not be lacking for options if you choose to play Japanese games exclusively on PC as I have.
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.