Where Are all the Japanese MMORPGs?

Japan has always been big on both video games and anime, but they’ve been very weak in MMORPGs. Japanese game developers like Square Enix and Konami are world renowned for their triple A games, but it seems like Japan is well behind countries like South Korea and China in the MMORPG space. Sure Square Enix has Final Fantasy 11 and Final Fantasy 14, but it seems like out of the 200+ free to play MMORPGs available in the U.S. Only a handful of them are Japanese developed. Games like Uncharted Waters Online from NetMarble and GetAmped2 from Cyber Step are Japanese developed, but for every Japanese developed MMORPG I can name a dozen Korean ones. The video game industry in Japan is big. And by big, I mean HUGE. Two of the biggest video game companies are based in Japan – Nintendo and Sony. To be fair, Sony Online Entertainment does have several MMORPGs in North America – Like Vanguard, Pirates of the Burning Seas, EverQuest 2 and numerous other titles – but none of these games were actually developed in Japan. So it wouldn’t be fair to call them Japanese MMORPGs.

So why isn’t Japan big on MMORPGs? I think it’s because they’re not great at developing these kinds of games. Don’t get me wrong – I love Japanese console games, but I’ve tried playing Uncharted Waters Online and strongly disliked it. Mostly because the interface sucked. Fantasy Earth Zero, which is published by GamePot USA is also one of the few Japanese developed MMOs in the U.S. The game isn’t bad, but it’s really old. The graphics just look ridiculously out dated. CosmicBreak unfortunately suffers from the same problem. The game is decent, but it just looks REALLY old. Pandora Saga looks a bit nicer, but it’s not at all popular in the U.S. – but that’s because it’s being published in Malaysia. U.S. Users can still access it though, because there aren’t any IP blocks in place.

The problem with Japanese MMORPGs is that they’re all incredibly old. Final Fantasy 14 and Dynasty Warriors Online are the newest MMORPGs developed in Japan. The rest of the titles available in North America are just really old games re-launching in North America. I actually had a chance to play the Final Fantasy 14 beta, and I was very disappointed. The game suffers from the same problem Uncharted Waters Online has – a terrible interface. Aside from the clunky interface, there’s a ton of lag while navigating the menus, that it’s just frustrating to play FF14. Hopefully Square Enix fixes these issues before launch. I Can’t say the same thing about Chinese MMORPGs. I mean, sure some Chinese developers like EnjoyMMO and TQ Digital make low quality games, but Perfect World Entertainment and ChangYou are well known for their very high quality titles. Forsaken World for example looks absolutely incredible – and I have no doubt that the game will be successful, as the company’s other games have been a big hit – See Perfect World, Jade Dynasty and Battle of the Immortals.

Anyway. Hopefully we can see some more Japanese MMORPGs here in the West.

More Anime MMORPGs Coming Soon

A lot of new anime themed MMORPGs are coming out in the next few months. Many of them have been announced already and many of them are just starting their closed beta. August, 2010 has been a great month for free to play anime games! Gpotato announced Iris Online, which looks amazing. Looks like Bright Shadow from GamePot USA, except much brighter and more colorful. I personally love anime graphics in video games for some reason, so I’m definitely excited about Iris. Prior to Iris Online, gPotato only had Fly For Fun as an anime themed MMORPG and it’s been getting old. I mean, it’s a great game, but it’s really old now. Another new anime inspired MMORPG from gPotato that was announced recently is Prius Online. Netmarble is the company that publishes it in South Korea, so I’m surprised they’re not publishing it on their global portal, and instead, are letting gPotato publish it. I never really heard much about Prius Online, but I recently read an article on a news site that a couple in South Korea were so addicted to the game that they had forgotten to feed their child. The game must be good!

Kitsu Saga is another 3D anime MMORPG i’m looking forward to trying once it releases. The game is published by Aeria Games and was developed by the same company who also made Grand Fantasia – one of my favorite MMORPGs. Like Zentia and Dragon Oath, Kitsu Saga is supposed to be martial arts themed. I’m not crazy about the whole martial arts thing, but so long as the game is fun – that’s all that matters. The game is actually called JS Online in South Korea and its supposed to launch in north America sometime in late 2010.

I’ve been playing older MMORPGs like Secret of the Solstice and Fiesta Online from Outspark for a while. So seeing all these new MMORPGs being announced is great. Both Fiesta and Secret of the Solstice are solid games, but i’m looking to try something else. Mostly because I’ve played these games to death. I tried Fantasy Earth Zero from GamePot USA but couldn’t get into it. The same goes for Asda Story from GamesCampus. I’m really looking forward to some of these newer games though. Until they come out, I’ll probably kill some time playing some Lost Saga on OGPlanet and Soul Master. Both games are fairly new and incredibly fun. If you haven’t played them do give them a chance!