Thursday, July 04, 2013

The question is: will Denpa Ningen no RPG 3 (aka THE 'DENPA' MEN 3) ever see the light of day outside of Japan?

Sadly, I'd say the most likely answer to the question above is something along the lines of "I doubt it."

That's mainly because although the first two Denpa Ningen no RPG (aka THE "DENPA" MEN) titles have sold surprisingly well since they were first released in Japan, all signs--such as Genius Sonority CEO Manabu Yamana's comments at the beginning of this recent Q&A--point to them not selling as well elsewhere.

Given my undying love for both previous entries in this colorfully charming series of digital RPGs, I obviously hope the just-announced third one, which will hit the Japanese 3DS eShop on Aug. 7, makes its way across the pond at some point--even if the earlier ones were out-and-out bombs in my neck of the woods.



Actually, I'd feel that way even if I wasn't a "DENPA" MEN fan, thanks to all of the additions that seemingly will be included in part three. I could use a bunch of bullet points and text to explain them here, but I think a much more appealing tactic would be to ask those of you who are interested to watch the video above, which was excised from this recent Chotto Nintendo Direct broadcast.

Sadly, the most enticing aspect of Denpa Ningen no RPG 3 for yours truly is the new head shape that looks startlingly like those cartoonish piles of poo you see all the time in Japanese anime, manga and video games.

7 comments:

apricotsushi said...

I don't want to be a stickler for grammar or anything, but I'm kind of confused by your first sentence! (paragraph? it looks like you might've combined two sentences there!)


Are you saying you think the first two games did well in Japan, but perhaps the 2nd one hasn't done as well in the west? I'm wondering because though you say you weren't surprised about the Denpa Men 3 announcement, I have to say I was! Maybe it's because I don't realize how popular it is in Japan, as I haven't really heard many people talking about 2 in particular... Anyway, it's great news, regardless!


And of course you'd like the poo-shaped head addition, haha :P

thegaygamer.com said...

Ha ha! You're right, Anne--that first sentence/paragraph makes no sense. I think I failed to include an entire thought in the second part of that sentence. Doh! I'll go back to it in the morning and fix it. Sorry about that--and thanks for pointing it out.


Basically, though, what I meant to say was that I'm wasn't surprised a 3rd game was announced for Japan, but I will be surprised if it's announced for the rest of the world--or at least North America--due to the seeming lack of success of the series in the States.


As far as I'm aware, the first two Denpa Men games have done really well in Japan, but we know for sure the first one didn't sell well in NA, at least. And given the timing of Denpa Men 2's western release (just before New Leaf, mainly) and the lack of news about its sales, I'm willing to bet it didn't set the eShop charts on fire either.


Hopefully the third one will make its way here anyway, but I'm not all that confident it will be at this point :|

thegaygamer.com said...

BTW, I just went back and re-read my original post again, and it didn't make sense at all! That's what I get for writing while watching tennis, I guess :P Thanks again for pointing out the messiness, Anne!

Justin Difazzio said...

I saw this announcement on Kotaku and thought of you. The house-decorating aspect shown in these previews nails it for me.

thegaygamer.com said...

Yeah, that aspect does look nice, doesn't it? Now we just have to wait and see if it's ever brought over here :|

diaglyph said...

When I saw the Chotto Direct I had a funny thought.
I wonder if I'd be more interested in Animal Crossing if it had RPG dungeons? hehe

thegaygamer.com said...

Hmmmm, I don't even know what to think about that, Igor. Sounds kind of like Rune Factory, right? (A series I've never played, BTW.)


Personally, I like the AC series as it is, although of course I want Nintendo to continue making additions and positive changes to it over time.