Facts about chopsticks in japan

The release of a Pokemon game in Japan was always going to attract many fans to flock to the nearest store (or in this case, the largest Pokemon Center in Japan), so the release of Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon wasn’t going to be an exception to this rule. In fact, over 500 eager fans lined up outside in anticipation of the latest game’s launch. However, things started to sour soon after. Credit – NintendoSoup Just a day after launch, the game was flooded with negative reviews from customers who had pre-ordered the game from Amazon Japan, with early statistics showing that over half of the 124 customers at the time giving it one out of five stars. Meanwhile, 23 users gave it a five star rating, whilst 7 rated it three stars, and 18 gave it two stars. This led to the new release only getting an average 2.5 star rating on the Japanese retailers website, making it the lowest rating that any Pokemon game has received on that site. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are the … [Read more...] about Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Are the Lowest Reviewed Pokemon Games in Japan

Although Pokemon Go isn’t advertised as an MMO, both experts and players have noted it does present some interesting similarities: Both have tons of players on servers where player locations are tracked. Both games task players with interacting with AI and (in simple ways) other players. And the game worlds in both are directly impacted by player action (remember, Pokemon Go is based on the Ingress map that was sourced out to the players). Being an MMORPG site, we’ve talked about socialization and how it relates in particular to our genre. However, much like other modern MMOs, PoGo can lead to the sort of “alone together” situation that seems to eternally threaten our genre’s relevance — indeed, its existence. Out-of-game communities Pokemon Go from the outside appears to have a thriving community. Like World of Warcraft, PoGo is based on a mainstream IP that’s been applied … [Read more...] about Exploring real-life PUGs, the Plus, and the antisocial nature of Pokemon Go

It’s year two of Pokemon Go. While there’s always room for improvement, enough has changed that I feel comfortable recommending the game to at least pre-World of Warcraft MMO fans. Why them and not the greater MMO community? Glad you (hopefully) asked! Unlike most true MMOs, POGO is still in its early infancy in terms of in-game community. Much as in early online games, players may be able to have a friend’s list, but not only is basic chat lacking but so is guild/clan support. There’s no party system, which means no group finder, let alone instanced content that lets you join in with little to no effort. Like old school MMOs, POGO players have to use a lot of out of game tools for their communities, but there’s enough going on that fellow Massively OP reporters Brendan Drain and Tina Lauro Pollock have renewed their interest in the game. While Brendan had previously attempted some casual raids, both he and Tina had quit … [Read more...] about Exploring Pokemon Go’s real-life communities: MOP staffers revisit the game from opposite corners of the world

While I’m not nearly the hardcore veteran our illustrious hunter Matt Daniel is, I can at least admit to physically living among the Japanese hunting community. While we both can speak a bit of Japanese, I enjoyed a solid chunk of time playing Monster Hunter 4 face-to-face with Japanese players, plus a smidge of some other MH games being demoed at Japanese game conventions. International communities are certainly different, but what western players (and especially those watching from the sidelines) may not realize is how different the series is in Japan, as it’s largely a portable title that can be played anywhere. Japan’s console market is vastly different and the PC gaming scene is probably as niche as our VR scene. Monster Hunter World’s Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC announcement was huge since it sent the message that this would be a title aimed at western players, who enjoy the series but not nearly at the same levels as … [Read more...] about Taking a tour of the global Monster Hunter World community on PS4

GDC isn’t E3. It isn’t PAX. It’s not even what I think stereotypical gamers can appreciate. But I think the Massively OP crowd is a different sort, and because of that, we can give you some content the other guys might not be talking to you about. Like data collection and monetization. They’re necessary evils, in that we armchair devs can generally see past mistakes rolled out again, but know those choices are being made in the pursuit of money. So how do you make better games and money? Maybe try hiring some data scientists, not just to help with product testing and surveys, but with some awesome, AI-driven, deep learning tools. Like from Yokozuna Data, whose platform predicts individual player behavior. I was lucky enough to sit down with not only Design and Communication Lead Vitor Santos but Chief Data Scientist África Periáñez, whose research on churn prediction inspired me to contact the company about our interview … [Read more...] about GDC 2018: Yokozuna, big game data, and the future of MMO monetization