Have PSN games taken off in Japan? No.
American gamers have wholeheartedly embraced the incredible selection from the PS3's online store. Games like fl0w, Everyday Shooter and Calling All Cars simply wouldn't have been possible through retail outlets, and their success on the PSN is ushering a new era of simple downloadable titles. Too bad the concept hasn't resonated well amongst Japanese gamers, at least according to an interview with Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert.
"So far, it really hasn't caught on in the same way it has in the West--the problem in Japan is a traditional aversion to using credit cards, as opposed to the West where it is second nature." In America, we love to collect debt. Therefore, online shopping with credit cards comes as second nature. However, using plastic in Japan just isn't very socially acceptable. "A lot of restaurants over here don't accept any credit card at all, and when you order things online to be delivered the majority of people pay on delivery or even by online bank transfer as opposed to using a credit card." Thankfully, there's a solution. "Pre-paid cards are definitely the way to go forward to solve these problems, but they only rolled out recently, so we'll just have to wait and see."
The Q-Games PixelJunk titles are meant to appeal to Japanese sensibilities. Will they succeed with today's release of PixelJunk Monsters on the Japanese Store? Only time will tell. Read the complete interview on Level Up to find out more about this quirky PSN game.
