Europe: Gaming’s Poor Relation
Feb 12, 6:05 pm

img align="right" src="http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/1601/tbellboyqy2.jpg" alt="” title="belboy" />Europe is plagued by late console launches, price hikes, late game releases and shortages. I often hear the wounded howl of “Sony hate us” but I personally think that’s a nonsense. Sony and every other massive media conglomerate are not people. Sony isn’t a guy who hates a nation. It’s a big corporation for whom Europe is simply third on the list of money making opportunities. That being the case, the late launches and price hikes don’t really bother me.

What does bother me is when Europe doesn’t get a game release at all. I know that it’s for the same corporate reasoning and not about us being ‘hated’. I know that companies have merely calculated that they will not make a profit by releasing a particular title in Europe. Perhaps it is impossible for them to complete the localisation process for so many different languages or that the game contravenes European law. It’s just that with delays I still get to eventually play the game.  But when the title is never released… well, it makes my blood boil. And why does it always have to be the brilliant and weird games?

Why no Shadow Hearts: From the New World? I’m keeping some overly optimistic fingers crossed for a European release of Trusty Bell/Eternal Sonata on the 360 but I suspect they shall be crossed a very long time. If I don’t get to play Dokidoki Majo Saiban, the bizarre Japanese DS ‘witch hunting’ game I’m going to throw a massive strop.

Is she a witch? Let’s prod her and see!

But above all these gems that we are likely to miss out on my heart sinks at the idea that I might not get to play The Idol Master. You get to be a music producer charged with creating pop idols. There’s even a ‘One Year Producer’ mode where you create your idol over an actual calendar year. This was originally an arcade game in Japan that‘s been given an overhaul for the 360 and it looks superb. However, I’ll eat my gaming hat if we ever see The Idol Master on these shores. It’s just not fair! Look, I even made a little Frag Idol picture *sniff*