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    Metal Gear

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    Tactical, Espionage, Action. A revered and long-running series directed by Hideo Kojima.

    Is Metal Gear not big in Japan?

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    galiant

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    #1  Edited By galiant

    A while back my partner's-brother's-wife's japanese friend came over to Sweden for some sightseeing. Being the game enthusiast that I am, I asked him if he was into games (which he was) and proceeded to ask him if he knew of Hideo Kojima, that guy what took part in making the Metal Gear saga. It was the first japanese gaming franchise that popped into my head, you know, so we had something to talk about.
     
    Apparently he'd never heard of him! He didn't even know what Metal Gear or Metal Gear Solid was! Even after my partner's brother said it "in japanese" (meaning: pronouncing Metal Gear funny). 
     
    Now, I realize there are probably a ton of games more popular than any Metal Gear game ever was in Japan, but I really thought both the franchise and Kojima himself were well-known. Aren't they? Maybe my japanese acquaintance wasn't as much into games as I thought? His english was a bit rusty =)

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    ch3burashka

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    #2  Edited By ch3burashka

    I don't think your  partner's-brother's-wife's japanese friend is a good litmus test for an entire country's interest in MG.

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    Jazz

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    #3  Edited By Jazz
    @CH3BURASHKA said:
    " I don't think your  partner's-brother's-wife's japanese friend is a good litmus test for an entire country's interest in MG. "
    I thought that the Edogawa 'Partner's-brother's-wife's japanese friend' litmus test was THE test for this sort of thing. 
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    galiant

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    #4  Edited By galiant

    It surprised me because I have a lot of friends who play games, many who never even touched a Metal Gear game - and they're still quite aware of the series for one reason or another.
     
    I thought Metal Gear was huge in Japan, so I assumed the average japanese gamer would know of it.

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    Chris2KLee

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    #5  Edited By Chris2KLee

    It is bigger in the West, but the displays I saw here for Peace Walker were still significant. It isn't on par with Mario or Dragon Quest or something, but the marketing push it got told me it's no fringe game either. Clothing store Uni-qlo (which is like the Gap in Japan) had a custom line of Metal Gear Peace Walker clothing, and all the mountain dew cans here had MGS branding (with codes for in game downloads). Also, last TGS, the Metal Gear booth was HUGE and took up a large bit of space to show off the Peace Walker Trailer, and demo stations, as well as the Metal Gear Arcade game.

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    c1337us

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    #6  Edited By c1337us

    I don't know about Japan in general. But nobody out there is a fan of absolutely everything. All of us have never heard of some game before and I guess Metal Gear as big as it is, is a wierd game to never have heard of. But I guess it just doesn't fall into the interests of this guys gaming habits.

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    FLStyle

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    #7  Edited By FLStyle

    It is true that MGS is more popular in the west. I'm sure it's not completely unheard of in Japan though.

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    schizogony

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    #8  Edited By schizogony

    If it's not Monster Hunter or Dragon Quest, the Japanese have never heard of it.

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    galiant

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    #9  Edited By galiant
    @Chris2KLee said:
    " It is bigger in the West, but the displays I saw here for Peace Walker were still significant. It isn't on par with Mario or Dragon Quest or something, but the marketing push it got told me it's no fringe game either. Clothing store Uni-qlo (which is like the Gap in Japan) had a custom line of Metal Gear Peace Walker clothing, and all the mountain dew cans here had MGS branding (with codes for in game downloads). Also, last TGS, the Metal Gear booth was HUGE and took up a large bit of space to show off the Peace Walker Trailer, and demo stations, as well as the Metal Gear Arcade game. "
    This is the answer I was hoping for, thanks! My curiosity is sated =)
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    TwoOneFive

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    #10  Edited By TwoOneFive

    dude you guys are all dumb. its huge in japan. 

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    goudaj

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    #11  Edited By goudaj

    It does pretty well in Japan. Peace Walker has moved about 750k units since it's release 3 months ago. Metal Gear Solid 2 is the best selling game at nearly 900k sold.

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