History AmericansHateTingle / VideoGames

* PC gaming in general, when compared to western countries or even to other Asian countries like China and Korea.
** In Japan, it used to be a dying breed since the demise of the Platform/{{MSX}}, and when it really comes down to PC games in Japan, it is often {{Visual Novel}}s. According to a [[http://kotaku.com/5977001/why-pc-gaming-is-still-niche-in-japan Kotaku article]], this is mainly because PC games are often associated with FirstPersonShooter games like the Xbox 360 is, and the fact that many Japanese find gaming [=PCs=] to be "[[AwesomeButImpractical too expensive]]" or "[[CoolButInefficient hard to set up]]" and would rather keep their gaming console and computer functions separate. Japan's surprisingly lower-than-average computer literacy rate for a developed country certainly doesn't help either. This is why [[NoExportForYou most Japanese game developers/publishers avoided releasing PC ports of their games in Japan]], even on Platform/{{Steam}}. That said, while PC gaming isn't as popular in Japan, visual novels are an old staple of {{otaku}} culture and are frequent sources for anime adaptations, though even then the most popular [=VNs=] are ported to consoles. There's also a tradition of DoujinSoft games from small indie developers, in which for instance the core ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' titles remain exclusive to PC to this day.
** Then there's the issue of size. Desktop gaming [=PCs=] tend to be very large compared to consoles, and living space in Japan is infamously expensive, so Japanese consumers tend to prefer more compact devices like consoles, handhelds, and [[MobilePhoneGame mobile phones]]. Even laptops suffer from this since laptops are already considered more premium items in Japan, and gaming laptops, while smaller than gaming [=PCs=], are even more expensive and impractical for Japanese lifestyles. This trend also affected the reception of the Xbox consoles, which tend to be larger than their competition, to the point of being memes.
** [=PCs=] also never really caught on in Japan for individual or home use, and therefore gaming. This was because the earliest [=PCs=] had text-based interfaces using Latin characters, and were unable to handle the more complex UsefulNotes/JapaneseWritingSystem without prohibitively expensive add-ons, limiting Japanese PC adoption to the business sector. Exceptions included models specifically geared towards the Japanese market like the MSX, which in turn failed to catch on in America or Europe due to existing low-price 8-bit computers like the Platform/Commodore64. The busy Japanese lifestyle typically meant that many people weren't home that often to begin with. When the internet became popular in Japan, it was mainly over mobile devices, as the country had internet-enabled cellphones years before smartphones became popular in the West, which is why smartphones themselves initially fell into this trope in Japan.
** However, in a subversion, since the advent of [[VirtualYoutuber Virtual YouTubers]], streamers with anime-style personas such as ''WebAnimation/{{hololive}}'' and ''Creator/{{Nijisanji}}'', as well as the advent of [[UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming e-Sports gaming]], [[PopularityPolynomial PC gaming saw a resurgence in Japan]], as setting up a streaming interface with the accompanying avatars on PC is easier than linking consoles to do it, though console linking is obviously still used for console-exclusive titles.

* {{First person shooter}}s are a niche genre in Japan, holding the negative stigma of being overly simplistic and only appealing to those who can't handle anything more complex than "point and shoot" at worst or have a heavy interest in guns at best. It doesn't help that most games in the genre are made by Western developers and, until TheNew10s, never get localized, and those that do are on gaming platforms that themselves have niche audiences in the region (PC and Xbox). That being said, ''[[CoOpMultiplayer team-based]]'' FPS games tend to have a far better time developing an audience, as the popularity of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'', ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', and ''VideoGame/ApexLegends'' can attest, and the rise of such games at the end of 2010s have led to the genre's increased popularity in Japan. ''VideoGame/PlayerunknownsBattlegrounds'' and the aforementioned ''Apex Legends'' both avoid the trend, being as popular in Japan as anywhere else, even maintaining their popularity over ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''. ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' has also shaken off this stigma since [[VideoGame/Doom2016 the 2016 game]], due to the fast pace, platforming, exploration, and the HotBlooded DemonSlaying protagonist being appealing for many players in Japan. It got to the point that ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' features him as a Mii Gunner costume.

* While the Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was ''the'' icon of UsefulNotes/The8bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames in North America, it was rejected in the UK, where the technically inferior but much cheaper home computers already dominated the market by the time the console was distributed in 1987. Creator/{{Rare}}, despite being based in the UK, had to produce its early NES games mainly for the North American market. This had a knock-on effect, as several internationally popular franchises that thrived on the NES received a much colder reception in the UK -- ''Franchise/MegaMan'' being the most apparent. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJaCmHVkezw This video]] further elaborates on why the NES wasn't successful in this region.

* {{Rhythm Game}}s on [[MobilePhoneGame mobile devices]] (both smartphones and smart-tablets) are disliked in American rhythm game communities because, in addition to all the grievances that Americans have with mobile games as a whole (see [[Analysis/AmericansHateTingle the Analysis page on this trope]] for details), American rhythm game players don't like touchscreen rhythm games due to lacking tactile feedback, which they consider essential to a good gameplay experience. As a result, Asian rhythm game players may be surprised to learn that games like ''VideoGame/{{Arcaea}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Phigros}}'', and ''VideoGame/{{Cytus}}'', despite being veritable hits in rhythm game circles on their side of the Pacific, are glossed over amongst fellow rhythm game players in the U.S.

* {{Rhythm Game}}s on [[MobilePhoneGame mobile devices]] (both smartphones and smart-tablets) are disliked in American rhythm game communities because, in addition to all the grievances that Americans have with mobile games as a whole (see [[Analysis/AmericansHateTingle the Analysis page on this trope]] for details), American rhythm game players don't like touchscreen rhythm games due to lacking tactile feedback, which they consider essential to a good gameplay experience. As a result, Asian rhythm game players may be surprised to learn that games like ''VideoGame/{{Phigros}}'' and ''VideoGame/CytusII'', despite being veritable hits in rhythm game circles on their side of the Pacific, are glossed over amongst fellow rhythm game players in the U.S.

* {{Rhythm Game}}s on [[MobilePhoneGame mobile devices]] (both smartphones and smart-tablets) are disliked in American rhythm game communities because, in addition to all the grievances that Americans have with mobile games as a whole (see [[Analysis/AmericansHateTingle the Analysis page on this trope]] for details), American rhythm game players don't like touchscreen rhythm games due to lacking tactile feedback, which they consider essential to a good gameplay experience.

* The Nintendo Switch port of ''VideoGame/{{Arcaea}}'', while otherwise an [[PolishedPort admirable port]] with both traditional touchscreen controls and version-exclusive Joy-Con controls, gathered a lot of controversy from the moment it was announced amongst the game's pre-existing plurality [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff foreign userbase]] in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc.), where Nintendo platforms are typically unpopular due to being outside the average person's price range. This harkens back to [[Analysis/AmericansHateTingle the PC vs Mobile conflict, where Asians love the mobile format and practices, while Westerners hate it with a passion]]. This resulted in ''Arcaea'', which wasn't a smash hit in the West in the first place, actually having a warmer reception in the West.

** This was the [[VindicatedByHistory initial]] reception of [[VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptunia the first game]]. Critics trashed the game for its clunky and broken gameplay that looks like it was still in ObviousBeta (e.g. enemies appearing out of nowhere, having to pay money in order to buy some items and DLC characters, etc.) and how overtly sexual the female playable characters (particularly [[MsFanservice Vert and Purple Heart]]) looked, with even fans of the series consider it the weakest of the series, namely its gameplay. In Japan, it was very well-received, to the point that the [[VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaMk2 next game]] ended up being a ContinuityReboot after the first game [[GoldenEnding ended]] [[spoiler:with the main [=CPUs=] giving up their powers and living their normal lives up until their deaths]]. Since then, however, many have considered it [[FirstInstallmentWins the best game of the franchise]] (at least in terms of story).

** And PC cafes allowing one to rent a gaming-class PC without having to buy one. Gaming consoles since then were not exactly hated, but overall they became 'luxury items' for lower-income gamers (which form the majority) unlike before and were generally looked down by mainstream and PC gamers as elitists and isolationists who tie themselves to subscription ecosystems (with the VocalMinority parts of console gamers looking down on the mainstream in response, causing a largely one-sided FandomRivalry). Not helping matters is that Nintendo, the most beloved Japanese console game making company in the eyes of the West, had no actual service in Southeast Asia--a Nintendo Online account required a Western or Japanese address and cards, adding an extra complication on top of the high price tag.

* The ''Franchise/MegaMan'' series is well-respected in Japan and North America and considered an icon not just of the NES era, but video games in general. In Europe, however, things were a different story. The NES and SNES didn't catch on in most of Europe for several reasons, and by the time ''Mega Man'' games started coming out on consoles Europeans actually owned, their [[ItsShortSoItSucks short length]] and [[AnimationAgeGhetto colorful, generally 2D graphics]] caused the majority of players and magazines to dismiss them as UsefulNotes/{{shovelware}}. (Both of these aspects were criticized in North American mags as well, but not nearly as viciously.) Though the series was eventually VindicatedByHistory, European sales lag behind Japanese and American numbers to this day.

* The ''Franchise/MegaMan'' series is well-respected in Japan and the United States and considered an icon not just of the NES era, but video games in general. In Europe, however, things were a different story. The NES and SNES didn't catch on in most of Europe for several reasons, and by the time ''Mega Man'' games started coming out on consoles Europeans actually owned, their [[ItsShortSoItSucks short length]] and [[AnimationAgeGhetto colorful, generally 2D graphics]] caused the majority of players and magazines to dismiss them as UsefulNotes/{{shovelware}}. (Both of these aspects were criticized in American mags as well, but not nearly as viciously.) Though the series was eventually VindicatedByHistory, European sales lag behind Japanese and American numbers to this day.

* ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' is divisive in the West due to some contentious plot choices (namely [[spoiler:killing off Joel from the first game and then having you play as his killer, while the game attempts to make you sympathize with her]]), but it managed to be critically acclaimed (though subject to extreme CriticalDissonance). Gamers elsewhere, however--especially in East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea--almost universally ''loathed'' the game, to the point that stores had to deny refunds for the game completely because so many customers were returning it. Critical reviews were slightly less harsh, but they tended to be on the lower than the overwhelmingly positive critical reviews in the West. Several streamers even went as far as to destroy the game's Blu-Ray disc on-stream to express their disgust, the most famous example being [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypiKYeIlE5g a Korean streamer who destroyed his copy with a pair of scissors.]]

** In Japan, it used to be a dying breed since the demise of the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}, and when it really comes down to PC games in Japan, it is often {{Visual Novel}}s. According to a [[http://kotaku.com/5977001/why-pc-gaming-is-still-niche-in-japan Kotaku article]], this is mainly because PC games are often associated with FirstPersonShooter games like the Xbox 360 is, and the fact that many Japanese find gaming [=PCs=] to be "[[AwesomeButImpractical too expensive]]" or "[[CoolButInefficient hard to set up]]" and would rather keep their gaming console and computer functions separate. Japan's surprisingly lower-than-average computer literacy rate for a developed country certainly doesn't help either. This is why [[NoExportForYou most Japanese game developers/publishers avoided releasing PC ports of their games in Japan]], even on Platform/{{Steam}}. That said, while PC gaming isn't as popular in Japan, visual novels are an old staple of {{otaku}} culture and are frequent sources for anime adaptations, though even then the most popular [=VNs=] are ported to consoles. There's also a tradition of DoujinSoft games from small indie developers, in which for instance the core ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' titles remain exclusive to PC to this day.

* Nintendo consoles in general are not exactly popular in Russia. The NES was represented by the UsefulNotes/{{Dendy}}, an unlicensed hardware clone. Attempts to introduce the SNES were made by Steepler (who owned the Dendy brand), but it was too expensive for the economical hellhole that was post-Soviet-collapse Russia in the '90s. The Platform/PlayStationPortable also topped Nintendo's handhelds in numbers of units sold (the Platform/GameBoyAdvance being the sole exception), mostly due to horrible marketing. As for the Nintendo 64 or Platform/NintendoGameCube -- if you find a Russian who owned one or even knew that they existed before the Internet became widespread, you'd be ridiculously lucky.
* The UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS initially [[http://www.siliconera.com/2012/10/24/nintendo-cut-profit-forecast-owing-to-weaker-nintendo-3ds-sales/ struggled outside Japan]], but in time, it turned out to be a subversion and became a smash hit worldwide. The [[VideoGame/StreetPassMiiPlaza StreetPass feature of the 3DS]], however, perpetually struggled to get any use outside of Japan. The feature was designed with a highly urban, densely populated nation like Japan in mind, which makes things harder in places where suburban or rural regions are more common, like most of North America. Nintendo later made changes to their Nintendo Zone hotspots to have them serve as a relay, by holding each tag to be shared with the next 3DS to encounter it, but even hotspots were difficult to come by outside of big cities. It eventually came to be that the highest densities of [=StreetPasses=] in North America were at {{fan convention}}s and not in daily life.

** The UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita was successful in Japan and [[http://kotaku.com/japan-where-the-ps-vita-wont-die-1755647191 nowhere else]]. Handheld consoles like the Vita fit into the Japanese lifestyle (typically only one TV in a house, far more reliance on mass transit) far better than they do the American one, meaning that Japanese Vita games could top the charts for ''all'' consoles in Japan and go entirely ignored in the US. Furthermore, Sony of America [[http://kotaku.com/mobile-gaming-didnt-kill-the-vita-sony-did-1733350950 dropped the ball]] when it came to marketing the Vita in the US, focusing on how it could connect to a Platform/PlayStation4 and be used to play [=PS4=] games remotely (a function that's only really useful around the house, where somebody would have a [=PS4=] and the TV it's connected to right there, defeating the purpose) and how it could provide a 'console-quality' gaming experience on the go (even though the [=PS3=] far exceeded its capabilities, to say nothing of the [=PS4=]). The fact that the system only officially supported an expensive proprietary memory card format (its predecessor supported memory sticks which, while still a Sony-created format, was also manufactured by other companies and could easily be read by computers), while the 3DS, its recently price-dropped competitor, supported cheaper SD cards didn't help. Retailers also seemed to have somewhat of a disdain for it - apart from Best Buy, Toys'R'Us, or the ''occasional'' UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}} that might have splurged for an interactive display unit. The Vita was normally shoved to the back of its gaming section, not helped by its amount of download-only games (during the early [[TheNew10s 2010s]], many people in North America lacked decent internet and digital distribution was still in its relative infancy, so it was not expected for anything such as a ''handheld'' to have such a wide download-only market. The expensive proprietary memory cards also made the issue worse, as downloadable games required a lot of storage capacity.). Sony quickly abandoned any attempts to salvage the system outside of Japan, instead porting its most popular games to the [=PS4=] and leaving the Vita lineup with [[QuirkyWork quirky Japanese games]] and Western {{indie game}}s, such that its main Western niche is among OccidentalOtaku or homebrew players wanting an all-in-one UsefulNotes/{{emulation}} machine (the emulation part is already superseded by Android mobile devices as of 2020 due to sheer hardware specifications).
* The UsefulNotes/WiiU system is often considered a colossal failure in Nintendo's gaming history, second only to the Platform/VirtualBoy in terms of poor sales. However, despite under-performing in the Americas and most of Europe due to terrible marketing and weak third-party support, the traditionally Nintendo-loving countries of Japan and France saw the system have a decent amount of success. France in particular saw the Wii U stay ahead of the Platform/XboxOne for most of its lifespan.

* The educational [[UsefulNotes/OtherSegaSystems Sega Pico]] console was so popular in Japan that games were produced from its release in 1993 up until 2005, when it was replaced by its successor, the Advanced Pico Beena. Several clones were made, including one by Yamaha. Outside of Japan, however, between Sega's horrible mismarketing, the preferences of Western gamers, conservative parents' groups at the time seeing no educational value in video game consoles in general, and the fact that there already existed a competitive market of {{edutainment game}}s in the West, the console died in 1998, only four years after its Western release. Majesco attempted to rerelease the console in the US the following year at a lower price, but saw no more success than Sega did.

* 2D games are appreciated in Japan about as much as high-quality 3D games, and hand-drawn sprites are common. However, outside of Japan and some other countries, around the late 90s, they began being seen as [[AnimationAgeGhetto kiddy]] and "primitive", with "SNES Sprites" throw around as mocking. With the rise of digital distribution and the {{Retraux}} wave in the 2010s, this sentiment has diminished, but 2D games (and even TwoAndAHalfD games) are still seen as solely the realm of smaller scale games and indie projects, with {{Fighting Game}}s being the only ones that can get away presenting themselves as big, AAA releases. This conflict began in the early part of UsefulNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames when 3D games started hitting the scene. Western audiences, critics and consumers alike, saw these more 3D, realistic-looking games as an evolution of the medium that completely invalidated sprite-based games, which were now seen as being objectively low-tech and primitive. If it wasn't a handheld game, magazines would instantly take off points just for a game being in 2D. This phenomenon can be best be seen with the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn era, during which Sega of America outright refused to even localize any 2D games -- which had the side effect of leaving the console with a very sparse library in the West.

* The Platform/{{Xbox}} brand [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/01/why-did-xbox-360-fail-in-japan performed dismally in Japan]] for years. While the Platform/Xbox360 enjoyed a brief period of moderate popularity and some exclusive titles (because for a while the Platform/PlayStation3 architecture was hard to program and the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} targeted different demographics), the Platform/XboxOne had the worst launch sales figures of any console, with almost empty queue lines and only beating the ''UsefulNotes/NeoGeoPocket'', and its average monthly sales were around [[http://kotaku.com/last-week-microsoft-reportedly-sold-99-xbox-ones-in-ja-1754211746 three figures]] if they're lucky. Microsoft had frequently fought to turn this around by obtaining exclusive titles that appeal to Japanese audiences; outside of a few brief sales spikes connected to the release of certain games (like ''VideoGame/TheIdolmaster''), it eventually faltered. Keiji Inafune has suggested that [[MadeInCountryX consumer nationalism]] played a role in Japan's rejection of the Xbox brand[[note]]Its rivals, the [=PS3=] and the Wii, were both made by domestic companies, Creator/{{Sony}} and Creator/{{Nintendo}}, respectively. A rather strange argument on Inafune's part, as the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} computer (made by Microsoft) [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff was successful over there]].[[/note]], while Creator/BobChipman pointed out that the systems are considered (on both sides of the Pacific) to be delivery platforms for FPS games. Meanwhile, [[https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-12-13-why-xbox-failed-in-japan this Eurogamer article]] suggests that Microsoft didn't do enough market research and, as a result, completely started off with the wrong foot with the original Xbox's marketing. While many foreign brands do find success in Japan, they often do so by specifically tailoring their products and marketing to appeal to Japanese tastes. However, Microsoft's ad campaign for the Xbox leaned heavily into the fact that it was an American console, an approach best exemplified by a billboard featuring a close up of Bill Gates holding the redesigned Japanese controller in one hand, and ''a hamburger'' in the other. It took until the Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS for the brand to enjoy any real popularity in Japan, due to its compact design and competitive pricing.

* This is one reason why Creator/{{Nintendo}} made the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch; the Japanese prefer playing on portable consoles due to limited space for regular ones, whereas Westerners prefer playing on home consoles or PC. This lead Nintendo to TakeAThirdOption to try and appease both sides of the Pacific in regards to game development by making a console that could easily switch between being played at home or on the go. It worked phenomenally well.

* Atari released a modified version of the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} in Japan dubbed the Atari 2800. It was no match for the juggernaut that was the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]]. It was also released in the U.S. as the Sears Tele-games Video Arcade II. The case design was then reused for the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 7800}}, where it was once again no match against the NES.
* While the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} was very successful in the main gaming markets (Japan, Europe, and North America), it was a total disaster in Brazil, being crushed by the Xbox 360 and defeated by the [=PS3=]. This is more evident knowing the last three top-selling consoles in the country ([=PS1=], [=PS2=], and [=360=]) had a "useful jailbreak" to run pirated games. Despite the Wii being another console with easy access to piracy, the lack of popular titles like ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'', and the motion controls unsuitable for smaller and denser areas, made most of the gamers in the country give up on Nintendo. And at the time, Brazil was promoting its domestically made console tailored for casual and low-budget gamers, called the Zeebo, which has its own version of famous games such as ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' and the port of the PSP version of ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed Carbon''. It only lasted for three years though before the company went belly up.

** This is also why the inclusion of the series' main characters (who are all collectively referred to as 'The Hero') in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' were met with polarizing reactions by Western fans, whereas the Japanese trailer is ''the most viewed Smash DLC trailer of all time''. With that said, the inclusion of Hero was largely meant to help the ''Dragon Quest'' series do better in Western countries by being featured in a game that ''was'' popular in the West. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'' (whose UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch version released a few months after the ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' DLC) did end up becoming the best-selling game in the series in the West -- though still not to the same extent as its popularity in Japan.

* ''VideoGame/KanColle'' is hugely popular in Japan, but not so much in places like Hawaii (and ''especially'' WWII veterans or families of WWII veterans who fought in the Pacific front), since nearly all the protagonists are personified [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Japanese warships from World War II]]; while the antagonists are demonic in nature, and though not outright said to be American military, are strongly implied to be. Also, this game isn't well liked in Korea since it's been accused of "glorifying Japanese imperialism" and shifting the political spectrum of young people to the far right. This stance [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap started changing]] with reveal of Iowa, the first American ship to be implemented with the UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita version of the game, which also debunks the implication of the Abyssals being the Allies. Unsurprisingly, she's a [[EnsembleDarkhorse huge hit]] with the American Kancolle community. Despite this, the high concentration of [[{{moe}} very young-looking cute girls]] keeps it a niche-within-a-niche in America, where most people consider interest in that sort of thing creepy. (Iowa is popular overseas partly because she's mature-looking and well-endowed.

** Out of the 4 [=CPUs=], Vert is a far more [[BaseBreakingCharacter controversial]] character in the anglosphere. While she isn't as popular in Japan (not helped by the [[UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} system she represents]] selling poorly there), she still has a fanbase. In the West, she is disliked by some fans for her tendency to pursue the other Candidates (especially Nepgear) without their consent, and sometimes goes to far with it (such as showing Ram and Rom "raunchy" pictures and dressing them up in revealing clothing, all while thinking to herself of seeing "those immature, soft bodies wrapped in those naughty, adult costumes", in ''VII''), boasting about her [[BigBreastPride well-endowed figure]] in front of and mocking the [[ACupAngst self-conscious Blanc]] just to get a [[BerserkButton rage reaction]] out of her, and prioritizing her CPU duties in favor of [[GamerChick playing her games]].

** Joking aside, the main reason why Tingle is hated so much is that he is a ManChild, a character archetype that Western audiences have little sympathy for. In Japan, he's seen as a symbol of whimsy. To most Western audiences, however, his behavior and appearance just comes off as annoying at best and creepy at worst (especially the speedo). Interestingly, most find him tolerable in ''Majora's Mask'' because his maps were reasonably priced, it was completely optional to talk to him, and [[WeirdnessCoupon he managed to fit in]] [[SurrealHorror the general tone of that game]]. In ''The Wind Waker'', though, he gains a lot more spotlight, is considered far more obnoxious (he was never this rupee-grubbing before now) and you cannot complete the game without him. Even WordOfGod is aware of this as shown in [[https://web.archive.org/web/20130623030516/https://www.zeldadungeon.net/2013/06/kensuke-tanabe-wants-to-make-tingle-popular-in-the-west/ this article.]] He [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap hopes to make Tingle popular one day]]. One of the bigger changes for the HD edition of the game was that they got rid of five Triforce charts, meaning that you only need to visit Tingle three times in the game to get them translated, as opposed to eight times. To a lesser extent, the Tingle Tuner was replaced with the Tingle Bottle, which also makes him less prominent than in the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] version.

** Bruiser Khang is very popular among Japanese fans, especially after his personality got expanded in the game's remake, where he becomes something of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold. But since many of these ''Tales'' remakes and spin-offs [[NoExportForYou never leave Japan]], North American audiences, meanwhile, get stuck with the {{Jerkass}} Khang seen in the UsefulNotes/PlayStation version, and don't understand why he's appeared in so many spin-offs.

* The UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} brand [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/01/why-did-xbox-360-fail-in-japan performed dismally in Japan]] for years. While the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 enjoyed a brief period of moderate popularity and some exclusive titles (because for a while the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 architecture was hard to program and the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} targeted different demographics), the UsefulNotes/XboxOne had the worst launch sales figures of any console, with almost empty queue lines and only beating the ''UsefulNotes/NeoGeoPocket'', and its average monthly sales were around [[http://kotaku.com/last-week-microsoft-reportedly-sold-99-xbox-ones-in-ja-1754211746 three figures]] if they're lucky. Microsoft had frequently fought to turn this around by obtaining exclusive titles that appeal to Japanese audiences; outside of a few brief sales spikes connected to the release of certain games (like ''VideoGame/TheIdolmaster''), it eventually faltered. Keiji Inafune has suggested that [[MadeInCountryX consumer nationalism]] played a role in Japan's rejection of the Xbox brand[[note]]Its rivals, the [=PS3=] and the Wii, were both made by domestic companies, Creator/{{Sony}} and Creator/{{Nintendo}}, respectively. A rather strange argument on Inafune's part, as the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} computer (made by Microsoft) [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff was successful over there]].[[/note]], while Creator/BobChipman pointed out that the systems are considered (on both sides of the Pacific) to be delivery platforms for FPS games. Meanwhile, [[https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-12-13-why-xbox-failed-in-japan this Eurogamer article]] suggests that Microsoft didn't do enough market research and, as a result, completely started off with the wrong foot with the original Xbox's marketing. While many foreign brands do find success in Japan, they often do so by specifically tailoring their products and marketing to appeal to Japanese tastes. However, Microsoft's ad campaign for the Xbox leaned heavily into the fact that it was an American console, an approach best exemplified by a billboard featuring a close up of Bill Gates holding the redesigned Japanese controller in one hand, and ''a hamburger'' in the other. It took until the UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS for the brand to enjoy any real popularity in Japan, due to its compact design and competitive pricing.
* After the brief boost enjoyed by the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 (due to the Wii being less preferred by those countries with typically smaller and denser homes and populace), the Xbox brand sells far less in other countries outside of the USA as well. This affected the global sales of the Xbox One due to its initially higher price and smaller game library compared to its direct competitors, to the point that as of 2018 Microsoft gave up on exclusivity for their products and have made their games also available on PC, often through Steam and subject to regional pricing. As with the Japanese example above, the XBOX Series starts getting noticeable amount of sales and fanbase thanks to the Gamepass.

** In Japan, it used to be a dying breed since the demise of the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}}, and when it really comes down to PC games in Japan, it is often {{Visual Novel}}s. According to a [[http://kotaku.com/5977001/why-pc-gaming-is-still-niche-in-japan Kotaku article]], this is mainly because PC games are often associated with FirstPersonShooter games like the Xbox 360 is, and the fact that many Japanese find gaming [=PCs=] to be "[[AwesomeButImpractical too expensive]]" or "[[CoolButInefficient hard to set up]]" and would rather keep their gaming console and computer functions separate. Japan's surprisingly lower-than-average computer literacy rate for a developed country certainly doesn't help either. This is why [[NoExportForYou most Japanese game developers/publishers avoided releasing PC ports of their games in Japan]], even on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. That said, while PC gaming isn't as popular in Japan, visual novels are an old staple of {{otaku}} culture and are frequent sources for anime adaptations, though even then the most popular [=VNs=] are ported to consoles. There's also a tradition of DoujinSoft games from small indie developers, in which for instance the core ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' titles remain exclusive to PC to this day.

** [=PCs=] also never really caught on in Japan for individual or home use, and therefore gaming. This was because the earliest [=PCs=] had text-based interfaces using Latin characters, and were unable to handle the more complex UsefulNotes/JapaneseWritingSystem without prohibitively expensive add-ons, limiting Japanese PC adoption to the business sector. Exceptions included models specifically geared towards the Japanese market like the MSX, which in turn failed to catch on in America or Europe due to existing low-price 8-bit computers like the UsefulNotes/Commodore64. The busy Japanese lifestyle typically meant that many people weren't home that often to begin with. When the internet became popular in Japan, it was mainly over mobile devices, as the country had internet-enabled cellphones years before smartphones became popular in the West, which is why smartphones themselves initially fell into this trope in Japan.

* Over in Western countries, the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn used to be considered one of the worst video game consoles ever released due to its poor line of games[[note]]Brought on by {{Executive Veto}}s from Sega of America; many of its best games didn't get released internationally [[AnimationAgeGhetto because they were 2D]][[/note]], its lack of a mainline ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' game[[note]]''Sonic'' was the KillerApp for all other Sega consoles; the franchise's absence on Saturn was due to the TroubledProduction and ultimate [[{{Vaporware}} cancellation]] of ''VideoGame/SonicXtreme''.[[/note]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99iiUtPR-fM horrible]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lqhu1wCpPk advertising]], its botched North American launch,[[note]]Its planned and heavily-advertised "Saturnday" launch in September 1995 was scrapped in favor of launching it ''as their E3 keynote started'' in an ill-thought-out attempt to give it the edge over the upcoming [=PlayStation=], which left it with no games (much less any that were good) since developers had been preparing their launch titles with the original date in mind, several angry big-name retailers that were left out of the loop like Walmart (many of who retaliated by actively refusing to stock the Saturn or its games), ''and'' the promise that those who were willing to wait for the [=PlayStation=] would be able to get it for a hundred dollars cheaper than the Saturn[[/note]] and its infamously convoluted hardware, which made it harder to develop for than the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}} and especially the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}}. By contrast, in Japan, it's often listed as one of the more remembered consoles and generally was a lot better received, even outselling the Nintendo 64 in its home market. Not only was its 1994 holiday release much smoother and list of games more diverse, it also had a really effective advertising campaign in the form of Advertising/SegataSanshiro.
* While the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was ''the'' icon of UsefulNotes/The8bitEraOfConsoleVideoGames in North America, it was rejected in the UK, where the technically inferior but much cheaper home computers already dominated the market by the time the console was distributed in 1987. Creator/{{Rare}}, despite being based in the UK, had to produce its early NES games mainly for the North American market. This had a knock-on effect, as several internationally popular franchises that thrived on the NES received a much colder reception in the UK -- ''Franchise/MegaMan'' being the most apparent. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJaCmHVkezw This video]] further elaborates on why the NES wasn't successful in this region.
* Nintendo consoles in general are not exactly popular in Russia. The NES was represented by the UsefulNotes/{{Dendy}}, an unlicensed hardware clone. Attempts to introduce the SNES were made by Steepler (who owned the Dendy brand), but it was too expensive for the economical hellhole that was post-Soviet-collapse Russia in the '90s. The UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable also topped Nintendo's handhelds in numbers of units sold (the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance being the sole exception), mostly due to horrible marketing. As for the Nintendo 64 or UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube -- if you find a Russian who owned one or even knew that they existed before the Internet became widespread, you'd be ridiculously lucky.

* The [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable Sony PSP]] is an odd example. The PSP itself sold amazingly in Japan, but it was niche elsewhere compared to the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS and iOS devices. American-made games for the PSP sold well in the United States, but with the exception of certain games like ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', and ''VideoGame/Persona3 Portable'', the [=JRPGs=] did not sell nearly as well. Perhaps as a result, it was considered a dying market in North America at a time when new games of all kinds were still being produced in Japan. The PSP was incredibly popular in Russia, but that is more due to PeripheryDemographic (the PSP was considered somewhat of a status indicator) and the main competitor, Nintendo's handhelds, were not marketed very well (though the Game Boy Advance had a cult following).
** The UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita was successful in Japan and [[http://kotaku.com/japan-where-the-ps-vita-wont-die-1755647191 nowhere else]]. Handheld consoles like the Vita fit into the Japanese lifestyle (typically only one TV in a house, far more reliance on mass transit) far better than they do the American one, meaning that Japanese Vita games could top the charts for ''all'' consoles in Japan and go entirely ignored in the US. Furthermore, Sony of America [[http://kotaku.com/mobile-gaming-didnt-kill-the-vita-sony-did-1733350950 dropped the ball]] when it came to marketing the Vita in the US, focusing on how it could connect to a UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and be used to play [=PS4=] games remotely (a function that's only really useful around the house, where somebody would have a [=PS4=] and the TV it's connected to right there, defeating the purpose) and how it could provide a 'console-quality' gaming experience on the go (even though the [=PS3=] far exceeded its capabilities, to say nothing of the [=PS4=]). The fact that the system only officially supported an expensive proprietary memory card format (its predecessor supported memory sticks which, while still a Sony-created format, was also manufactured by other companies and could easily be read by computers), while the 3DS, its recently price-dropped competitor, supported cheaper SD cards didn't help. Retailers also seemed to have somewhat of a disdain for it - apart from Best Buy, Toys'R'Us, or the ''occasional'' UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}} that might have splurged for an interactive display unit. The Vita was normally shoved to the back of its gaming section, not helped by its amount of download-only games (during the early [[TheNew10s 2010s]], many people in North America lacked decent internet and digital distribution was still in its relative infancy, so it was not expected for anything such as a ''handheld'' to have such a wide download-only market. The expensive proprietary memory cards also made the issue worse, as downloadable games required a lot of storage capacity.). Sony quickly abandoned any attempts to salvage the system outside of Japan, instead porting its most popular games to the [=PS4=] and leaving the Vita lineup with [[QuirkyWork quirky Japanese games]] and Western {{indie game}}s, such that its main Western niche is among OccidentalOtaku or homebrew players wanting an all-in-one UsefulNotes/{{emulation}} machine (the emulation part is already superseded by Android mobile devices as of 2020 due to sheer hardware specifications).
* The UsefulNotes/WiiU system is often considered a colossal failure in Nintendo's gaming history, second only to the UsefulNotes/VirtualBoy in terms of poor sales. However, despite under-performing in the Americas and most of Europe due to terrible marketing and weak third-party support, the traditionally Nintendo-loving countries of Japan and France saw the system have a decent amount of success. France in particular saw the Wii U stay ahead of the UsefulNotes/XboxOne for most of its lifespan.
* This seems to have been zigzagged several times in Denmark in recent years. The Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation was a bigger console hit than the Nintendo 64. The UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 was more frequent in Danish homes than the Xbox or [=GameCube=][[labelnote:Although...]]The [=PS2=] outsold both consoles by a long-shot almost everywhere[[/labelnote]]. Even during the 7th generation of consoles, the [=PS3=] was a highly sold console in Denmark, even after the Xbox 360 have had a longer and cheaper run. Still, Denmark seems to be favoring the American consoles over the Japanese longrunner after the Xbox 360's larger library of 7th generation titles. As for the 8th generation, it's rather unclear since the Xbox One is delayed in Denmark[[labelnote:*]]Danish [=GameStop=] stores are importing the UK Xbox One to aid its run in Denmark, since the Xbox have been [=GameStop=]'s most sold gaming console.[[/labelnote]] and multiple European countries until October, but Sony has recognized their European fans, releasing their [=PS4=] internationally in most, if not all, European countries.
* Playing video games on the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh is admittedly already a niche in the West but in Japan there are like only 20 Macintosh games released there. This even worries the rival company Microsoft, [[http://archive.wired.com/gadgets/mac/news/2004/09/65027 to the point that Microsoft released a collection of their games]] (appropriately called ''Microsoft Mac Games Collection'') on the Japanese version of the Mac. Much like the Western market however this is not a huge deal in Japan as most people who buy a Mac (if at all, since the entire Macintosh platform as a whole is unpopular and expensive in Japan (most Japanese Mac customers are anime and manga studios), as detailed in the Technology folder on main page) do not buy it because of its games.

* Atari released a modified version of the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} in Japan dubbed the Atari 2800. It was no match for the juggernaut that was the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]]. It was also released in the U.S. as the Sears Tele-games Video Arcade II. The case design was then reused for the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 7800}}, where it was once again no match against the NES.

* The Nintendo Switch port of ''VideoGame/{{Arcaea}}'', while otherwise an [[PolishedPort admirable port]] with both traditional touchscreen controls and version-exclusive Joy-Con controls, gathered a lot of controversy from the moment it was announced amongst the game's pre-existing plurality [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff foreign userbase]] in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc.) where recent Nintendo platforms were viewed with intense disgust due to cost factors. This harkens back to [[Analysis/AmericansHateTingle the PC vs Mobile conflict where the Asians love the mobile format and practices, while the Westerners hate it with a passion]], which results ''Arcaea'', which wasn't a smash hit in the West in the first place, having actually warmer reception in the West without backlash.

* ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'' is extremely popular in America but poorly received everywhere else, where it is considered to be brainless and requiring no strategy. A good example of this is when the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 sequel closed Sony's E3 2010 conference, where it was considered a crowd pleaser by American gamers and bad everywhere else, especially France (because ''[=TM2=]'' lets you [[MonumentalDamage blow up the Eiffel Tower]]).

* ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade''[='=]s ToneShift to a DarkerAndEdgier epic as opposed to [[VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy the first game's]] generally up-beat CollectAThonPlatformer was met with a bit of whiplash from the American and European communities, but is still considered one of the [=PlayStation=] 2's best games and a worthy follow-up to ''The Precursor Legacy''. Japan, who loved the first game along with Naughty Dog's ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' trilogy, absolutely ''hated'' this direction, with ''Jak II'' having the least amount of sales and Naughty Dog themselves recognizing that they've completely alienated their Japanese userbase with this decision. It's telling that neither ''VideoGame/Jak3'' or ''VideoGame/JakX'' never got proper Japanese releases until the [=PS4=] remasters (and even then [[NoDubForYou they were entirely untranslated]]), with ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterTheLostFrontier'' being the only other ''Jak and Daxter'' game to fill that gap in the meantime.

* The Nintendo Switch port of ''VideoGame/{{Arcaea}}'', while otherwise an [[PolishedPort admirable port]] with both traditional touchscreen controls and version-exclusive Joy-Con controls, gathered a lot of controversy from the moment it was announced amongst the game's pre-existing plurality [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff foreign userbase]] in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc.). This harkens back to [[Analysis/AmericansHateTingle the PC vs Mobile conflict where the Asians love the mobile format and practices, while the Westerners hate it with a passion]], which results ''Arcaea'', which wasn't a smash hit in the West in the first place, having actually warmer reception in the West without backlash.

** Japanese fans were extremely critical of the fact that the opening cutscene of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' shows Solid Snake casually tossing a cigarette butt off a bridge. In a culture where schools are cleaned by their own students, the [[JapanesePoliteness consideration of others' needs is paramount]], and with a semi-religious faith in the idea of items having a proper resting place, littering is considered revolting, pointless {{Jerkass}} behaviour that is genuinely upsetting to see done by a [[EscapistCharacter cool and likeable hero]]. Later games made a point of showing Snake (and his father) dispose properly of everything they smoke, with the opening cutscene of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'' giving the fate of the thrown-away cigar special attention. In the West, littering isn't particularly liked, but it's a petty enough crime that it's extremely unlikely that any Western fans even ''noticed'' that Snake was littering in that scene.

* ''VisualNovel/{{Policenauts}}'' is beloved by Creator/HideoKojima's fanbase in Japan, but in the West it's viewed Kojima's weakest game and generally disliked. Part of this is due to the FanserviceExtra mechanic in the game that allows the player to grope every single female character and provides them with an endless supply of receptionists to try it out on, something that is considered weird and creepy in the West but was so beloved in Japan that a load more of these sequences got added in each time the game got ported. Another part of this is that the Anglosphere only got the game fan translated in the early 2010s, after the release of the [[ContestedSequel divisive]] ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', which led to many gamers being less tolerant of it than they would have been if they'd been exposed to it before Kojima had dinged his, until then, unsullied reputation. It also didn't help that gaming fandom - at least, the parts of it that would drop everything to play a Hideo Kojima visual novel from the 90s - had become more critical and discerning in the years since ''Policenauts'''s original release, so a game remembered in the Japan of the early 90s for its groundbreaking script and animation sequences (which were genuinely impressive at the time) was criticised in the West of the early 10s for being [[{{Expodump}} overwritten]] and with a bigoted, reactionary tone. Fans also objected to the game's blatant {{Expy}} characters (poached from ''Film/LethalWeapon'') and settings (poached from ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''), viewing it as tacky plagiarism, which in gaming culture at the time of the game's original release, was a plus point ("''Lethal Weapon'' but a video game [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace and in space]]!!"). The tone-deaf recreation of the racial politics of ''Lethal Weapon'' also did not endear the game to Americans who had to endure that racial setting in real life, and the CreatorProvincialism and racism was not recognised as the satire of racist 80s/90s JapanTakesOverTheWorld films that the game's Japanese audience read it as, instead coming off as weird BoomerangBigot recreation of an outdated form of racism.

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'' was a big success in Japan and is still very much beloved (a 2019 poll had it [[https://rancolle.com/ranking.php?id=uid49_1560676507 voted as the favorite installment]], with nearly half of the votes) but among western fans, it's usually dismissed as a lackluster shooter only notable for its odd theme and [[DancingBear gimmicky cabinet]]. Because of the large and expensive cabinet, the game didn't get as much circulation in western arcades and [[NoExportForYou none of its home console ports were released outside Japan]], meaning most western's players exposure to it would be years after the fact through emulation, without the benefits of the flashy cabinet and with the [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny stuff that made the game so impressive and groundbreaking in 1987 taken for granted]]. Even for the [[ChallengeGamer demographic]] that wouldn't necessarily reject ''Darius'' [[ContinuingIsPainful old-school take on checkpointing and punishment for death]], a lack of western awareness of the game's "New" and "Extra" revisions (which do many subtle tweaks to improve the difficult curve) meant many players gave up trying to learn the game as the original release is seriously unbalanced difficulty-wise. Its reputation is improving with the release of the ''[[CompilationRerelease Darius Cozmic Collection]]'' (which includes said balancing patches), although you'll still be hard-pressed to find any western fans call the original ''Darius'' their favorite.

** While the games where Marth is the protagonist (''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Mystery of the Emblem]]'') are loved in Japan, with ''Mystery of the Emblem'' being the highest selling game in the franchise for decades and held as the point when the series officially solidified itself as a mainstay, the rest of the world sees them as some of the weakest or least played parts in the series. One of the reasons for this is that [[NoExportForYou the series was mostly unknown outside of Japan for over ten years]], until MarthDebutedInSmashBros, and the games set in Marth's world are often given NostalgiaFilter treatment or "I liked this world the best." The non-Japanese fanbase started out with the adventures of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Eliwood, Lyn, and Hector]], with a later NewbieBoom bringing in a lot of fans who journeyed with [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Chrom]]. Even among fans who go out of their way to seek out the franchise's untranslated past, you're more likely to find fans of the more complex and experimental [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Jugdral]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 games]], or [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade the one with Roy]]. As a result, Marth's games are seen as merely [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny outdated]]. A major reason for this is that the series tends to recycle and toy with story elements a lot, which means every character and plot point from Marth's games feels, at best, rather familiar, and usually lack the clever twists that later incarnations would put on their template: Camus's whole NobleTopEnforcer persona is harder to get into when nearly ''every'' game has featured a similar character, many of whom had more buildup or character development.

* ''VideoGame/{{Hydlide}}'' and its sequels are well-loved in Japan, but in America it's seen as a piece of crap. This was all based on a matter of timing; ''Hydlide'' debuted on the Japanese PC-6001 and PC-8801 microcomputers in 1984, making the UrExample of a WideOpenSandbox ActionRPG with some pretty ambitious gameplay mechanics that inspired many like it, including 1986's ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' on the Famicom/NES. However, this was not the west's first exposure to the franchise -- [[BadExportForYou the North American console ports didn't appear until 1989]], and said NES title was a messy PortingDisaster that made many wrongfully assume ''Hydlide'' to be a low-grade ''Zelda'' ripoff [[OlderThanTheyThink despite technically predating it by a few years]]. ''Super Hydlide'' was acclaimed for its impressive mechanics upon being released in Japan in 1987, but by the time it arrived to America in 1990, it was already seen as [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny outdone by its contemporaries]].

** One in ''Awakening'' (but also ''Fates'') is Tharja, Gaius, and Cordelia. These three characters appear in ''Fates'' as [[{{expy}} expies]] (implied to be reincarnations) in the second generation thanks to their popularity in Japan (which is also why Owain, Inigo, and Severa appear as well). While Gaius is well liked in the west, Cordelia is seen as more annoying and often UnintentionallyUnsympathetic, while Tharja is base-breaking and [[StalkerWithACrush seen as creepy thanks to her obsession for Robin]] (which itself is [[DoubleStandard pretty rare for female characters]]). The fact that the poll was only in Japan was also a bit of an annoyance.

** The ''VideoGame/{{Beatmania}}'' franchise never cracked the United States, compared to its legendary status in Japan, where it was a progenitor of the rhythm genre as a whole and found enduring success after the SpinOff ''beatmania IIDX'' perfected its formula. While ''beatmania'' machines were relatively visible in stateside arcades after the success of ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'', the series flopped miserably when it was finally ported to the American [=PS2=] in 2006, nearly a decade since its debut and ''after'' the release of ''VideoGame/GuitarHero''. Compared to the [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny stiff competition it had inspired]], ''beatmania'' alienated Americans with its difficult learning curve and unintuitive design, which had not been streamlined from the original games released in the '90s. Ultimately, audiences in the United States latched onto its eventual counterpart ''VideoGame/DJHero'', leaving ''beatmania'' and ''IIDX'' in complete obscurity outside of the Bemani community.

* While even Sakurai was concerned that the ''Fire Emblem'' was starting to become a case of SpotlightStealingCrossover, his team managed to convince him that [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Corrin]] was a unique character and pointed out that the series has had a history of promoting ''Fire Emblem'' since ''Melee'', hence why Corrin became a new first-party DLC character for ''[=3DS/Wii U=]'' when it came time to find a character to promote a recent release. The character ended up being very divisive in the West, even among fans of the ''Fire Emblem'' series, both for the perceived spotlight issue (expounded by how Corrin was revealed ''before'' the release of ''Fates'' outside of Japan due to differing release dates) and because ''Fates'' itself proved to be a divisive entry in part due to Corrin's characterization.

* Dark Pit from ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', when he was revealed for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', was widely loathed by the western fanbase. Reasons for this included him being an "edgy PaletteSwap OC" and a MovesetClone of Pit, him "stealing a slot" from a more unique character, and accusations of [[SpotlightStealingCrossover "Sakurai bias",]] as Creator/MasahiroSakurai also created ''Kid Icarus Uprising''. However, not only do Japanese fans love Dark Pit, but he's widely loved by players of ''Uprising'' around the world, making this a case of "''Smash'' Fans Hate Dark Pit" as well. By contrast, Lucina and Dr. Mario, despite being {{Moveset Clone}}s from equally-prominent franchises, are [[EnsembleDarkhorse quite popular]] both in Japan and overseas. Dark Pit being reclassified as an Echo Fighter of Pit in ''Ultimate'' cooled the waters, given that this more clearly indicates his niche, and other well-loved characters like Daisy, Dark Samus, and the aforementioned Lucina are also echoes.

* {{First person shooter}}s are a niche genre in Japan, holding the negative stigma of being overly simplistic and only appealing to those who can't handle anything more complex than "point and shoot" at worst or have a heavy interest in guns at best. It doesn't help that most games in the genre are made by Western developers and, until TheNew10s, never get localized, and those that do are on gaming platforms that themselves have niche audiences in the region (PC and Xbox). That being said, ''[[CoOpMultiplayer team-based]]'' FPS games tend to have a far better time developing an audience, as the popularity of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'', ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', and ''VideoGame/ApexLegends'' can attest, and the rise of such games at the end of 2010s have led to the genre's increased popularity in Japan. ''VideoGame/PlayerunknownsBattlegrounds'' and the aforementioned ''Apex Legends'' also both avoid the trend, being as popular in Japan as it is anywhere else, even maintaining their popularity over ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''. ''Videogame/{{Doom}}'' has also shaken off this stigma since [[VideoGame/Doom2016 the 2016 game]], due to the fast pace, platforming, exploration, and the HotBlooded DemonSlaying protagonist being appealing for many players in Japan. It got to the point that ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' features him as a Mii Gunner costume.

* {{First person shooter}}s are a niche genre in Japan, holding the negative stigma of being overly simplistic and only appealing to those who can't handle anything more complex than "point and shoot" at worst or have a heavy interest in guns at best. It doesn't help that most games in the genre are made by Western developers and, until TheNew10s, never get localized, and those that do are on gaming platforms that themselves have niche audiences in the region (PC and Xbox). That being said, ''[[CoOpMultiplayer team-based]]'' FPS games tend to have a far better time developing an audience, as the popularity of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'', ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', and ''VideoGame/ApexLegends'' can attest, and the rise of such games at the end of 2010s have led to the genre's increased popularity in Japan. ''VideoGame/PlayerunknownsBattlegrounds'' and the aforementioned ''Apex Legends'' also both avoid the trend, being as popular in Japan as it is anywhere else, even maintaining their popularity over ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''. ''Videogame/{{Doom}}'' has also shaken off this stigma since [[Videogame/Doom2016 the 2016 game]], due to the fast pace, platforming, exploration, and the HotBlooded DemonSlaying protagonist being appealing for many players in Japan. It got to the point that ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' features him as a Mii Gunner costume.

* The UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS initially [[http://www.siliconera.com/2012/10/24/nintendo-cut-profit-forecast-owing-to-weaker-nintendo-3ds-sales/ struggled outside Japan]], but in time, it turned out to be a subversion and became a smash hit worldwide. The [[VideoGame/StreetPassMiiPlaza StreetPass feature of the 3DS]], however, perpetually struggled to get any use outside of Japan. The feature was designed with a highly urban, densely populated nation like Japan in mind, which makes things harder in a mostly suburban region like many parts of North America. Nintendo later made changes to their hotspots to have them serve as a relay, by holding each tag to be shared with the next 3DS to encounter it, but depending on where you live they weren't easy to come by. It eventually came to be that the highest densities of [=StreetPasses=] in North America were at {{fan convention}}s and not in daily life.

* This seems to have been averted and played straight several times in Denmark in recent years. The Sony UsefulNotes/PlayStation was a bigger console hit than the Nintendo 64. The UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 was more frequent in Danish homes than the Xbox or [=GameCube=][[labelnote:Although...]]The [=PS2=] outsold both consoles by a long-shot almost everywhere[[/labelnote]]. Even during the 7th generation of consoles, the [=PS3=] was a highly sold console in Denmark, even after the Xbox 360 have had a longer and cheaper run. Still, Denmark seems to be favoring the American consoles over the Japanese longrunner after the Xbox 360's larger library of 7th generation titles. As for the 8th generation, it's rather unclear since the Xbox One is delayed in Denmark[[labelnote:*]]Danish [=GameStop=] stores are importing the UK Xbox One to aid its run in Denmark, since the Xbox have been [=GameStop=]'s most sold gaming console.[[/labelnote]] and multiple European countries until October, but Sony has recognized their European fans, releasing their [=PS4=] internationally in most, if not all, European countries.

* {{First person shooter}}s are a niche genre in Japan, holding the negative stigma of being overly simplistic and only appealing to those who can't handle anything more complex than "point and shoot" at worst or have a heavy interest in guns at best. It doesn't help that most games in the genre are made by Western developers and, until TheNew10s, never get localized, and those that do are on gaming platforms that themselves have niche audiences in the region (PC and Xbox). That being said, ''[[CoOpMultiplayer team-based]]'' FPS games tend to have a far better time developing an audience, as the popularity of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'', ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', and ''VideoGame/ApexLegends'' can attest, and the rise of such games at the end of 2010s have led to the genre's increased popularity in Japan. ''VideoGame/PlayerunknownsBattlegrounds'' and the aforementioned ''Apex Legends'' averts this, being as popular in Japan as it is anywhere else, even maintaining its popularity over ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}''. ''Videogame/{{Doom}}'' also averts this since [[Videogame/Doom2016 the 2016 game]], due to the fast pace, platforming, exploration, and the HotBlooded DemonSlaying protagonist being appealing for many players in Japan. It got to the point that ''Videogame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' features him as a Mii Gunner costume.

* While the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was ''the'' icon of UsefulNotes/The8BitEraOfConsoleVideoGames in North America, it was rejected in the UK, where the technically inferior but much cheaper home computers already dominated the market by the time the console was distributed in 1987. Creator/{{Rare}}, despite being based in the UK, had to produce its early NES games mainly for the North American market. This had a knock-on effect, as several internationally popular franchises that thrived on the NES received a much colder reception in the UK -- ''Franchise/MegaMan'' being the most apparent. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJaCmHVkezw This video]] further elaborates on why the NES wasn't successful in this region.

* While the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem was ''the'' icon of [[The80s The Third Generation of Gaming]] in North America, it was rejected in the UK where the technically inferior but much cheaper home computers already dominated the market by the time the console was distributed in 1987. (Creator/{{Rare}}, despite being based in the UK, had to produce its early NES games mainly for the North American market) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJaCmHVkezw This video]] further elaborates on why the NES wasn't successful in this region.