The original release of Mass Effect 2 didn’t exactly have a massive effect on the state of the Japanese game industry, largely because of its exclusivity to the Xbox 360 in the region (yes, even the PC version didn’t make it over). This time around, Sony’s PlayStation 3 is the destination, and Electronic Arts is considerably more optimistic about the forecast. After having been released in North America and PAL territories this past January, the game makes its Japanese debut today. Oddly enough, the 360 version arrived in Japan just as the rest of the world was getting the PS3 port.
The company is certainly not being foolish with its optimism. In the Land of the Rising Sun, the PlayStation 3’s install base trumps that of its nearest rival and, moreover, it has the benefit of usually being the preferred console of RPG fans. Be it Japanese or Western, action or standard, RPGs that appear on both the 360 and PS3 tend to sell far better on Sony’s platform. The PS3 version of Sega’s Resonance of Fate, for example, stomped its rival version by some 900 per cent. That’s not a typo. Being billed a “Sci-fi Shooting RPG,” this bodes well for BioWare and EA, and despite being released six months later, retailers across the country are pretty hyped about the game’s PS3 port, with plenty of signs hanging in windows and demo TVs running trailers of the game, as if it were being released for the first time.
Regardless of platform, Mass Effect 2 was received extremely well by media outlets worldwide, taking home tons of awards from numerous critics. Upon its port to PS3, our own Joseph Peterson slapped a 10/10 on it in PlayStation LifeStyle’s review.
