Darn I was looking forward to that cool Japanese SHH packaging!

That's really sad

Why the hell wouldn't they release it in Japan??

Is Silent Hill even really that popular in Japan anymore? Or is it like Konami's other flagship series (MGS) where it's insanely popular in the West but not as much in Japan?

It's entirely possible that most people that were fans of the series before aren't anymore. It happens.

Konami really, really needs to rethink silent hill in general. While I enjoyed Homecoming, it had its faults. Namely, it brought nothing new to the forumla and did feel very tired in that regard.....

Lets hope Shattered Memories does better

That's rather surprising. Thanks for sharing the news.

I too would like to know exactly why they aren't releasing it...

It's a shame that Japan looses out on the better American Silent Hill title, but when you think about how popular handheld consoles are in Japan it makes sense. I would be very surprised if SM didn't sell in Japan though, there are many more domestic Wiis in Japan than 360s and PS3s combined.

Whatt?
Japan is like, the mother home of Silent Hill!
How could they not want to release it there?

I don't care if the game is good or bad, THat's just bad of konami not to release it there...

Well, if no one wants it, why release it? Again, it's not unlikely that they took surveys (Famitsu does it all the time, and I'm sure Dengeki does it too) and found out that no one really cares for it anymore. It'd be a waste of money if no one really wants it.

It was never very popular in Japan anyway, its probably a good business decision on Konami's part, as in it wouldn't sell and they'd get naff all from it. Silent Hill is a Japanese idea with American fundamentals, if that makes any sense, it most popular in Europe I heard last.

Wow had no idea but hey they're not missing much.

It's a shame though... if it was popular in Japan the game would still be made in Japan... The reason Konami handed it to an American Dev was because it's popular in the West so they figured a Western dev can make it to suit American audiences... ironically American fans liked it because of it's Japanese touch... But in all likelyhood, the mroe action oriented they make it and the more generic, the more likely it is to sell and appeal to a wider audience. The movie did well to establish the name. I wonder how well homecoming sold in comparison to the other titles...

Well ya it sounds like a lot of ppl wouldn't care and that it wouldn't sell well but I just think it kinda sad cause I've been in situations similar to that where a game wont be released in America cause they think it's unmarketable and I would always feel like I missed out.

I mean you can assume that there aren't alot of silent hill fans in japan but I have a hard time believing there are no fans. So my point is just that I feel sorry for those few fans..oh well

Fail, Konami. Fail.

Ah well.

Most Japanese fans I spoke to believe that Konami decided not to release Homecoming because it was too over the top. Japan is quite conservative with depicting violence and the Silent Hill games have always been no more than CERO C: that is for 15-years of age and above. Homecoming was specifically developed for the Mature and 18+ audience from the beginning, so they explicitly show human beings being tortured and getting killed in a gruesome manner. Past games only hinted at it or made it happen off-screen.

Had Konami released Homecoming in Japan, it would have been watered down and scenes would have been omitted.

While it's true that in Japan Silent Hill series had its peak at Silent Hill 2, and its popularity decreased ever since, there always has been a cult following. Konami had promised to bring them Homecoming for over a year now. More than a couple of Japanese fans are disappointed over the news.

As for the package, Masahiro Ito was responsible for the jacket. You can see his work here.

Wait, what? Japan conservative about violence, they have some of the most violent games, cartoons and cinema going, they are very creative with violence and gore. I can't see that being the problem.

Oh well, they have so many good games that are never released here! i still want Hokuto no Ken, but i know it'll never see a US release.

What else can I say?

^Hahaha, OMG SO TRUE!

That Ito art is pretty awesome! Anyway, hardcore Japanese SH fans could still possibly import, PS3 games being region free... But of course everything's in English. It would be nice if all future devs make attempts for localization of stuff right from launch with at least different subtitle options for other countries' languages...