No Silent Hill Homecoming Release in Japan

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Whitney
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No Silent Hill Homecoming Release in Japan

Post by Whitney »

Kotaku wrote: http://kotaku.com/5356083/silent-hill-h ... g-to-japan

Konami's Silent Hill Homecoming will not be released in Japan. On the title's official home page, the Japanese company has announced that the domestic release of the game has been suspended.

No reason was given for this decision. "Please look forward to future titles in the series," the announcement notes.

Released in North America in September 2008, Silent Hill Homecoming was developed by Double Helix Games and Foundation 9 Entertrainment for the PS3 and the Xbox 360. It is the first console SH title to be handled by a Western developer.

The last time the Japanese Homecoming site was updated was in November 2008.
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Mace63
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Post by Mace63 »

That's really sad :(

Why the hell wouldn't they release it in Japan??
I love the Silent Hill Series. The games: Homecoming, Origins, and Shattered Memories, did nothing wrong whatsoever, they were developed well, and did things different. Just because they were not by Team Silent doesn't mean that they're bad games. I believe in this series. I believe that one day, we can have a game that will make all Silent Hill fans Happy. I believe that Silent Hill Downpour can achieve this.
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Post by Bishop Sasarai »

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.
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Post by Matt S »

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
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Post by Enika »

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

I too would like to know exactly why they aren't releasing it...
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Post by Chrism~ »

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.
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Post by angelofROOM302 »

Whatt? :shock:
Japan is like, the mother home of Silent Hill!
How could they not want to release it there?
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Post by Drainage64 »

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

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.
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Post by Kairu »

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.
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Post by SPRINGS02 »

Wow had no idea but hey they're not missing much.
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Post by jdnation »

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...
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Post by Drainage64 »

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
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Post by Vixx »

Fail, Konami. Fail.
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Post by Burning Man »

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.
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Post by Kairu »

Burning Man wrote: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.
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Post by Skele »

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.
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Post by Klimat »

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Post by Mace63 »

^Hahaha, OMG SO TRUE!
I love the Silent Hill Series. The games: Homecoming, Origins, and Shattered Memories, did nothing wrong whatsoever, they were developed well, and did things different. Just because they were not by Team Silent doesn't mean that they're bad games. I believe in this series. I believe that one day, we can have a game that will make all Silent Hill fans Happy. I believe that Silent Hill Downpour can achieve this.
Team Silent may be gone, but their series isn't. Instead... it's here, it's alive.

If you agree, add it to your sig.
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Post by jdnation »

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...
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