14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts has revealed that Battlefield 1943, its multiplayer shooter offered as a digital download through the PlayStation Network and the Xbox Live Arcade, is the best sold videogame that is has put out on the Japanese market.
Rex Ishibashi, who is the president of EA Japan, told Gamasutra in an interview that “Battlefield 1943, which we released download-only in Japan, is our best selling title in the last 12 months,” before explaining that “Store shelves are incredibly crowded, turnover is incredibly important. It's hard, frankly, as a Western publisher, to get the attention that a Dragon Quest is going to get - a game that is specifically made for this marketplace.”
Electronic Arts sees the success of Battlefield 1943 as a sign that players interested in a certain king of videogame will make sure to pick it up as a digital download even if it has no presence on the shelves of brick and mortar stores.
Apparently, demo versions of the title also help players decide to pick up the game with Ishibashi saying that about two thirds of those who download the Battlefield 1953 demo in Japan end up buying the full game and playing it online.
Electronic Arts' focus on Japan is being materialized in the form of a new game, Tsumuji, which is being developed by an EA studio based in Japan and could end up only being released in the Land of the Rising Sun. Tsumuji is set to offer an experience not far from Zelda, starring a young ninja that must go through various adventures to come of age. The title is set to be launched at some point in February in Japan and a world wide date could be announced early in 2010.