What The Japanese Really Think.

[女無さん]

I've seen some people argue about the reception of this game from the Japanese, are they offended or not? Do they like the game? etc. I don't have anything conclusive to say, but I do have data I haven't seen being brought up in any discussion thus far.

Yasuke Simulator; the parody game, at the time of writing this post has 209 reviews written in Japanese, and a score of "very positive".
Assassin's Creed Shadows has 82 reviews, at the score of "somewhat positive".

Full disclaimer: I speak Japanese. And I can comfortably say that when I skimmed the reviews, they do not appear to be machine translated. It's easy to tell because machine translation don't use colloquial expressions, slang, and is over reliant on pronouns, which are omitted in Japanese because it's usually understood from context.

I'd also like to point out that the YouTuber famous for the "yasuke ya naika" song, did a playthrough of the parody game 4 days ago. In the beginning of that video, he also notices the ratio of reviews written in Japanese between the two games, he however concurred that it might change during the weekend. It did, only it got bigger as we can see from the final numbers.
Time stamp here: https://youtu.be/gO_BxbbjVI0?feature=shared&t=129

It appears that the Japanese are well aware of what is happening in the west, and it is being talked about on their respective channels as well. Especially the history revisionism and lack of attention to detail.

EDIT 1:
I'd just like to share some banger music videos that echo a Japanese sentiment as it was 8 months ago, the comment section is also worth a read if you want to understand why some Japanese are/were angry with Ubisoft.

Yasuke is aight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRNSOOyfOwU

Why Yasuke?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLxQJPq8OJI

EDIT 2:
Famitsu just released their sale ranking for the month, so we have more numbers to talk about.

https://www.gematsu.com/2025/03/famitsu-sales-3-17-25-3-23-25

Assassin's Creed: Shadows hit the number #5 spot for physical copies sold (17,701) total. That's a 60% drop off from their previous games Valhalla and Odyssey, which managed to sell around 45,000 copies.

[女無さん]

Originally posted by Isa:

Originally posted by 女無さん:

I don't know, depends on how assimilated they are into the rest of the world and exactly how low the average proficiency is. Because Japan is VERY low and has a sort of xenophobic culture surrounding it. It's hard to explain without having visited Japan.

There goes the goalpost. ok dude

You retorted my argument that Japanese people in general don't write English reviews by saying that your country also has a low English proficiency. You didn't specify how low, or any other details. Then I asked you to support that argument, and you assume I moved the goalpost?

[MythicRocfordson]

You want me to believe DEI initiatives are as material as deliberately bad game design decisions because of hyperbole. That you think you can fabricate an issue like that speaks to why you continue to lose the culture war

[女無さん]

Originally posted by Maschendraht:

When I looked at Amazon top sales of PS5 games in Japan the other day Shadows was no. 5 ytesterday or the day before, so it seems there are many people in Japan buying it. No 1. was Monster Hunter I think. I don't really care what people on the internet say. Regardless of google translate, even if negative comments come from actual Japanase users, there's still no way to determine if they speak for all of Japan, or if they're just a vocal minority, similiar to the haters in western countries.

The thing to focus on here is not what they say, but how many are saying anything at all, compared to the parody game, for example.

[RedSeptember]

Originally posted by Deadly Dan:

Originally posted by MythicRocfordson:

I am truly ecstatic to see you locking yourself out of fun and enjoyment because of your own hangups.

Cheers

No reason to feel bad, I haven't played a single AC game since Origins. As many reviews have stated, this is more of the same. I have so many great games to play, why should I settle for mediocrity when I have countless excellent games in my backlog?

Why not play them instead of finding fulfillment sitting in the forums of a game you will never play? It's a public forum, sure.

I just don't understand what satisfaction you get sitting around here while not playing great games? I only post on forums of the games I play.

Strange behavior to be honest.

[MythicRocfordson]

Originally posted by Deadly Dan:

Originally posted by MythicRocfordson:

I am truly ecstatic to see you locking yourself out of fun and enjoyment because of your own hangups.

Cheers

No reason to feel bad, I haven't played a single AC game since Origins. As many reviews have stated, this is more of the same. I have so many great games to play, why should I settle for mediocrity when I have countless excellent games in my backlog?

I agree!

Why should you settle for mediocrity instead of playing better games?

Im gonna take a page out of your book: why should I waste my time with a person who's clearly already decided their feelings on a game they haven't played?

I'll ignore you now!!!

Solutions, solutions.

[Kensei]

Originally posted by MythicRocfordson:

You want me to believe DEI initiatives are as material as deliberately bad game design decisions because of hyperbole. That you think you can fabricate an issue like that speaks to why you continue to lose the culture war

Another non-argument full of rage.

"Just take the L and move on." -- Lao Tzu

[Maschendraht]

Originally posted by 女無さん:

Originally posted by Maschendraht:

When I looked at Amazon top sales of PS5 games in Japan the other day Shadows was no. 5 ytesterday or the day before, so it seems there are many people in Japan buying it. No 1. was Monster Hunter I think. I don't really care what people on the internet say. Regardless of google translate, even if negative comments come from actual Japanase users, there's still no way to determine if they speak for all of Japan, or if they're just a vocal minority, similiar to the haters in western countries.

The thing to focus on here is not what they say, but how many are saying anything at all, compared to the parody game, for example.

That doesn't solve the problem of bubbles and hate engagement. Who plays "Yasuke simulator" and who is the most emotional about the game and thus the most likely to leave a review or post something about it? The haters. They will always have the majority on the product that is specifically designed for them. That doesn't say anything about Japanase gamers in general.

[MythicRocfordson]

Originally posted by Kensei:

Originally posted by MythicRocfordson:

You want me to believe DEI initiatives are as material as deliberately bad game design decisions because of hyperbole. That you think you can fabricate an issue like that speaks to why you continue to lose the culture war

Another non-argument full of rage.

"Just take the L and move on." -- Lao Tzu

Don't really think i need to argue anymore at this point

[Kensei]

Originally posted by Sheen:

Originally posted by Kensei:

DEI is supposedly about making room for non-Eurocentric perspectives. And then these same people tell non-Europeans to shut up.

But the DEI concept and application was born in the USA, not in Europe. To create a comprehensive and realistic DEI, it should be created by countries outside the Western scene, since it will imply a massive ignorance of the rest of the culture that it is supposedly trying to integrate.

In theory, DEI is a great idea, but its implementation has been rather capricious and ideologically driven in order to massively inculcate black and LGTBI people, the latter VERY specially, into entertainment products and their worldview. And it obviously hasn't worked.

In the end it's American ethnocentrism again, but in this case carried out by minorities, to go back to telling the world how it should be, and the world has said no, because they didn't even ask what they thought about it to begin with. It is not a European issue, it is an American issue.

The proof is that when Trump came to power the whole DEI issue is being silenced by leaps and bounds. The biggest flops in DEI products come from USA, not Europe. KCD 2 and BG 3 are European, Avowed (Microsoft) and Suicide Squad (Warner Bros) are American, like the new Snow White (Disney) by the way. Don't say it is a problem of Eurocentrism when it is clearly a problem of American-centrism.

Nobody asked the Chinese, the Indians, the Japanese, the Koreans or the Philippines what they thought about DEI, they were simply told that they had to accept it, period. And the answer has been no. The same thing that has happened in the USA and Europe, by the way, with the difference that Europe's political leaders have said yes, just as American leaders did before, but that does not imply that most people agree. Which translates into extremely poor sales as a result.

I agree with the distinction youre making but by Europeans I intended my statement to encompass Americans as well.

You are absolutely right. Its an American export and for most of the world an obnoxious imposition.

[Tiasmoon]

Originally posted by RedSeptember:

It's really not that hard to explain. You speak Japanese, great. You have visited Japan, great, but if you have lived there for many years as I did, I really doubt you'd have a hard time trying to convey what you're trying to convey buddy.

You sound like a tourist.

Originally posted by Maschendraht:

When I looked at Amazon top sales of PS5 games in Japan the other day Shadows was no. 5 ytesterday or the day before, so it seems there are many people in Japan buying it. No 1. was Monster Hunter I think. I don't really care what people on the internet say. Regardless of google translate, even if negative comments come from actual Japanase users, there's still no way to determine if they speak for all of Japan, or if they're just a vocal minority, similiar to the haters in western countries.

The game isn't selling amazingly on Amazon in Japan. Only 1~2k sales in the past month.
Wilds had 40~50k+. 1k copies is not in and of itself not bad, but for a AAA title like AC Shadows its poor sales.

[Deadly Dan]

Originally posted by RedSeptember:

Originally posted by Deadly Dan:

No reason to feel bad, I haven't played a single AC game since Origins. As many reviews have stated, this is more of the same. I have so many great games to play, why should I settle for mediocrity when I have countless excellent games in my backlog?

Why not play them instead of finding fulfillment sitting in the forums of a game you will never play? It's a public forum, sure.

I just don't understand what satisfaction you get sitting around here while not playing great games? I only post on forums of the games I play.

Strange behavior to be honest.

Why do you feel the need to defend corporations in your free time? I'm being critical of a franchise I once enjoyed playing, in the hopes that Ubi gets their act together and start making good games again. You're deflecting every point of criticism because you aim for an ideological win. Doing that without getting paid for it is way stranger to me.

[Isa]

Originally posted by 女無さん:

Originally posted by Isa:

There goes the goalpost. ok dude

You retorted my argument that Japanese people in general don't write English reviews by saying that your country also has a low English proficiency. You didn't specify how low, or any other details. Then I asked you to support that argument, and you assume I moved the goalpost?

Low. Like Japan's, which is low but now VERY low because very low is a specific range neither is in.

[Tiasmoon]

Originally posted by Sheen:

The proof is that when Trump came to power the whole DEI issue is being silenced by leaps and bounds. The biggest flops in DEI products come from USA, not Europe. KCD 2 and BG 3 are European, Avowed (Microsoft) and Suicide Squad (Warner Bros) are American, like the new Snow White (Disney) by the way. Don't say it is a problem of Eurocentrism when it is clearly a problem of American-centrism.

Actually a lot of them come from Canada. It was not just the US. And in case of EU they focus on 'products' that are different from games or movies on top of that the world isn't really aware how tightly in the grip of DEI the EU is. (its leadership is actively spreading DEI programs and trying to ingrain them more and more into EU policy and its member states)

[elstirthibaut]

for what it's worth I read 5chan since 2018 and there is a huge bashing on ac shadows and ubisoft.
The idea that japanese don't care about the controversy is absolutely false.
The hate dei and political correctness (policore).

[女無さん]

Originally posted by elstirthibaut:

for what it's worth I read 5chan since 2018 and there is a huge bashing on ac shadows and ubisoft.
The idea that japanese don't care about the controversy is absolutely false.
The hate dei and political correctness (policore).

Yes. The thought that DEI isn't being talked about, noticed or criticized is just not true. The questions is to which extent, but I highly doubt it's a niche thing. Just look at the reception for this for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLxQJPq8OJI
Not to mention the cancellation of funding for the UN women's right's committee