Interestingly, the recently announced Sega music game, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F, has made an appearance at the Sony booth at E3 2012. Why is this so interesting? The game has not been confirmed for release outside of Asia, yet it makes an appearance at America’s biggest gaming conference. The Hatsune Miku series has been hugely popular in Asia, Japan in particular, to the point where the music is performed on-stage by an animated representation projected onto glass, yet its obviously anime- and J-Pop-influenced style makes it instantly a very niche title. So what are the odds something like this will actually make it to the US? And if it’s so unlikely, why bring it to E3?
Speaking with the Sega rep chauffeuring the playable demo, the game has still not been confirmed for the US. There are, however, two reasons why the game is making an appearance:
- It’s an opportunity to show the technology and demonstrate the music game concepts displayed therein.
- To gauge the response to a possible US release.
You read that right. Sega is unofficially listening to audience demands and is considering a US release. But it will depend on fans actually speaking up and making sure their voices are heard. In this day & age of Kickstarter success stories and extended endings, some companies are notably taking extra steps to ensure that they don’t miss any opportunities.
