Is Koei about to become a game publishing powerhouse?

[Ed Oscuro]

Crimson Sea 2 (http://www.gamespy.com/previews/february04/crimsonsea2ps2/) sounds very promising, and while I would've liked it to be on the XBox...rubbish, minor details.

Koei's games seem to me to have a hallmark look to their character designs...very realistic people, sort of like the new generation Final Fantasy character designs, but without the cheesy "J-Pop meets D&D" feel. According to Mr. Meston this newest title's engine is the same as used in their Dynasty Warriors games (another point of similarity).

All that aside...is Koei getting ready to take off after over 25 years (since July '78) of business, or, at the very least, is it really doing a lot better these days? Koei, to me, used to be only about uninteresting looking strategy games...now they're offering throughly modern products, and right now I would say that this new game is one of the reasons I want to get a PS2.

Thoughts are appreciated!

[zmweasel]

N/A

[Ed Oscuro]

Of course, yes, but how about in the US? I should think it's not quite a household name yet, and has a good ways to go. Looking through their US site, I don't see nearly as many good non-strategy games as I would like. Is their success going to mean they'll branch out into other types of gaming?

[zmweasel]

N/A

[Ed Oscuro]

Aww. Well, I'll be voting...with my Money, as soon as I can. I could go pick up the XBox original title right now, actually...

[hydr0x]

ehm i don't know, i think 90% of the german gamers don't even know the name KOEI, sorry

[spoon]

I was glad to see their Dynasty Warriors series take off a few years back. I have really enjoyed their games for a long time now.

I thought the first Crimson Sea was a excellent game. The camera and controls take some time to get used to. You can make some great weapons in that game.

[SoulBlazer]

You insult me, Ed. ;)

I LOVE Koei. Always have, always will. I first started playing their games when I rented Nobunaga's Ambition for the NES back in the late 80's and I've gotten every game they have released in the US since then, even their non-historical games (like the shooter they made for the N64).

I'm happy to finally see the company do well. They have always made great games and their games are actually one reason I decided to major in History when I got to college.

Now if only we could get some of the games they never released over here, like the new Nobunaga's Ambition and Unchrted Water games....

[Sylentwulf]

The problem is the name Koei.
50% of the world can't pronounce it NEARLY correct, and the rest just think it's some kind of word on the box that has nothing to do with anything (SLUS for example). They also don't run around WAVING their brandname in your face (cough, EA, Square, Nintendo cough)

It's like first party Sony games, there actually ARE a lot of them, and VERY good, but everyone seems to forget they're made by Sony :)

[kainemaxwell]

Well remember KOEI did have a niche market back in the day with their "Romance of the 3 Kingdoms" series games. Good to see they hit mostly big with Dynatasy Warriors and even Gitaroo Man, which I didn't know they did!

[Ed Oscuro]

Romance of the Three Kingdoms is still bit...number nine is about to come out.