Japan Still Digs Rhythm Games, Taiko Drum Master Shipments Surpass 500,000

While the rhythm game market is on ice in the West, Japan is still purchasing music games like the Taiko Drum Master series. Namco Bandai announced Taiko Drum Master: The Little Dragon and the Mysterious Orb for Nintendo 3DS and Taiko Drum Master: Super Splendid Edition for Wii broke past 500,000 units shipped. Not bad considering these games were only released in Japan.

The Taiko Drum Master games feature mascot Wada-don and usually a few crossover songs. Take Taiko Drum Master: Super Splendid Edition, the fifth Taiko game for Wii, which has music from Dragon Quest X, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Monster Hunter Tri G. The 3DS game has "The Invincible Blade" from Soulcalibur V, "The Arrow was Shot" from Tales of the Abyss, "Wasabi Body Blow" from Tekken 3D Prime Edition, and a theme from My Neighbor Totoro.

Taiko Drum Master: The Little Dragon and the Mysterious Orb has a RPG-lite mode where you battle enemies by hitting notes on beat and dodging bombs. It’s too bad Taiko Drum Master didn’t catch on in the West.