Ben-DutkaSo Capcom boss Keiji Inafune really thinks the Japanese game industry is locked in a downward spiral . But while I agree that Japan should do something to adapt in an admittedly shifting environment, I also believe they're quite simply trying too hard. Either that, or they're giving in to untrue (or at least partially untrue) stereotypes.
We see the evidence everywhere. Square-Enix's upcoming lineup reads like something from EA and their flagship franchise, Final Fantasy , appeared for the first time on a Microsoft/American console this year. Many will also claim that the altered gameplay style was to appease the more action-oriented Westerners. Then there's Metal Gear Solid: Rising , which takes the legendary stealth series and makes it look like Ninja Gaiden . And speaking of NG, Itagaki teamed up with THQ to work on Devil's Third , a game that combines Japanese-style sword-slashing and third-person action elements from common Western shooters. The evidence of Japanese developers desperately trying to cater to Westerners is everywhere; take the intro of Nier , for instance. They actually opted to lead off with a poorly voiced, profanity-laden rant, which not only immediately paints the game in a bad light – which is unfortunate, because it's actually really fun – but also sort of sums up what Japanese designers think of Western gamers.
But even if they're wrong and even if they continue on this path, I have yet to understand why this requires them to abandon their very own fans. Has anyone even bothered to ask Japanese gamers what they think about these obvious changes from their favorite game companies? It's not like Japanese game makers are trying to drag in new fans; it's like they're only trying to focus on the West while almost entirely ignoring their very own countrymen. Why can't the two styles simply play nice? Why can't we take masters from East and West and just toss them in a room together more often? Maybe then the Japanese devs will realize that not all Westerners require Call of Duty ; that we can really love stuff like Heavy Rain ; that we love great games like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves that don't reek of cowboy-like bravado, intense violence, a combination of stupid and fast gameplay, dark overtones, and huge amounts of profanity…the very elements Japanese overdo when trying to make Westerners buy their products.
You know, it's interesting to compare this movement to the time when Western game developers couldn't possibly match up to the best efforts of the Japanese. But I don't really remember if the West attempted to give in to Japanese stereotypes and make similar-style games; actually, the way I remember it, I think they sort of presented their own style and atmosphere and just kept working on it. But either way, if the two "opposing" sides can't find a way to work together and cater to both Western and Eastern tastes, and Japan continues to stigmatize all Western gaming fans, then yeah…I guess Japan's game industry is in trouble.
One final note to the Japanese game companies: the average age of a gamer in the US is about 34 years old. …we all grew up with your stuff .
in their mindset it is, and thats the problem.
they think giving the finger to their fans will somehow net them more cash.
how is beyond me!
Tis true about them trying to fit in with western stereotypes.
Have you seen Square-Enix's attempt at a western game? Nier?
The opening has more swear words in it than me playing ninja gaiden sigma! and that game is foocking haaard!
As I posted in the original article major Japanese devs have lost their Japanese identity in games.
I say 'major' because the minor ones still make truly original, distinctly Japanese games and they're happy if western fans appreciate their effort.
Those companies are not fixated on sales numbers. They're cool with their game selling less than one million in the west. As long as it's less than one million happy fans.
Major devs/publishers are primarily concerned with money/profit.
Let's take Ryu ga Gotoku 3/4 (Yakuza 3/4) as an example.
Those games are PS3 exclusives – yea, no MS greens to be made with those games in the west – and they sold like crazy in Japan, where there's like 4 million PS3s altogether. So basically one of eight Japanese PS3 owners bought the RGG games. That's roughly 13%. Sega is still happy. They're so happy that they're bringing an uncut version of RGG4 to western fans (yea, the hostess clubs have been saved ^^). And RGG3 didn't even sell one million worldwide (according to VGCharts).
That's Japanese fan service if you ask me.
Apparently it's way too much to ask major devs for.
Yet not all hope is lost. I so hope that one of those 'minor' devs' games sells more than 4 million in the west, thus being obviously greatly appreciated by westerners and Japanese fans alike. That way maybe, just maybe the major devs notice that fans still want distinctly Japanese games rather than mediocre wannabes.
And yea, I'm still holding my breath that FFvXIII stays PS3 exclusive and will be the definitive HD FF experience this year.
I don't need to mention Last Guardian as well, do I?
Last edited by ro kurorai on 6/23/2010 5:37:22 AM
I would hardly call Sega a minor dev. After all, they used to be a major participant in the 'console wars', and even today they are among the largest publishing houses. (Well, maybe not, but they're still a lot bigger than some.)
As far as Versus XIII being a definitive FF experience. Don't get your hopes up. It is a spin-off, so I don't really see S-E reimplementing the standard battle scheme for a game that is aimed at a larger audience than the numbered game.
Peace.
Okay, RGG/Sega may have been a bad example. But it still applies to the smaller ones. Shirokishi Monogatari, Demon's Souls and 3D Dot Game Heroes didn't shift millions but fans (in the west) appreciated them.
Now Level-5 are developing Ni No Kuni for PS3 exclusively.
Fact is, smaller Japanese devs don't care much about international sales records, they make games they enjoy playing and fans love their games for exactly that reason.
Regarding FFvXIII: I wouldn't call it a spin-off. FFXIII, Agito and vXIII are all part of the TNC universe, hence they're playing in parallel universes.
The latest news (Dengeki PS) state that FFvXIII will utilize a hybrid battle system (visible encounters and random ones) to augment exploration.
Nomura further claims that the high quality of in-battle graphics will blow players away and the latest Dengeki scans kinda support his statemant, as the graphics look rather rad.
cheers
Last edited by ro kurorai on 6/23/2010 7:46:12 AM
Come on guys. With Japan onboard, just imagine how many CODs we'll get each week.
well said, i love how the article ended. let them know!
I'm pretty sure any one of us here have grown up on JRPGs, including myself. I may be younger than most around here, but some of my earliest, and best, gaming memories are of my good old PS1 and FFVIII. I was always entertained by the different ways Japanese developers put their settings, characters, plots, etc. In fact, I would always prefer a Japanese based game over any American based.
Western stuff is alright… If you're into major profanity, gore, and twitch gameplay. Perfect example: GoWIII. I'm not bashing GoW, it's just the perfect American game. Boobs, gore, and lots of fast action.
And if Japanese developers want to get into CoD style, we may get a WWII story of the Japanese side and how they nuke us instead of us nukeing them… They're going to make it overly gorey too, just watch! (No offense intended!)
I agree 100% with you especially this part "Western stuff is alright… If you're into major profanity, gore, and twitch gameplay. Perfect example: GoWIII. I'm not bashing GoW, it's just the perfect American game. Boobs, gore, and lots of fast action. "
I dislike games that are replete with "major profanity, gore, and twitch gameplay" and long for something more fun.
The sad part, however, is that "fun" got wrapped into a mindless ball of button mashing nowadays… What happened to strategy?
"we all grew up with your stuff"
Amen.
ro kurorai,
<<<<Fact is, smaller Japanese devs don't care much about international sales records, they make games they enjoy playing and fans love their games for exactly that reason.>>>>>
You're absolutely right, it seems the smaller Japanese developers would rather hone their craft, standing proud in the fact that they've produced art. To them, money isn't the influence, prestige of doing a job well done is.
But sadly, a lot of those bigger Japanese developers are now trying to imitate Bobby Kotex's way of high finance & low morals, which is slowly eroding any solid gems of their much needed craftwork.
Sadly, those smaller Japanese developers lack the resources to perform localization of their games. I would be very happy with simple subtitles, but alas, even that is not available for the majority of titles.
I grew up playing Nintendo and I still enjoy playing the Japenese foreign games, I just see it in a different perspective then playing games that are made in the US.
Highlander,
Well I didn't think about the localization factor, but you're right.
Hopefully, they shouldn't have to sweat their localization problems any longer because "Monkey Paw" is coming to Japan's rescue.
Interview: John Greiner introduces MonkeyPaw Games, a localization firm for digital releases.
John Greiner was president of the US-based Hudson Entertainment for five years, and worked for Hudson Soft in Japan for fifteen years before that.
Now, he's taken his expertise in the Japanese game industry and applied it to a new project, the digital distribution-focused publishing firm MonkeyPaw Games, a company that will specialize in remaking and localizing Japanese games from the past and present.
In an interview conducted during E3, Greiner explained the new company's plans, opined on 3D and his favorite "lost" Japanese games, and provided valuable insight on what it's like to do business in Japan.
Here's the full interview here:
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/23/interview-john-greiner-introduces-monkeypaw-games/#continued
Nice find!
That is great news and a great idea. I've often wondered why someone like PlayAsia doesn't commission a text based localization of some of the more popular Japanese games that never release here.
Thanks Highlander,
Finding stuff like this just makes my hours of gaming related surfing all that much rewarding, especially if it's something well worth sharing too.
I can't wait to see what golden oldies that never made of Japan, he'll be bringing out of there.
BTW, I did see that he said he's got 4 titles in Monkey Paws hopper already.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 6/23/2010 6:04:42 PM
I appreciate you sharing the links and finds that you make. It adds tremendously to the value of PSXExtreme. Definitely a plus of coming here, because I know that the links people post are seldom pointless or offensive.
I am fervently hoping (mostly because my wife asks every time I mention games coming out of Japan) that the Idol Master games on the PSP will finally get some kind of western release.
Hey no problem Highlander, I enjoy finding them.
BTW, if you're planning to play as Haruka Amami, I sure hope your falsetto is going to be good enough trying to sing her favorite, "Taiyou no Jealousy",
LOL
BTW,
If you ever played Okami & loved the art direction, I think you might like the upcoming "El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron​" too.
Especially since it's done in the same artistic style by Takeyasu Sawaki, who did Okami(& Devil May Cry).
I have to agree with the writer somewhat, I think that Japanese Developers have a disjointed view of western gamers, first off, the statement "western Gamers" is a pretty broad generalization. The "West" spans a large amount of cultures. to try to categorize "us" into one mindset is insulting and will put them in a worse situation than they are in right now. they risk the chance of alienating Western gamers even more than if they just kept improving on what they have been doing for the past 30 years. making Japanese games and translating them for other markets.
I think the only ones not trying to conform is
Ninty. Their E3 conference showed that. Its these 3rd party devs/publishers that need the reality check.
If there is one thing Western developers are good at it's ruining good franchises. Silent Hill 2 had THE best storyline in a game. Silent Hill 3 was masterclass horror.
But then the series went down the dump with Origins, Homecoming & Shattered Memories thanks to Double Helix(projectile vomits). And don't get me started on the eventual **** up that is Silent Hill 8. Way to rape a series that use to be amazing.
Then of course we had Cliffy B's dribble about Japanese tech not being up to standard with Western tech.
Makes my ears bleed.
Anyway Japanese devs stick to what they know, the last god damn thing we need is Final Fantasy with cuban chomping marines, Metal Gear Solid with neckless grunts & Silent Hill with F'ing waeboos.
Last edited by Kevin555 on 6/24/2010 3:22:52 AM