Former Capcom boss and Comcept founder Keiji Inafune hasn't exactly been soft-spoken in his ultra-bold statements concerning the lagging Japanese game industry.
And in speaking to Wired , Inafune has once again issued a series of bold statements, evidently in the hope that Japanese designers will wake up and smell the coffee.
"You should tell the truth about Japanese games not being what they used to be. Unless they get that criticism, Japanese game creators are just sitting on the glories of the past. They won't get the message that the Western audience is turning its back on us."
That last bit could be interpreted in a number of different ways. Perhaps the Western gamers are only "turning their backs" because the quality from Japan hasn't been up to snuff. Or maybe it just means that with far more Western influences, gamers are more likely to flock to products that reflect more of their own culture. But the most interesting part was when Inafune claimed that Japanese developers are actually in a big ol' state of denial:
"Right now, Japan believes that other Asian games, and American games, aren't as good as theirs. But across the world, American games are the best-selling and considered the most fun. But Japan's gamers and game creators still won't accept this. This is why Japan can't win."
He went on to say that the only answer is for Japan to admit they've fallen behind and "when they're embarrassed and feel obliged to change," that might make all the difference in the world. He also suggests working more closely with Western game makers. Finally, he added:
"It's impossible for Japan to win with just Japanese power. Everybody in Japan should work with foreign developers. Not just paying them money and letting them make whatever they think is good, but really working together, coming up with new ideas together and discussing how to make something brand new. That would result in a chemical reaction in a good way. There's no way that Japan can be on their own anymore."
Doesn't get much stronger than that.
