Capcom: Dead Rising Was Too Japanese

[Logan Westbrook]

Capcom: Dead Rising Was Too Japanese

Capcom believes that its 2007 zombie survival extravaganza, Dead Rising [http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=39443], may have been 'too Japanese' for a western audience.

Despite clearly taking a lot of cues from western zombie movies, especially George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead [http://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Dead-Unrated-Directors-Blu-ray/dp/B001CW7ZW6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1278535580&sr=1-1], Capcom feels that Dead Rising was a little too Japanese.

"The first Dead Rising was built in a very Japanese style", said Capcom's Shinsaku Ohara. "We had some help from America, but basically it was all done in a Japan. We wanted to do it better for a Western audience this time."

"That's why we're working with Blue Castle now. They know what they like - and it's good to have them come up with ideas and it becomes a back and forth thing. Together, we've come up with crazier ideas than we did in the first game. What we didn't quite manage in Dead Rising 1 was that it still felt too Japanese. We're much closer to feeling like a Western game with this title."

Obviously I can't speak for anyone else, but part of Dead Rising's charm for me was how different it was from anything else, and I must admit to being a little worried that Dead Rising 2 [http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=74656] might lose some of that. We'll just have to wait and see when the game is released this fall.

Source: ScrawlFX [http://scrawlfx.com/2010/04/dead-rising-was-too-japanese-says-capcom]




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[AboveUp]

What... but... how?

I'm sorry, but I didn't really see anything overly "Japanese" in this game at all. What exactly is this feeling of a western game they're describing here anyway? Is the cartoony silliness " Japanese"? In that case, Saints Row 2 is too " Japanese" too.

I'm completely lost with this comment from Capcom, but at the same time I'm afraid that Dead Rising 2 might not become the game I was hoping for (like Dead Rising 1 but bigger and better) if this is the kind of problem they thought the first one had. The only problem the first game had was its control scheme and even that I could live with.

 

[hansari]

Yeah....the first Dead Rising was good...so lets go in a completely different direction :/

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

What... but... how?

I'm sorry, but I didn't really see anything overly "Japanese" in this game at all. What exactly is this feeling of a western game they're describing here anyway? Is the cartoony silliness " Japanese"? In that case, Saints Row 2 is too " Japanese" too.

I'm completely lost with this comment from Capcom, but at the same time I'm afraid that Dead Rising 2 might not become the game I was hoping for (like Dead Rising 1 but bigger and better) if this is the kind of problem they thought the first one had. The only problem the first game had was its control scheme and even that I could live with.

It was completely Japanese in the sense that it was ludicrously hard, was going on in real-time and was really confusing at times to its mostly Western audience.
So, that's what I've got.
OT: Good enough.

 

[Dexiro]

Too Japanese? What the hell.

Personally i prefer Japanese'y games, but Deadrising didn't strike me as one of those in the first place.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

It wasn't too Japanese for me, personally. It was too not fun.

 

[Doc Theta Sigma]

I know what they mean kind of. The game felt like it had been made by somebody who got all their ideas of a zombie apocalypse from watching Dawn of the Dead. It's hard to explain but it just had that 'lost in translation' Japanese feel to it.

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

No!

But...who will cover wars? Nooooooooooo!

OT: I'm saddened, I liked that about Dead Rising.

 

[TxMxRonin]

Unlockable Mega Man suit.

 

[Sebenko]

It wasn't too Japanese for me, personally. It was too not fun.

maybe it was what they'd call fun?

 

[Tartarga]

I didn't even know it was japanese.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

WHo what and HUH? Too Japanese, it basically looks like you took Dawn of the Dead and added in a very campy tone to it and that was fine. I guess us Westerners are so into the extreme Gore that anything that makes a slight joke about it subject matter passes through our radar.

 

[Baby Tea]

Once again, something is ruined by the fact that most Americans are intolerant of things that are different.

I love brash generalizations and sweeping assumptions (Number 2 is going to suck now, right?).
Makes me remember I'm on the internet.

The game did have a Japanese feeling to it. The dialog, the characters, the story...all very eastern. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's true. I didn't know Capcom made it when I tried the demo, but I knew it was a Japanese company right away. Once I saw it was Capcom, it just made sense.

We'll see how this works with number 2!
So long as I still get to kill hordes of undead with park benches, I'm sure I won't be unhappy.

 

[Julianking93]

I didn't see hardly any Japanese influence in Dead Rising.

What the fuck are they talking about?

 

[Therumancer]

Actually I feel there is less differance between Japanese and American gamers than many people want to admit, however I won't go into that here, other than to say I think it largely comes down to the Japanese gaming public wanting a lot of games to stay Japan-exclusive.

Dead Rising was a fine game, and sold well enough to become one of the Platinum classics. Also it was pretty much a launch title, and still manages to hold a decent fan base even now, with quotes by Frank West becoming a part of universal gaming culture "I've covered wars Ya Know".

To me it seems like Capcom is probably trying to say that they want to dumb down the game, removing things like the "PP" aquisition, and leveling up and such, which to me would destroy a good part of the game's charm. The "too Japanese" thing being an excuse in hoping they can take a big success and turn it into a monsterous one by making it even more casual.

Really, the only problem I had with "Dead Rising" was the time limit to stay on the main plot, and that's one of the big reasons why I never completed my own copy of the game (though I have played it elsewhere). Generally speaking I am not a big fan of time limits in games to begin with, especially ones with a lot to explore and experiment with like that one.

Still, we will see what happens when DR 2 finally hits. I don't consider this to be great news though. Pretty much I wanted a bigger version of the first game, with more stuff, and no time limits in getting to your objectives, letting you take the time to goof off when you want to.

 

[WestMountain]

Bah, why do the Japanese always seem to think that they need to be more western? Is that just an excuse for if the game get low sales?

 

[Decabo]

Once again, something is ruined by the fact that most Americans are intolerant of things that are different.

I love brash generalizations and sweeping assumptions (Number 2 is going to suck now, right?).
Makes me remember I'm on the internet.

The game did have a Japanese feeling to it. The dialog, the characters, the story...all very eastern. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's true. I didn't know Capcom made it when I tried the demo, but I knew it was a Japanese company right away. Once I saw it was Capcom, it just made sense.

We'll see how this works with number 2!
So long as I still get to kill hordes of undead with park benches, I'm sure I won't be unhappy.

I never said it didn't have a Japanese feel. Most other countries think that Americans can't relate to things that aren't American, like we're in our own bubble. And the sad part is that they're mostly correct. (Freedom fries?) So I'm saying the game is going to be stripped of some of its uniqueness because of those overpatriotic people who try to build up the States and demonize other countries. (i.e. Republicans)

EDIT: AAAAAND, I'm on probation for saying that some of the people in my own country are intolerant, pretty much proving my point right there.