Mega Man Creator Shakes Fist At Japanese Game Industry

[Stealth]

I honestly think it's a cultural barrier. Japan is, by in large, a nation of refiners. It speaks to their very national heritage. They put less emphasis on the creativity or originality of something and more on the ability to improve and refine what works. I'm not just making this up.

Look at their history. The whole of their martial art was about refining the system. Their poetry is minimalistic in succinct. They have been incredibly slow to adapt new ideas and modes of thinking, and sadly it has to be almost nearly and catastrophically forced on them.

A good example is the matchlock firearm. Japaan got them in the 1400s, but when Perry opened Japan after Tokugawa they still hadn't improved the weapon any. Now, the best matchlocks in the world are still made in Japan, just like the best swords (arguably).

This speaks to their video games as well. The first five Final Fantasy games were refinements of the same four warriors of light, grab the crystals storyline. I'm not generalizing, there are creative and adaptive Japanese people, but the culture puts its emphasis elsewhere and always has.

This is different than the Enlightenment Western ideals we still hold to day. We praise the creative genius and then praise the other creative genius who improves on the design. Westerners typically hold that creative individual up rather than the ability to refine out the process. Not to say there aren't refining Westerners. However, it does show on nearly every facet of our individual ideals what we prefer to do.

You are generalizing slightly...........

FF1-5 are all completely different

 

[Jumendez-sama]

just a 4 chan hoax

Yes, something backed up by facts is a hoax. Obviously. Did you know that the Laws of Gravity aren't real and were made by some lying sod who had nothing better to do?

At any rate, all the games that were projected to come out this year from Atlus will come out this year, it's just that it's likely that Index will go down which no one will care about because Atlus and all their properties will be scooped up into good hands when that happens. I suggest you check the link that I posted originally next time.

It was a complete hoax with ZERO FACT BEHIND IT................

Before I flame some more, are we talking about Atlus going down or Index going down. If the former, then yes, that's not going to happen anytime soon and you could I suppose call that a hoax, even if it was speculation based on fact. If the latter, then no, that is not a hoax and will happen sometime after this year.

Let's look at the evidence:
Exhibit A: Financial Report of Index [https://www.release.tdnet.info/inbs/140120120409007319.pdf]
Exhibit B: p4g article being pulled from Famitsu. This is a rarity in the gaming news industry and suggests that at some level something is wrong.

And if I haven't stated this all properly, here's a summary of the events of this "hoax."

Spoiler: Summary

1. Famitsu suddenly cancelled their scheduled persona article.
2. People started wondering what's up.
3. People posts index's financial report from 'release.tdnet.info' for people asking why.
4. Panic stirs as the numbers were shocking, people speculated persona 4 might even be cancelled at this rate
5. People from business industry says quite down, as it's just that their liabilities have exceeded their assets for some reason, and they won't declare bankruptcy until next year, but agrees index is in deep trouble.
6. The cause of index using all of their asset is bc of them overdoing in presenting persona in various medias.
7. Atlus will still be fine even when index goes down. They might buy back index themselves after they declare bankruptcy, or be absorbed into another company as Atlus is a desirable company. When that happens, there might be a delay for releasing their games in that period.
8. Index's fate lies within sales of Atlus' upcoming games, but even index's short term debt is 20 billion yen.
9. Panic calms down as fans realizing Atlus will be fine nonetheless.

 

[Stealth]

Have you spoken with anyone from atlus about the state of index lately? If you havent then say quiet

A persona 4 golden article was never pulled, Actually they increased the scope to include website coverage

 

[Comma-Kazie]

One never improves by ignoring criticism. Admittedly, though, this WOULD explain a lot about recent Japanese titles.

 

[Stealth]

you mean like devil survivor 2? graces F? 13-2?

how they are all considered massive improvements?

You dont think they listen?

STOP GENERALIZING

 

[yatterman1]

my view on this is companies over here do not release certain games or version of the game, because it did not sell or it sold but not in the numbers they wanted. also the other thing is lack of i don't know let me think oh yeah commercials for the product there have been times when i go get a game and stores don't even know that the game was supposed to be released on that day even though its on their site. i find the industry is taking a hit due to the people in the companies not listening to the customer.

but then it is capcom and i am still waiting on next monster hunter because i want it on 3DS

 

[z121231211]

Guys I really need all of you to know something.

Persona 3 and 4 are on the PS2.

Think about that. The Persona games are rightfully considered amazing JRPGs, but just because they sell well doesn't really help when AAA games of today are on the 360 and PS3.

I think once Persona 5 gets released on current gen consoles we might see a turn on this issue.

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

Seems like every other country has a wide variety of games and genres on offer, but Japan just pumps out streams of the same few things over and over. Yeah, the U.S. has it's share of copy-pasta shooters and the like, but there is such a wide variety of games for every imaginable interest available. If you don't like purposefully obscure railshooters or animated movies with the same set of characters we've seen since the 80's, Japan doesn't have much to offer.

 

[Stealth]

Seems like every other country has a wide variety of games and genres on offer, but Japan just pumps out streams of the same few things over and over. Yeah, the U.S. has it's share of copy-pasta shooters and the like, but there is such a wide variety of games for every imaginable interest available. If you don't like purposefully obscure railshooters or animated movies with the same set of characters we've seen since the 80's, Japan doesn't have much to offer.

Without japan the puzzle, platforming, rpg, fighting, vn genres would be nothing, Japan constantly innovates with the most diverse games available.........

What do you get with the west? the same generic realism art style, shooters, and open world

thats it.........

its the US that pumps out the same few things.........

Lets take a look at the rpgs

witctcher 2, mass effect, skyrim

Same visual style, same gameplay, ect

devil survivor 2, graces F, 13-2

different visual styles ie sprites, cell shading, realism
Different gameplay ie strategy, action real time, turn based

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

Seems like every other country has a wide variety of games and genres on offer, but Japan just pumps out streams of the same few things over and over. Yeah, the U.S. has it's share of copy-pasta shooters and the like, but there is such a wide variety of games for every imaginable interest available. If you don't like purposefully obscure railshooters or animated movies with the same set of characters we've seen since the 80's, Japan doesn't have much to offer.

Without japan the puzzle, platforming, rpg, fighting, vn genres would be nothing, Japan constantly innovates with the most diverse games available.........

What do you get with the west? the same generic realism art style, shooters, and open world

thats it.........

its the US that pumps out the same few things.........

Lets take a look at the rpgs

witctcher 2, mass effect, skyrim

Same visual style, same gameplay, ect

devil survivor 2, graces F, 13-2

different visual styles ie sprites, cell shading, realism
Different gameplay ie strategy, action real time, turn based

Eh. To each their own.

I personally find Japanese games as a whole entirely irrelevant and it's nice to see the majority of people telling them that. Maybe with this much critique they'll finally do something about it. But I doubt it. Japan seems content to wither into obscurity, lol. The FF devs actually went on record saying they've never play tested a game before. Apparently player testing in Japan is nonexistent. You know your doing something wrong when it takes you forty years of making games to consider testing them before releasing them.

 

[Stealth]

I see how you feel............

"it's nice to see the majority of people telling them that."

1 guy isnt the majority, in fact after he made those comments on less than 20 industry people told him his act is getting old and he should shut it


Square has devleoped over 50 games this gen, more than EA, bethesda, obisidian, and most other western game makers combined, so you have no right to complain about the lengh of time it takes for some games. ANd I never read that statement.........

What japan needs most is more localizing help because there are so many more games nowdays to localize

 

[Snowbell]

Give me another Boktai game that doesn't involve wierd aliens and renaming Otenko 'Mr Toasty' and I will happily turn 180 degrees to face you again, Japanese game developers!

 

[Stealth]

Give me another Boktai game that doesn't involve wierd aliens and renaming Otenko 'Mr Toasty' and I will happily turn 180 degrees to face you again, Japanese game developers!

i liked lunar knights

 

[Snowbell]

i liked lunar knights

So did I, I just didn't like the weird fat men or Otenko's incongruous name
Also there could have been a lot more interaction between Carmilla and Lucian in my opinion, but from what I hear I missed all of that as it was in the 3rd Boktai which remains without an English release/translation

 

[Inkidu]

I honestly think it's a cultural barrier. Japan is, by in large, a nation of refiners. It speaks to their very national heritage. They put less emphasis on the creativity or originality of something and more on the ability to improve and refine what works. I'm not just making this up.

Look at their history. The whole of their martial art was about refining the system. Their poetry is minimalistic in succinct. They have been incredibly slow to adapt new ideas and modes of thinking, and sadly it has to be almost nearly and catastrophically forced on them.

A good example is the matchlock firearm. Japaan got them in the 1400s, but when Perry opened Japan after Tokugawa they still hadn't improved the weapon any. Now, the best matchlocks in the world are still made in Japan, just like the best swords (arguably).

This speaks to their video games as well. The first five Final Fantasy games were refinements of the same four warriors of light, grab the crystals storyline. I'm not generalizing, there are creative and adaptive Japanese people, but the culture puts its emphasis elsewhere and always has.

This is different than the Enlightenment Western ideals we still hold to day. We praise the creative genius and then praise the other creative genius who improvesre on the design. Westerners typically hold that creative individual up rather than the ability to refine out the process. Not to say there aren't refining Westerners. However, it does show on nearly every facet of our individual ideals what we prefer to do.

You are generalizing slightly...

FF1-5 are all completely different

You're absolutely wrong. They're a rehashing of the same fairly specific plot. Elements and names change, but look at it.

Crystals: All of them. IV had two sets, see changes.
Four people at a time: All but IV and they had five, and you could only take those five to deal with the final boss and save the world.
Crystals are elemental: Boy howdy.
There's some existential evil who's not any semblance of human or otherwise: All. Of. Them.
There's always a front man for the real evil. All, of them.

They're not cookie cutter, but they share too many common elements to be completely unique from each other.

 

[awol360]

Inafune does bring up a good point; All the great talent is still there, it's just not being brought to the front like it used to. Of course there are still some great games that just don't reach the foreign market, or if they do, they just reach it at a very slow pace. Take the Tales of series as an example.

A friend of mine has been raving about the Tales of Xillia (which sounds like either a cell-phone model to me), but he says from experience that it'll probably take the game years to reach the american market. If that sounds wrong, look at Tales of Graces F. There was a 16 month difference between the Japan and American release of the same title, and it still hasn't been released in Europe. Compared to many (if not most) American and European companies, that seems like a huge disadvantage. Since most European and American companies try to release their games worldwide, with only a few days delay between different regions.

 

[Stealth]

i liked lunar knights

So did I, I just didn't like the weird fat men or Otenko's incongruous name
Also there could have been a lot more interaction between Carmilla and Lucian in my opinion, but from what I hear I missed all of that as it was in the 3rd Boktai which remains without an English release/translation

The third did get an english fan translation which was 99.9 percent omplwre

 

[Stealth]

I honestly think it's a cultural barrier. Japan is, by in large, a nation of refiners. It speaks to their very national heritage. They put less emphasis on the creativity or originality of something and more on the ability to improve and refine what works. I'm not just making this up.

Look at their history. The whole of their martial art was about refining the system. Their poetry is minimalistic in succinct. They have been incredibly slow to adapt new ideas and modes of thinking, and sadly it has to be almost nearly and catastrophically forced on them.

A good example is the matchlock firearm. Japaan got them in the 1400s, but when Perry opened Japan after Tokugawa they still hadn't improved the weapon any. Now, the best matchlocks in the world are still made in Japan, just like the best swords (arguably).

This speaks to their video games as well. The first five Final Fantasy games were refinements of the same four warriors of light, grab the crystals storyline. I'm not generalizing, there are creative and adaptive Japanese people, but the culture puts its emphasis elsewhere and always has.

This is different than the Enlightenment Western ideals we still hold to day. We praise the creative genius and then praise the other creative genius who improvesre on the design. Westerners typically hold that creative individual up rather than the ability to refine out the process. Not to say there aren't refining Westerners. However, it does show on nearly every facet of our individual ideals what we prefer to do.

You are generalizing slightly...

FF1-5 are all completely different

You're absolutely wrong. They're a rehashing of the same fairly specific plot. Elements and names change, but look at it.

Crystals: All of them. IV had two sets, see changes.
Four people at a time: All but IV and they had five, and you could only take those five to deal with the final boss and save the world.
Crystals are elemental: Boy howdy.
There's some existential evil who's not any semblance of human or otherwise: All. Of. Them.
There's always a front man for the real evil. All, of them.

They're not cookie cutter, but they share too many common elements to be completely unique from each other.

I am not absolutely wrong

The gameplay was all completely differnet..............
The characters were completely different
The plots

Yeah they all had crystals.......but how they were intigrated into the story was completely different.....V had 5 characters too, you see not all the same

 

[Stealth]

Inafune does bring up a good point; All the great talent is still there, it's just not being brought to the front like it used to. Of course there are still some great games that just don't reach the foreign market, or if they do, they just reach it at a very slow pace. Take the Tales of series as an example.

A friend of mine has been raving about the Tales of Xillia (which sounds like either a cell-phone model to me), but he says from experience that it'll probably take the game years to reach the american market. If that sounds wrong, look at Tales of Graces F. There was a 16 month difference between the Japan and American release of the same title, and it still hasn't been released in Europe. Compared to many (if not most) American and European companies, that seems like a huge disadvantage. Since most European and American companies try to release their games worldwide, with only a few days delay between different regions.

You do realize this gen we have seen

The most tales ever get made, and the most tales ever get localized right?

What more do you want?

Xillia will be here soon enough and no, not all european and american games are released worldwide ever, in fact I cant think of any..........