Mega Man Creator Shakes Fist At Japanese Game Industry

[Morbira]

Slow news day, guys? Inafune has been saying this for years, what's changed?

 

[Stealth]

Read the interview, the interviewer said he loves japanese games, but inafune rationalized and ignored that away and continued on with his tirade.........

"The common consensus seems to be that while Japanese developers are still dominating the handheld market, they've fallen behind when it comes to AAA titles".

And I think the west has fallen off with handheld and console titles........and really what the hell does AAA mean? Budget? that's it? budget doesn't make great games.

" reckons it's because developers are ignoring criticism."

more like they ignore him because hes a joke.

"Very few Japanese developers have the money to compete with western developers when it comes to AAA titles."

You don't need budget to make games.

"Rising development costs have caused many smaller developers to shift over to developing titles for handhelds or the Wii, which generally cost less to make."

that isn't even true........


I think kenji inafune is a hypocritical generalizing nincompoop.

There is a reason why he considered a joke and not really a dev anymore.....

1 guy doesn't wipe out the voices of 1 million guys nor there games.

To him.........

radiant historia - sucks.
mario gaalxy - sucks.
disgaea 4 - sucks.
legend of heroes - sucks.
tales - sucks.
valkyria - sucks.

http://bitmob.com/articles/inafunes-at-it-again-and-its-getting-old

read this and tell me he made any points with evidence at all.

 

[Stealth]

I agree

 

[Stealth]

It gladdens my heart to know Japanese games are going down the toilet, they allowed their own games to stagnate.

And quotes like this are why I hope Western gaming follows it down the pan.

Seriously, a stupid amount of the comments on this thread are barely disguised xenophobia. It's really quite disgusting. Japanese games have stagnated no more or less than Western games. You can look at any genre out there now, and the Japanese gaming industry is doing just as much interesting stuff as Western developers.

Third person shooters? While Western developers are all busy aping Gears Of War, Japan gave us Vanquish, without a doubt one of the most inventive TPS games to come out this generation.

Hack and Slash games? Oh please. Japan has owned this genre since forever. Us Westerners got one good stab in there with God Of War, but when they can respond with the likes of Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, Onimusha and Ninja Gaiden, there's no way you can contest the point. We may have cornered FPS games in the West, but Japan still continues to dominate the H&S genre.

Stealth games? Oh my, didn't we get this little game a few years ago called Metal Gear Solid 4? Funny how a supposedly stagnating industry managed to create arguably the best stealth game this generation.

In terms of racing games, Gran Turismo is still one of the leaders of the genre, arguably sharing pole position with FORZA.

In fact, if you look pretty much anywhere away from first-person shooters, you see that Japanese developers are doing just as much to move the medium forward as Western developers. Arguably more when you look at the utterly banal way developers are now simply copying each other wholesale.

And let's address that elephant in the room, the oft maligned JRPG. The fact is that if you can be bothered to acknowledge that there are JRPGS outside of Final Fantasy, Japanese developers are creating some of the absolute best RPGs of this generation. Xenoblade. Dark Souls. The Last Story. All absolutely fantastic games, and about as far as you can get from linear FF-type fare.

It seems to me like there are simply a load of butthurt fanboys who got burned over FFXIII, and are now using outmoded stereotypes to try and legitimise their own prejudices. I find it hilarious and oh so ironic that people try and claim xenophobia on Japan's part as an excuse for their own xenophobia. Sure, because Japan hates the rest of the world so much that it has become one of the commercial trade centres of the world, with Japanese companies now exporting goods all over the world and leading the field in automobiles, consumer electronics, musical instruments... wait!

The Japanese industry is just like any other. There is crap, there is good stuff, and there is amazing stuff. Just because they follow Sturgeon's Law like everyone else, that doesn't somehow make it alright to treat them like a gaming pariah.

Well said sir. You are pure awesome.

agreed

 

[Stealth]

So long as we can keep Atlus...

Yeah, about that...
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/641695-persona-4-the-golden/62533117
Hopefully Persona 4: The Golden can be released by then, it could probably give them a bit of a boost even if P3P only sold about half as well globally as Persona 4.

WHAT
NO
PERSONA 5
NO
WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON MY WORLD HAS BEEN FUCKED UPSIDE DOWN
WHAT

I'm hoping that if Index does go down, Atlus (who sound like they're doing really well based on what the original poster of that thread said) can pick themselves up and buy the copyright and get back to work, with the only problem being a delay if anything. However, I'd like to hear from the OP himself since he seems to know a lot more about gaming finance than I do (which I know squat about).

EDIT: Atlus could be scooped by another parent company and resume all projects if they were cancelled by Index before Index goes down, so we could still have p4g and Persona 5 even if Index goes down.

This doesn't change, however, that even a critically acclaimed series in places outside Japan is still facing some form of trouble. If a strong series like Persona could be in trouble, then what can we say about the series in Japan that aren't as well received globally?

just a 4 chan hoax

 

[Stealth]

Oh and fyi 1 dev crapping on the industry doesnt wipe away that over a million dont.......

 

[Folio]

Do you know the work hours of a standard japanese company? It's 9 to 9, not 9 to 5. Japanese can be very driven with their work. Their normal stuff is wacky, zany and sensational compared to the same things we play. The downside is: it can look very alienating.

If they keep churning mediocre JRPG's, then yes. They need to think a little more. But if they just took it more globally, something so that everyone in the world will recognise themselves in the game, then the japanese gaming market will rise.

 

[Okysho]

I believe Inafune is right, but the Japanese developers are only half conscious about the problem.

On one side, several developers over there are claiming that (Kojima, Inafune, Suda 51, Itagaki, etc). The decline in popularity of Japanese games is a well known fact and events like TGS are full of conferences about this situation and how can they reverse it.

However, there is also the issue that most Japanese people don't like western games based on the origin only. They are not interested on them, and they see them with the disdain gamers here see portable games. That makes developers trying to appeal to the global market as awkward, consumers as little interested and companies reluctant to them (other than from a monetary standpoint). They see Call of Duty and God of War are successful in the west but they can't figure out why, then they try to emulate them and if feels off. The dissonance is also noticeable when western developers try to emulate japanese games, but results there are often better, since western developers have higher esteem of the japanese products than the other way around.

Of course, there are examples like Skyrim being very popular there, but those are few and far between.

This is true, but you have to remember that there is also a reciprocated response. The Japanese have been holding onto games a lot lately also because in some cases they just don't sell. JRPS or Japanese fihgting games off the top of my head are probably one of the biggest shunned-upon genres in today's industry. I've been laughed out of conversations for dropping titles like "tales of symphonia" or even a classic like "FF7". If it doesn't involve guns some people just don't wanna know. I can see how western RPGs can do well in Japan, even games like Bastion. God of War (1 at least) actually surprises me that the Japanese can't except it. They love mythology, maybe it's the over-the-top violence?

[edit: so I don't get yelled at] I haven't played Xenoblade yet, it's been out a week in NA and I'm in the middle of exams [/edit]

That being said, the western games industry is obviously not without it's problems. Besides the plagues like brown and the first person, there seems to be a huge emphasis on the whole online multiplayer thing. Is this just a western thing? because I've never felt the appeal... maybe there's a thread topic in there...

It looks like there's a cultural barrier we've got to try and overcome and I don't think cohesion between east and western game devs is enough. Game audiences vote with their wallets and it's pretty clear the western world would rather hunker down and shoot things. I think one of the reasons skyrim did so well, despite it's anticipation, was that it appealed to the nerdy RPG niche. I can't think of any of my FPS acquaintances playing this game or anyone I know who plays sports games.

What I'm trying to say is: How many gamers would really be willing to pick up a new game consisting of amalgamated work between a japanese and a western company? Most of the gaming audience seems content with getting the same shooters over again. (or Mario or LoZ, but they at least do more than the shooters) so how well would something like this really work?

 

[Awexsome]

It's not the Japanese developer's fault that if they make a game that isn't an FPS or, occasionally, a really good RPG that it's not going to sell like hotcakes. JRPGs are still my standard for RPGs since I like their tropes more than the WRPG tropes. But I can see why the WEST would like western tropes more since they are made with them in mind.

Ever since FF died down with less publicity and by having some less than stellar entries it's really caused a lot lest interest to be given to the Japanese market while IMO the Tales series has been creating better characters than anything Bioware has come up with ever starting from the last console generation.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

You wanna know why that is Japan? Because you're making Japanese/Western hybrids. You're trying to cater to the western market by making the same games we already have, only worse because you don't know how to do it. So you end up with a weird fucking product. There are some exceptions, but too few to matter. Go back to making Japanese games the way they were in PS2 era. Japan was the king of last generation.

 

[Stealth]

I believe Inafune is right, but the Japanese developers are only half conscious about the problem.

On one side, several developers over there are claiming that (Kojima, Inafune, Suda 51, Itagaki, etc). The decline in popularity of Japanese games is a well known fact and events like TGS are full of conferences about this situation and how can they reverse it.

However, there is also the issue that most Japanese people don't like western games based on the origin only. They are not interested on them, and they see them with the disdain gamers here see portable games. That makes developers trying to appeal to the global market as awkward, consumers as little interested and companies reluctant to them (other than from a monetary standpoint). They see Call of Duty and God of War are successful in the west but they can't figure out why, then they try to emulate them and if feels off. The dissonance is also noticeable when western developers try to emulate japanese games, but results there are often better, since western developers have higher esteem of the japanese products than the other way around.

Of course, there are examples like Skyrim being very popular there, but those are few and far between.

This is true, but you have to remember that there is also a reciprocated response. The Japanese have been holding onto games a lot lately also because in some cases they just don't sell. JRPS or Japanese fihgting games off the top of my head are probably one of the biggest shunned-upon genres in today's industry. I've been laughed out of conversations for dropping titles like "tales of symphonia" or even a classic like "FF7". If it doesn't involve guns some people just don't wanna know. I can see how western RPGs can do well in Japan, even games like Bastion. God of War (1 at least) actually surprises me that the Japanese can't except it. They love mythology, maybe it's the over-the-top violence?

[edit: so I don't get yelled at] I haven't played Xenoblade yet, it's been out a week in NA and I'm in the middle of exams [/edit]

That being said, the western games industry is obviously not without it's problems. Besides the plagues like brown and the first person, there seems to be a huge emphasis on the whole online multiplayer thing. Is this just a western thing? because I've never felt the appeal... maybe there's a thread topic in there...

It looks like there's a cultural barrier we've got to try and overcome and I don't think cohesion between east and western game devs is enough. Game audiences vote with their wallets and it's pretty clear the western world would rather hunker down and shoot things. I think one of the reasons skyrim did so well, despite it's anticipation, was that it appealed to the nerdy RPG niche. I can't think of any of my FPS acquaintances playing this game or anyone I know who plays sports games.

What I'm trying to say is: How many gamers would really be willing to pick up a new game consisting of amalgamated work between a japanese and a western company? Most of the gaming audience seems content with getting the same shooters over again. (or Mario or LoZ, but they at least do more than the shooters) so how well would something like this really work?

I didnt read this whole thing but I want to say something.

The fact that games dont come here have nothing to do with sales, its pride, pride keeping things in japan

25 years ago when the nes was the system to have most games were not localized

 

[Stealth]

It's not the Japanese developer's fault that if they make a game that isn't an FPS or, occasionally, a really good RPG that it's not going to sell like hotcakes. JRPGs are still my standard for RPGs since I like their tropes more than the WRPG tropes. But I can see why the WEST would like western tropes more since they are made with them in mind.

Ever since FF died down with less publicity and by having some less than stellar entries it's really caused a lot lest interest to be given to the Japanese market while IMO the Tales series has been creating better characters than anything Bioware has come up with ever starting from the last console generation.

FF gets a bad rap when its actually had its best gen ever

The bad games ff 13, yeah it stunk

the good ones, ff 13, 13-2, 4 heroes of light, type zero, crisis core, revant wings, tactics advance 2 , ect

its been great

 

[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.

 

[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 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.

 

[FoolKiller]

I think there is one point that is missed. The fact that the majority of sales causes AAA titles to just be lather-rinse-repeat formulas and there is not much room for innovation. The Japanese market tends to thinks outside the box, but that won't work well in North America.

Basically, Japanese innovation doesn't have the resources to compete with sequelitis churning games such as Call of Duty and Need for Speed or the EA Sports franchises.

 

[Stealth]

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................

 

[Stealth]

I think there is one point that is missed. The fact that the majority of sales causes AAA titles to just be lather-rinse-repeat formulas and there is not much room for innovation. The Japanese market tends to thinks outside the box, but that won't work well in North America.

Basically, Japanese innovation doesn't have the resources to compete with sequelitis churning games such as Call of Duty and Need for Speed or the EA Sports franchises.

They dont need to do sequelitis

they just need to keep doing what they are

 

[Stealth]

I think everyone needs to calm down and play Persona 3+4, best RPG's in recent memory, also The World Ends With You, Devil Survivor, Strange Journey, Xenoblade Chronicles are all excellent.

There are stunning JRPG's like the Shin Megami Tensei series, but the sales aren't stellar but not flops either. If they were more popular, people wouldn't complain.

They are popular with the real fans and thats all that matters

Anyone who says japan hasnt pulled there rpg weight this gen is freaking out of there minds


Nintendo alone has been apart of more rpgs this gen than EA(bioware), bethesda, obsidian, blizzard, ect all combined.........