Poll: "The quality and innovation of Japanese video games has fallen behind their Western counterparts."

[Silverookami]

Dear God, that was a terrible localization. Nice game, but I really struggled to look past the cockney accents. I never realised FS flopped though, I always assumed it was quite successful. Oh well, hopefully the PS3 version will fare a little better.

The initial English release of Siren met with dismal sales. It was long held in doubt that any English language edition of the sequel would be produced. Eventually Europe and Australia did receive the sequel but it has never been released in North America due to the poor sales of the original. Thankfully Siren has gained a somewhat cult following and the upcoming game will be relased in North America, so I'll be able to play it (<--is very disappointed she never got to play the second game). Whether or not the English version of the film is still being developed is unknown to me.

Slightly more on topic, in my personal opinion I have to say that Japan does better Horror/Survivalist games than their American counterparts. Siren is a good example of that if you can get past the thick British accents in the dub which can be surprisingly distracting at times. Fatal Frame, Silent Hill, Clock Tower...we have Japanese gaming companies to thank for all of these series. It's just another example of each country having it's own particular strengths in certain genres. If I want an RPG or a Horror game I pick Japanese. If I was a sports game or and FPS I choose American.
In the end though, I don't care where a game is from so long as it does it's job and keeps me entertained.

 

[Alphavillain]

Dear God, that was a terrible localization. Nice game, but I really struggled to look past the cockney accents. I never realised FS flopped though, I always assumed it was quite successful. Oh well, hopefully the PS3 version will fare a little better.

The initial English release of Siren met with dismal sales. It was long held in doubt that any English language edition of the sequel would be produced. Eventually Europe and Australia did receive the sequel but it has never been released in North America due to the poor sales of the original. Thankfully Siren has gained a somewhat cult following and the upcoming game will be relased in North America, so I'll be able to play it (<--is very disappointed she never got to play the second game). Whether or not the English version of the film is still being developed is unknown to me.

Slightly more on topic, in my personal opinion I have to say that Japan does better Horror/Survivalist games than their American counterparts. Siren is a good example of that if you can get past the thick British accents in the dub which can be surprisingly distracting at times. Fatal Frame, Silent Hill, Clock Tower...we have Japanese gaming companies to thank for all of these series. It's just another example of each country having it's own particular strengths in certain genres. If I want an RPG or a Horror game I pick Japanese. If I was a sports game or and FPS I choose American.
In the end though, I don't care where a game is from so long as it does it's job and keeps me entertained.

Forbidden Siren was a great game, but very tough and unforgiving, just like many Japanese games. It had a sense of pure evil, mainly because of the screaming audio track, which no other game I have played has got close to.

 

[Quaidis]

Slightly more on topic, in my personal opinion I have to say that Japan does better Horror/Survivalist games than their American counterparts. Siren is a good example of that if you can get past the thick British accents in the dub which can be surprisingly distracting at times. Fatal Frame, Silent Hill, Clock Tower...we have Japanese gaming companies to thank for all of these series. It's just another example of each country having it's own particular strengths in certain genres. If I want an RPG or a Horror game I pick Japanese. If I was a sports game or and FPS I choose American.

Clock Tower was the most brilliant horror/survival game of its age. Back when it first came out, I almost shit myself playing. The lack of music at parts to make things tense and the atmosphere was perfect.

 

[Bishop99999999]

Don't place blame entirely upon the Jpanese developers. In many cases, these guys are simply catering to a market that just wants more of the same. Example: Famitsu conducted a survey where readers voted on the top 100 games ever. Here's the top 20:

1. Final Fantasy X (2001)
2. Final Fantasy VII (1997)
3. Dragon Quest III (1988)
4. Dragon Quest VIII (2004)
5. Machi (1998)
6. Final Fantasy IV (1991)
7. Tactics Ogre (1995)
8. Final Fantasy III (1990)
9. Dragon Quest VII (2000)
10. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
11. Dragon Quest V (1992)
12. Far East of Eden 2 (1992)
13. Sakura Taisen (1996)
14. Dragn Quest IV (1990)
15. Final Fantasy V (1992)
16. Xenogears (1998)
17. Dragon Quest II (1987)
18. Sakura Taisen III (2002)
19. Kingdom Hearts (2002)
20. Streetfighter II (1992)

Granted, it's a little old, but you have to admit, the japanese LOVE their franchises.

 

[HardRockSamurai]

Japanese games come out every week, yet most people fail to notice them because we know that right away, they are pieces of mediocrity. I guess it's safe to say that the U.S. has replaced Japan in the video game race. I wouldn't be saying this unless the U.S. games can't back it up, and they can, because recently U.S. game companies have been releasing some of the most innovative games of all time. American video game companies like Epic, Bungie, ROCKSTAR, Valve, and many more have all made brilliant contributions to the world of gaming. It seems as if Japan's game companies are more concerned about making money than making good games, since, other than Kojima Productions and Square Enix, I can't think of any t=other Japanese video game company that doesn't release clone after clone after clone.

 

[cainx10a]

I wouldn't be saying this unless the U.S. games can't back it up, and they can, because recently U.S. game companies have been releasing some of the most innovative games of all time. American video game companies like Epic, Bungie, ROCKSTAR, Valve, and many more have all made brilliant contributions to the world of gaming.

Gear of Wars (epic) = Unreal Engine - Epic Win
Cover system from Killswitch engage / Linear shooter
Unreal Tournament 3 (epic) = Unreal Engine - Epic Win
Unreal Tournament 3 - Been there, done that, same gameplay I
have seen since 2004, no new mode added,
Warfare = Onslaught + BALL

Halo 3 (bungie) = Just another FPS
GTA4 (Rockstar) = I love it!
Portal (Valve) = Innovative, fun, no doubt about that. Then so are most of the Wii
games.

It seems as if Japan's game companies are more concerned about making money than making good games, since, other than Kojima Productions and Square Enix, I can't think of any t=other Japanese video game company that doesn't release clone after clone after clone

I can't disagree with you on the first part about Japan's game publishers being more concerned about money making, but so are every publishers out there, EA and Activision anyone?

While Rockband offered something fresh, guitar heroes have been the same game with minor updates.