Inafune: Japan "five years behind" West

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 20 September, 2010

"Everyone's making awful games."

The outspoken Capcom head honcho Keiji Inafune has once again slammed the Japanese game industry, this time saying it's lagging years behind the West.

"I look around Tokyo Games Show, and everyone's making awful games," Inafune told the New York Times.

"Japan is at least five years behind.

"Capcom is barely keeping up," Inafune added. "I want to study how Westerners live, and make games that appeal to them."

Inafune's latest outburst follows the Mega Man creator's infamous "Japan is dead" comment from last year's Tokyo Game Show.

And earlier in September Inafune, who produced the incoming Western-developed Dead Rising 2, told Eurogamer: "The Japanese game creators have to admit we're behind the Western games at this moment and try to be humble and learn why. Otherwise, we're not going to be able to start all over again."

Capcom handed development of the previously made-in-Japan action series Devil May Cry to UK studio Ninja Theory.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (62) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Tonka #1 2 years ago

    Xenophobia leads to conformity

  • Xardan #2 2 years ago

    Nothing new here.

  • ChthonicEcho #3 2 years ago

    Although the guy is a terrible hypocrite, I agree with his sentiments regarding TGS. Tokyo Game Show is my least liked expo. This year is particularly bad.

    However, I think Japanese game developers should evolve their approach, rather than copy Western games. Japanese developers can make good games, it's just that their design has grown stale.
    Edited by ChthonicEcho at 20/09/10 @ 12:29

  • Lord_Gremlin #4 2 years ago

    "I want to study how Westerners live, and make games that appeal to them" - uh-huh, and you wanna outdo western developers? You know, the ones that are themselves westerners?

    We want Japanese game from Japan. As Japanese as possible. If you intend to make sub-par Japan-made games that are desperately trying to appeal to the most retarded western kid you can safely shove those games where the sun don't shine.

  • peterfll #5 2 years ago

    "I want to study how Westerners live"

    We live like PIGS.

  • menage #6 2 years ago

    He's losing it.

    We don't need more Western games from Japan the same way we don't need an American Dragonball movie.
    Edited by menage at 20/09/10 @ 12:36

  • Buenos_Estente #7 2 years ago

    Nintendo still seem to make lovely games...

    Perhaps its the chasing of creating games like the west instaed of enhancing or indeed abandoning their own style that has led to the supposed terrible Japanese games elsewhere

  • Machetazo #8 2 years ago

    Do we need a Monster Hunter in HD, though?

  • Razz #9 2 years ago

    It's not my intention to troll, but Nintendo seem to do alright. Loads of first party games this year that have been an absolute joy to play. Also, what makes them great, in my opinion, is that they haven't tried to appeal to any specific group, they just make fun games and it's worked brilliantly.

  • dudefella #10 2 years ago

    Only Japan could have a dev house like Platinum Games, and Grasshoper. And that's great. Capcom is doing alright, for the most part. But what happens when Japanese devs start making Western-style games, you get shit like Quantum Theory, and literally nobody wants that.

  • ParanoidZombie #11 2 years ago

    Inafune seems desperate to justify his less than successful attempts at "westernizing" Capcom's recent games. It's true that the JRPG genre seems a bit behind this gen (even though resonance of fate and demon's souls are stellar and innovative games), but other than that their games are as good as they always been - looking forward to playing DR2, Vanquish and Deadly Premonition.
    Edited by ParanoidZombie at 20/09/10 @ 13:16

  • Eraser #12 2 years ago

    However, I think Japanese game developers should evolve their approach, rather than copy Western games. Japanese developers can make good games, it's just that their design has grown stale.

    Unfortunately, the same is true for a lot of western based developers as well...

  • Sunyavadin #13 2 years ago

    THANK YOU for saying what needed to be said, sir!

    Most Japanese games right now look and play like they are from the last generation. Technically, and gameplay-wise they are playing catchup and it's a shame, as there's a lot of rich cultural and artistic uniqueness in Japan that we don't see expressed at all in games, instead having a majority which conform to the same tired stereotypes.

  • Luckyjim #14 2 years ago

    I love Japanese games but I find a lot of the more otaku-targeted content a little off-putting and juvenile. I agree that, in the main, Japanese developers have played second fiddle to western developers this gen, but I don't think looking towards the west will cure this particular malaise. I fear that if they did ape western developers we'd end up with more generic FPSs (for ubiquitous mediocrity, our equivalent of the JRPG, imho) .

    Japanese developers just need to stop being so safe, be a little more ambitious. Take narrative more seriously and move away from done-to-death character archetypes. Celebrate the richness of Japanese culture beyond anime and j-popart.

    That's one thing I love about Japanese games, their uniqueness. I just think their industry hasn't matured with their audience.

  • Hantheman #15 2 years ago

    Depends on what part of western developers they want to mimic. They can choose between shallow shooters or look at complex western RPGs and strategy games. I recommend taking advice on the latter.

  • djed #16 2 years ago

    studying the west is good and all, Inafune, just too bad you chose Bobby Kotick as your case study.
    Edited by djed at 20/09/10 @ 13:11

  • LazyDan #17 2 years ago

    What's he referring to exactly?

    World of Warcraft, Modern Warfare, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, God of War, Guitar Hero/Rock Band (VS) Final Fantasy, nearly all Nintendo (Pokemon/Mario/Zelda/Smash Bros etc.), Professor Layton, Okami, Street Fighter...

    Ah right.

    I think it's because original Japanese ideas these days are seen as too quirky and overall too risky to invest in west-side (like the original Katamari Damacy was thought to be.) So in the face of the boom in development in the US and UK thanks to Microsoft's success and Sony's success with western studios like Rockstar and Media Molecule, publishers and developers are sticking closely to franchises which earned their installed base during the 80s and 90s. Back when they were all we had, because the gruff games were on the PC and western console development was limited to mainly sports games; after having all but died when Nintendo and Sega came and stomped all over the commodore/spectrum/atari era.

    They need to start being more ballsy about releasing things internationally. The DS is a prime example of games held back, when they should've just run with them. Professor Layton, Elite Beat Agents and even Slitherlink were all amazing new Japanese concepts/franchises which should've had, and should still have had more of an international focus on.

  • Luckyjim #18 2 years ago

    @Hantheman

    I agree somewhat.

    I just think that Japanese developers could find more inspiration closer to home than with western developers. I fear that if they do look towards Western developers, they may end up losing what makes them "Japanese".

    More often than not (and I really only speak for myself here), it's the setting and characters, more than the mechanics, that I find off-putting about Japanese games. Why not seek inspiration from Japanese literature, folklore, cinema (so long as it's not live action anime)?

    Japan has a rich and varied aesthetic and artistic history, why not explore it more. They need to read Tanizaki's In Praise of Shadows. That'll sort them out.

  • ChthonicEcho #19 2 years ago

    @Eraser

    Which is why copying the Western approach will get you nowhere.

  • Goodfella #20 2 years ago

    He's right to an extent, my games collection consists of mostly western developed games, the Japanese ones I've mostly traded in.

    There's something really not right with all their games of late, it's hard to put a finger on. Only the superb Demon's Souls has really stood out, and of course it looks like The Last Guardian will be superb, other than that though...

  • el_pollo_diablo #21 2 years ago

    Wasn't it Capcom who decided to ditch all outsourcing to non-Japanese studios after Bionic Commando?

  • Luckyjim #22 2 years ago

    @Designerheadcahe

    Two of my favourites, as well. That's probably because, aesthetically, they're atypical (although, I must acknowledge that Sega are in the process of milking Yakuza for all its worth).

  • kangarootoo #23 2 years ago

    There is an issue with Japanese game development at the moment, I agree with him there. However, I'm not sure that the solution is to make games that appeal more predominently to Western gamers.

    I think this is a case of seeing someone do something right, and thinking the way to improve your own situation is to copy them. That isn't the solution imo.

    What Japanese devs (talking in terribly general terms here) perhaps need to do is look at what the more successful western devs are doing with their processes, and look at how their own processes can be improved as a result. The content is something else altogether, and games that are uniquely Japanese in content should certainly not start dicking about with that aspect of the formula.

    Edit: it is also worth bearing in mind though, that Inafune sounds he is also just not happy in his work at the moment, and so his view will be coloured by that (doesn't make him wrong, but its something to keep in mind I think).
    Edited by kangarootoo at 20/09/10 @ 13:33

  • el_pollo_diablo #24 2 years ago

    @N@:

    He makes a blanket statement so you have to make a blanket statement too, right? :)

  • kangarootoo #25 2 years ago

    @N@

    He is talking in general terms. No doubt we can all think of examples of badly made games made in different parts of the world if we try.

  • Grayvern #26 2 years ago

    First of course I would say demons souls, and it would be a massive shame if Japan stopped making games like that.

    Of course most japanese games have a weird approach to female characters that can be offputting, and angering.

    Buit it's mostly in gameplay and then it's mostly the fact that Japan needs to innovate along it's own path. Japanese studios copying western game design will, and is, leading to massive wastes of time and resources.

    Look at Bioware it took them about 6 years and 2 games before they made an acceptible RPG shooter and even then the character building was still a bit too sparse.

    Perhaps some of the innovation needs to come in both advertising and sales. If you are going to make intrinsically Niche games then dont sell them via traditional retail. If your going to make games as amazing as Okami advertise the crap out of them, and make every attempt to explain the games themselves.
    Edited by Grayvern at 20/09/10 @ 13:55

  • Skurmedel #27 2 years ago

    Why not just make games? Make a game you'd like to make,... I dunno, crazy idea maybe.

  • muscleblade #28 2 years ago

    I love japanese games. Bayonetta, Capcom games +++.

  • Mooglepies #29 2 years ago

    @DesignerHeadache: Demon's Souls is probably the most Western game to come out of Japan in recent years, if that makes any sense.

    @the article: I think that developers have a lot to learn from each other, disregarding racial issues that may or may not be present. That said, I think historically that Western devs have been much more canny in copying and iterating on features/mechanics from the East to use in their own games. The Japanese however are very inward facing; as Inafune says many of the devs there are really designing and marketing only to their own countrymen.

    Perhaps Inafune is referring to the technical aspects of the development rather than necessarily the things that make a game "Japanese" in nature and style; certainly in many respects many Japanese games don't look as good as Western games, while the reverse used to be the case.

  • Grayvern #30 2 years ago

    @Skurmedal, because you need the cash to actually make games.

    @ Muscleblade, Bayonetta was good gameplay wise, however It made mistakes, I fully enjoyed it. But If I had been of lesser ability then I would have been stuck on easy auto with no option for easy manual a major faux pas.

    Difficulty and forgivingness is perhaps the oinly area that Japan could stand to learn from the west in.

    @ Mooglespies Demons Souls stylistically was western based but design wise was pure Japanese, I mean just look at the implementation of communication and PVP PVE.
    Edited by Grayvern at 20/09/10 @ 14:05

  • dacicus #31 2 years ago

    Let me see: Valkyria Chronicles?! A great example of what Japan can offer. The poor marketing led to poor sales, despite the game offering most of the things a gamer could dream and being quite original. I think that Japan needs to understand that westerners are catered well by the western companies (add to that the newer east and central european + the russian companies). The West needs diversity, not more of the same. Japan could make great games based on their own culture, but they should give up on the otaku market that sustained their industry so many years. And that it's not an easy move....

  • supermaniacs #32 2 years ago

    Team Ico, Kojima productions, Nippon Ichi, Polyphony Digital, Platinum Games, From Software and NINTENDO and many more talented Japanese developrs all disagree with you!!

    Imagine if Nintendo went "Western" ?? We'd have Mario modern Warfare instead of Mario Galaxy!! Gimme a choice between Demon's Souls and Modern Warfare 2, i'd always choose Demon's!!

    Remember sales does not mean quality!!
    Edited by supermaniacs at 20/09/10 @ 14:08

  • Nithron #33 2 years ago

    Inafune seems to be turning into the opposite of those annoying guys who secretly(or not so secretly) wanna be Japanese. Y'know, the kind that use "kawaii" when talking to other non-japanese people, and call you a "baka" when you ask what the hell they're doing.

  • Skurmedel #34 2 years ago

    Grayvern: Wow, talk about missing the point. This article has nothing to do with cash.

    He claims the games Japan makes are bad, which was my point. Why align yourself to make more western games? Maybe they make more cash, however this is irrelevant. Does it make them better, that's debatable. If he thinks Japanese games are bad, maybe they need to refresh their ideas, it doesn't mean they need to westernify all their games.

    I hate to see a world where everything is westernish, what a fucking boring place it would be.

    Also, my name is Skurmedel.

  • WiseNail #35 2 years ago

    Capcoms own Lost Planet 2 is an example of where the problem lies. They've tried to enter the shooter market and produced a game with non standard controls and a weird save system; they also abandoned one of Japanese games key strengths which is interesting characters. Graphically it was great and it was a fun game at times, but it just felt behind something like Gears of War or Unchartered.

    Shooters and sandbox games seem to be where the big money lies in the west at the moment, and when Japanese developers try to compete in these areas they're generally found wanting, although it seems to be more around design decisions than actual graphics, story or gameplay.
    Edited by WiseNail at 20/09/10 @ 14:47

  • barat #36 2 years ago

    I wish they were 20 years behind...

  • twinbee #37 2 years ago

    "I want to study how Westerners live, and make games that appeal to them."
    The danger in doing that is that you annoy your existing fanbase. Westernizing Japanese games isn't the answer.

  • Pepeman #38 2 years ago

    Those weird funny and quirky games coming from Japan really isn't part the problem he's talking about, it's the genres that have lived the longest i.e JRPG's , to be fair that genre has been stilted since SNES (ok, that's bit too much), sure the new HD graphics look great etc. but gameplay wise little progress has been made, i mean look FFXIII it's pretty much FFVII with better visuals ( the story is worse but..you all get the point) .

    Althou' WRPG's use the same traditional gameplay mechanics from early and mid 90's for example in combat, but the storytelling and actual ROLEplaying has evolved quite a bit imo.

    But make no mistake: There are tons of really great games coming from Japan, but those game are only the fraction in the sea of bland RPGS and text-based graphic dating simulators, most of that absolute crap he talks about doesn't even get published outside of Japan.


  • muscleblade #39 2 years ago

    "Difficulty and forgivingness is perhaps the oinly area that Japan could stand to learn from the west in."

    Those too factors ruin western games. Games need to be challenging to be fun imo. I dont enjoy games like Fable 2 that dont demand practise and skill just grinding.

    Bayonetta wasnt even that hard even on the hardest setting.

  • orangpelupa #40 2 years ago

    maybe japan and west need to collaborate.
    i imagine Milo and Kate technology in Japan RPG game. With a lot of pre-defined choices (like japan Visual novel game).

    or just make game like Love Plus 360 (but add more gameplay, not just talking) with milo & kate tech. Seems like that will sell a lot on japan. And maybe also sell good on outside japan for those who like anime IF the game is translated to english. Accept english voice command, but can use Jap voice for the characters.

    or forget what i said above about love plus 360, and just make <strong>Professor Layton</strong> game with milo & kate tech :D :D

    the puzzle will be more puzzlingly fun :p
    Edited by orangpelupa at 20/09/10 @ 15:09

  • bluem4gic #41 2 years ago

    Err no Demon Souls

  • MasterNameless #42 2 years ago

    Demon's Souls actually goes a little way to proving his point.

    It stands head and shoulders above other JRPG's for me, even though I am a big JRPG fan, Demon's Souls definitely has some heavy western influences, which is what made it so different to other games of it's genre. It keeps it's difficulty level pretty damn high too, which is nice.

  • Genji #43 2 years ago

    I think he should probably stop bitching about his own industry and actually do something about it. Otherwise he just sounds like an unhelpful cunt.

  • des #44 2 years ago

    "The danger in doing that is that you annoy your existing fanbase. Westernizing Japanese games isn't the answer. "

    What fanbase???Did you see Japanese console top games sales?FF13 is what 2 million shipped lol?Some of the crappiest games done with $10 budget can do that in the West...Western market is like 10x bigger than Japan,that is the real problem

    Also Nintendo lolz...since when Nintendo makes (hardcore)games????...hahaha

  • Daryoon #45 2 years ago

    Someone stop all this bickering about this gen and last gen and next gen and west and east and north and south...AND JUST MAKING THE BLOODY GAMES. Isn't Miyamoto's method simply "make something fun to play"? That's all there is to it. Forget all the bollocks about who plays what and how this country designs better than that country, and just design games that are FUN TO PLAY.

    If anything, the increasing demands of marketing/demographic appeal are killing off this most simple of rules.

  • nuanimal #46 2 years ago

    Gay Space Marines.

  • varkdm #47 2 years ago

    Completely agree, Japanese games just seem stale and uninteresting to me.. for the most part. But I also agree that they don't need to copy westerners, just combine western gameplay mechanics and ideas with Japanese style.

    Demon Souls keeps coming up.. for me.. it was a massive dissapointment. The story was terrible with the genero-death fog of ancient evil, stifling and oppresive level design, no linking or reasons for why you were going to these different genero-rpg locations (big castle, big mine, big tower etc etc). The gameplay was basically the same as a platformer, just covered in third person rpg cloth - I know there was little jumping around, but I mean it was just rinse and repeat until you got it right. It was a long game but only because it made you repeat ad infinitum the same areas against the same mobs. It could have worked for me.. if there were compelling stories or characters driving it.. but there weren't.

    Anyway.. I digress.. its interesting to hear this guys comments and gives me some hope that maybe there is some change coming from within Japan.

  • RobotRocker #48 2 years ago

    I think people dont realise how much of the software at TGS is bottom of the barrel, anime licence shite, lazy visual novels and baseball games. We only see the top level stuff from TGS. The rest of it is quite depressing.

  • PlugMonkey #49 2 years ago

    MasterNameless
    "Demon's Souls actually goes a little way to proving his point.

    It stands head and shoulders above other JRPG's for me, even though I am a big JRPG fan, Demon's Souls definitely has some heavy western influences, which is what made it so different to other games of it's genre. It keeps it's difficulty level pretty damn high too, which is nice."

    I was going to say the exact same thing to all the people citing it as a great Japanese game. Surely that is a Japanese take on a Western game if there ever was one?

    @ varkdm
    "It was a long game but only because it made you repeat ad infinitum the same areas against the same mobs."

    Shield up, go slower, be more careful. ;)

    Death in Demons Souls is ever-present, but rarely unavoidable in my experience. This painstaking approach isn't everyone's cup of tea, of course, and if you prefer something more fast paced I genuinely, fully understand - but I think it gets too much criticism for being overly difficult and repetitive. When you die, 19 times out of 20 it's because you did something dumb. If you do something dumb, that's your fault. Not the game's.

  • Chufty #50 2 years ago

    Demon's Souls is better than pretty much any Western game of the last two or three years. But he's right, those sorts of gems are now in the minority.

  • Seth. #51 2 years ago

    I disagree allthough mostly in the particular way he's wording this. It's not like western developers have been that inventive lately, most of the big hits are just the same types of games as 5 years ago except with better production values graphics and a slight amount of more emphasis on the open world/sandbox and multiplayer aspects. I don't think Japanese developers are not technichally or artistically capable of doing this (to justify the 5 years comment) it's just that by focusing on the japanese market, where gamers mostly care about stuff like what the characters in a jrpg look like or whether famous japanese actor X has a role in Onimusha, they have lost it when it comes to understanding what western gamers want.

    That is they are not behind when it comes to the development proccess or sth, they are in a situation (especially Capcom who mostly make action games and not jrpgs ) where the ideas they discarded in the past, due to the japanese gamers thinking "wow an fps, that means this game sucks cause it doesn't have a story" or "an open world game would be boring cause it wouldn't have a story and interesting characters as in FF", seem to actually be very popular in the west and basically they are confused as to what games they should be making hence all the pro west development comments

  • bad09 #52 2 years ago

    TBH the only japanese games I show interest in now are Street Fighter games. Even the mighty Silent Hill and Resident Evil are complete bobbins these days. I glanced at the TGS stuff and it was truly cringe worthy.

    They lost their magic after the Dreamcast IMO and have never got it back.
    Edited by bad09 at 20/09/10 @ 18:49

  • RobotRocker #53 2 years ago

    Guys, just want to make sure. But I am going to check anyway

    You are all aware that the first thing Nintendo did after the succes of the Famicom in Japan was set up a US division in charge of marketing and consulting if game ideas would sell in the US, right? And you are aware that Nintendo were working with Western Developers for years (Since the NES) like Rare, Retro Studios, Left Field, Looking Glass, Next Level, Monster, Kuju etc and has their own American development and research studio? (Nintendo Software Technology Corporation).

    Inafune just wants the Japanese industry to copy Nintendo's lead really.

  • Shotofen #54 2 years ago

    Good God. Every time Inafune says that the Japanese games industry is dead I feel a rant coming on. Let's look at the games in my current generation closet shall we?

    Oh look Valkyria Chronicles. MGS 4. Final Fantasy 13. Nier. Folklore. Demon's Souls. Resident Evil 5. Ninja Gaiden. Bayonetta. Devil May Cry. 2 games in the Blazblue series. Not to mention Capcom's Bionic Commando. Vanquish will soon be included in this list, as well as Dead Rising 2 (possibly).

    Sure I have more Western games because I, you know, live in the WEST. When I lived in Japan I noticed that Japanese people have more Japanese games, games that are never brought over to the US. It's not that hard to figure out.

    I seems like Inafune's definition of success is having Japanese games sell as much in the West as Halo or Call of Duty. Hint: Never gonna happen. But Japanese games still help drive the games industry and are innovating in many important ways (the most important of which is their burgeoning embrace of online gaming).

    By the way. I FORGOT NINTENDO AND EVERYTHING THEY MAKE. Silly me. Pretty sure Nintendo is the most profitable gaming company of this generation. Oh, and there's the small point that Sony is a Japanese company.

    Please Inafune...you are not the spokesman for the entire Japanese games industry. Capcom let their best a brightest creators from the former Clover Studios leave the company and make Platinum Games. Now they have to rely on Western developers to make games for them (Dead Rising 2 is made by a Canadian company). So when I say Capcom has an axe to grind here, I effing mean it.

  • PlugMonkey #55 2 years ago

    Demon's Souls is better than pretty much any Western game of the last two or three years. But he's right, those sorts of gems are now in the minority.

    And it's one of the most heavily western influenced Japanese game I can think of...

  • SpaceMonkey77 #56 2 years ago

    Make way for my two pence worth on this.

    Frankly, and though some have misunderstood Inafune, he is right. Its also refreshing to see someone who works in the japanese side of the industry speak out. More of this must happen IMO, as its nice to know what some are thinking.

    So why is he right. Before you continue reading, any staunch japanophiles should remove your' japan hard on' glasses, and look with fresh eyes at the bigger picture. I like japan and japanese stuff too, but its no paradise, and has pros and cons like anywhere else in the world.

    Japanese devs have lacked investment in the key components that create games. Their games design mentality has also suffered as a result of this, retreading tried game designs and their isolation. If you put any creative person in a box, and they too will suffer for lack of stimulation, so no surprise there. Now, while some here may think nothing of 3D engines, AI etc, these building blocks matter more than you might think. Many will accept or bypass flaws in japanese games, because they might eat up anything japanese, but such flaws are still flaws, and become evermore apparent as time passes, and more games hit the market. Now, before you get on your high horse, I know western games can also have flaws. Thing is, a western dev is more likely to fix them, either post developement via updates, or in a next version of a game. We have the PC to thank for that.

    Case to point. Dead Rising Case Zero, I was reluctant to buy, because of that annoying time mechanic pissed me off so much in the first game, so much so that I couldn't be asked to follow the story, and would just switch on and brain zombies (yes, that was enough for me, lol, getting all DotD on them). I purchased Case Zero, hoping for change and what do you know, annoying time crap in place still. While I enjoyed Case Zero a bit more than DR1, bad bits of japanese game design like that needed to be dropped. If DR2 was a western game, that time mechanic would have been ditched, leaving the core L4D style element of the game. Bad design prevails.

    Japanese character designers and music composers are very good, and really cool when they hit the mark, and are perhaps their greatest strength. However, these aren't enough to sell a game, and gamers expect a certain degree of polish and quality (no PS2 looking games, except for Deadly Premonition, thanks). I don't think there's any chance of japan losing their cultural identity in their games, even when doing east/west co-production games, so calm yourselves, j-fans. Its clear what japanese development needs is the same kind of trading of knowledge, tech, ideas etc, that help shape western civilisation to what it is today. Its no wonder that shows like GDC are a refreshing change for some japanese, breaking some of the mass secrecy that lurkes in any industry. If more japanese devs knew english, they'd also stand to benefit more, instead of feeling like a spectater at the Tower of Babel (can you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth...lol)

    Being cut off from that, and only getting such a weird understanding of the world outside of japan from movies, is also going to hurt. Going back to english, perhaps that is the true barrier problem to their change. Perhaps someone should point japanese developers in the direction of Rosetta Stone dvds, if normal english classes fail them.

    Lastly, some use the awesome Demons Souls as an example. That game is heavily western influenced (feel free to wiki it, or seek out interviews with the creators), from old school D&D roots, that made inroads to japan in the 80's. I do agree that Demons Souls and Vanquish are fine examples for japanese devs to build upon. If Demons Souls had some good writing attached to it, it would have benefitted.
    Edited by SpaceMonkey77 at 20/09/10 @ 23:59

  • Hei #57 2 years ago

    Someone, make this MONKEY DUDE shut up already, i'm so tired of him.
    Edited by Hei at 21/09/10 @ 01:24

  • Genji #58 2 years ago

    "Before you continue reading, any staunch japanophiles should remove your' japan hard on' glasses, and look with fresh eyes at the bigger picture. I like japan and japanese stuff too, but its no paradise, and has pros and cons like anywhere else in the world."

    Who has said anything different? If you're going to make a point, best not to start with a strawman and a condescending insult. I'm just saying.

    "Case to point. Dead Rising Case Zero, I was reluctant to buy, because of that annoying time mechanic pissed me off so much in the first game, so much so that I couldn't be asked to follow the story, and would just switch on and brain zombies (yes, that was enough for me, lol, getting all DotD on them). I purchased Case Zero, hoping for change and what do you know, annoying time crap in place still. While I enjoyed Case Zero a bit more than DR1, bad bits of japanese game design like that needed to be dropped. If DR2 was a western game, that time mechanic would have been ditched, leaving the core L4D style element of the game. Bad design prevails."

    So, the retention of an "annoying time mechanic", which plenty of people (including me) didn't actually find annoying, is a peculiarly Japanese thing, because the Japanese just like bad game design? Please.

    Also, the L4D style? The two games are completely different. At any rate, the first Dead Rising came out some time before L4D, so I don't see any influence there. The only similarity is that they both have zombies. Dead Rising is a sandbox zombie game, L4D a co-op shooter.

  • Sevens #59 2 years ago

    Hehe, Inafune... again. I think Square-Enix, Konami and Nintendo are doing pretty well. Unlike Capcom. What a coincidence.


    @ EarlBassett and Lord_Gremlin: Kudos. I agree with you.


    P.S.:

    With FF Versus XIII, Devil's Third, Ninja Gaiden 3, Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday, The Last Story, The Last Guardian, BlazBlue Continuum Shift, Gran Turismo 5 etc. I'm looking forward to (hopefully still) Japanese games much like I did in the past (really enjoyed Peace Walker over the last few weeks). Don't Westernize, please. I'm not saying Western games (especially from Bioware) are bad. But I would like to keep getting Japanese games (as well).

  • PlugMonkey #60 2 years ago

    "Case to point. Dead Rising Case Zero, I was reluctant to buy, because of that annoying time mechanic pissed me off so much in the first game, so much so that I couldn't be asked to follow the story, and would just switch on and brain zombies (yes, that was enough for me, lol, getting all DotD on them). I purchased Case Zero, hoping for change and what do you know, annoying time crap in place still."

    That "crap time mechanic" was the best thing in the game, one of the boldest developments in video game story telling in the last 20 years, and a great example of the kind of gameplay innovation the Japanese games industry needs more of.

  • SpaceMonkey77 #61 2 years ago

    @Genji

    Feel free to call me out if you see my last post as insulting, but wha'st in a name? However, here are those people who will see nothing negative said against japanese games, yet western games are a fair target. If you want to open the criticism pandora's box, all parties deserve equal criticism, if it burns your ears or not. This is about japanese games though, so suck it up. Amazes me that even when a japanese person points out flaws, some stlil see this as words against god. Please. Heaven's not going to fall to earth.

    When I said L4D style (and I know they are different genres of game, thanks), I meant a more free environment without timed shackles. DR would play much better without the time mechanic, and its nothing but a crutch. Ask yourself for a second, how many games time you to do stuff these days, or else you fail? Very few, in fact DR is kind of it. Now why is that? Because time limits restrict the gamer, making them largely replay and retread the same ground over and over, to get a result. Its reek of old game design thought, and I'd easily bet it frustrates more people than those that love it. See there you go again, heaven forbid I disagree with anything japanese, even from Capcom. I find it strange and bizarre, that people give a toss about emo hair in DMC, rather than how the game plays, so I'll stand by my DR criticisms. Agree to disagree, that's fine.

    L4D is not afraid of you running through the level, if that's how you want to play it, or getting down and dirty, with the munchers eating your bullets for tea. The choice is yours and the fun and replay value are much better because of it. Add in the co-op multiplayer option, (an option that should have been in DR1, and is soon dripping into Case West) and the fun is more awesome. If DR/DR2 were shorter because of the time mech removal, I might enjoy it more.

    Playing GTA and then DR is like the deep blue and the devil. I'd easily bet the majority of the people who purchased DR and DR2:CZ, got it to kill zombies, not follow some lame ass forced story.

    Anyway, that's all for now.

    Just to throw it out there, who hates the Dead Rising time mechanic?

  • mushroomyakuza #62 2 years ago

    Mendokusai.

    Anyways, as for Japan being unoriginal - anyone remember Team Ico? I challenge you to think of game as unique as Shadow of the Colossus or Ico that was made by a Western Developer at that time.