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A glimpse of Sony Japan Studio’s future under Allan Becker

Yuterald

Member
Most of the people (not saying you, just making a generalization) who complain most about things like this, or Japanese developers displaying admiration for Western games, are the kind of people who would sell kidneys on the Chinese black market to work in the Japanese game industry. Then you get a guy like Gavin Moore, who has navigated the industry to the point where he can lead a first-party team (see: making it), getting the piss taken out of him because he has done what many people would love to do.

Honestly, who cares if the games look Western/Eastern/Southern/Northern/Stark/Lannister/Woody Woodpecker/Simba/Indie/Blindie/Yakko/Wacko or Dot or whatever other tag you want to stick on it. If the game is good than the game is good. If it has a white guy directing it, and he has the confidence of his team working towards making an awesome product, who cares?

Honestly, I have all the admiration in the world for people who work and succeed outside of their comfort zones.

Well said, but in my opinion, the Japanese still make the best games! I like my games how I like my cheese steaks. To me, it just wouldn't be the same eating a cheese steak that's not from Philly. I guess I still feel the same way about my games. It's just a personal preference, I guess. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less that one of the lead guys working on Puppeteer is non-Japanese either. But I still think Japanese developers craft better games than most other developers from around the world.
 

kuroshiki

Member
That's Level 5's territory, not SCEJ's. I guess the latter could technically develop it since they own the rights, but I'm not sure I would trust them on a game like that.

Lv 5 is not that great anyway... so SCEJ just might as well initiate new franchise that includes georama feature. God that would be awesome.
 

JPKellams

Member
But I still think Japanese developers craft better games than most other developers from around the world.

That isn't a genetic ability. Has nothing to do with their nationality. It has everything to do with how Japanese studios are set up and run. I haven't the faintest idea why reasonable people don't grok this.
 

Yuterald

Member
That isn't a genetic ability. Has nothing to do with their nationality. It has everything to do with how Japanese studios are set up and run. I haven't the faintest idea why reasonable people don't grok this.

Oh, it's genetic...
lol, just kidding
.

Well, if you put it that way, then I guess however most Japanese studios are managed and ran resonate more with me than other studios from around the world.
 

davidjaffe

The Fucking MAN.
Got no problem with him being non-Japanese. If anything, I wish more Japanese studios were more multicultural, even in lead roles.

I was just making an observation about Puppeteer looking more western than Japanese before I even knew who was in charge, and thought it was interesting my suspicions were at least partially right.


Just to be clear: Allan speaks fluent Japanese, he is 1/2 Japanese, and has spent many, many years in Japan. I know he lived there for a long while earlier on.

David
 
Just to be clear: Allan speaks fluent Japanese, he is 1/2 Japanese, and has spent many, many years in Japan. I know he lived there for a long while earlier on.

David

Well that makes a lot of sense to me, I don't think many people would have a clue about any of this since, as was already stated he isn't in the press or talked about much.

Is he from Japan or the US though, I guess he could have Japan influence depending on time frames etc

Good to see you around Jaffe, I have followed your blog for many years.

I love the balloon video you did last year, it cracked me up! Big fan, thanks Jaffe.
 

patsu

Member
Companies have to pay careful attention to the mobile space these days. It's not a matter of personal preferences.
 
They should try to make a brand new authentic "Ape Escape" experience on the Vita. Man, can you imagine the gameplay possibilities with such a character? Speaking of "Ape-Escape" is it part of the Playstation-All stars?
 
That isn't a genetic ability. Has nothing to do with their nationality. It has everything to do with how Japanese studios are set up and run. I haven't the faintest idea why reasonable people don't grok this.

It's not about genetics, for sure. It's about the culture and the general taste in gaming, It's like they're growing up in an environment that's day and night different than western devs. You can feel that in Japanese games.

Take Binary Domain for example, It's a shooter and plays similar to Gears of War for example. But once you play more of it, You can sense the Japanese direction in this game.

There are Japanese games which you'll never find in the western industry simply because of the cultural differences. That's why I encourage more Japanese devs in Sony's Japan studio.
 
They should try to make a brand new authentic "Ape Escape" experience on the Vita. Man, can you imagine the gameplay possibilities with such a character? Speaking of "Ape-Escape" is it part of the Playstation-All stars?

Spike was announced at GamesCom.
89TMIm.jpg
 

Yuterald

Member
They should try to make a brand new authentic "Ape Escape" experience on the Vita. Man, can you imagine the gameplay possibilities with such a character? Speaking of "Ape-Escape" is it part of the Playstation-All stars?

I'd kill for a new Ape Escape game. It's gotta be traditional though! No mini-game, move compatible bull shit too. Oh, and a playable character in some cross-over fighting game doesn't count either! I just want a regular ass Ape Escape that has like 500 some monkeys to capture with cool bosses, mechanics, platforming and gadgets. I'd rather have a PS3 game, but I'd take a Vita sequel if it was the only option.

Maybe his appearance in All Star Whatever will spur some more interest in the brand. There's barely any classic platformers on consoles anymore. Besides licensed stuff, on PS3 we get the occasional Ratchet game and that's about it. I guess we have that new Sly game next year, but still. Is Ape Escape not marketable anymore? I don't get it, there's so much more you can do with the franchise. It's such a unique game, it's totally what the system could use. Oh well. =(
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
how many people work for SCEJ? I am almost positive I read somewhere that 500 people work there.

more importantly how many non Japanese work there?! I want to start a purity chart for all these so called Japanese game dev studios! ;)

(there's so many non-Japanese developers here lol)

Is he from Japan or the US though, I guess he could have Japan influence depending on time frames etc

... or from one of his FUCKING PARENTS! lol.
 
Most of the people (not saying you, just making a generalization) who complain most about things like this, or Japanese developers displaying admiration for Western games, are the kind of people who would sell kidneys on the Chinese black market to work in the Japanese game industry. Then you get a guy like Gavin Moore, who has navigated the industry to the point where he can lead a first-party team (see: making it), getting the piss taken out of him because he has done what many people would love to do.

Honestly, who cares if the games look Western/Eastern/Southern/Northern/Stark/Lannister/Woody Woodpecker/Simba/Indie/Blindie/Yakko/Wacko or Dot or whatever other tag you want to stick on it. If the game is good than the game is good. If it has a white guy directing it, and he has the confidence of his team working towards making an awesome product, who cares?

Honestly, I have all the admiration in the world for people who work and succeed outside of their comfort zones.

It's not so much about good or bad as it is about preferences. I can recognize when a game is well-made regardless of the region it was made in, but more often than not, it won't appeal to me if it was made outside of Japan these days. Yeah, there are some exceptions like Heavy Rain or God of War (and I'm not just saying that because David Jaffe quoted me), but there just happens to be specific design decisions or even entire genres completely exclusive to that region of development.

While I do find seeing a single team member's nationality as a cause for concern ridiculous (even if they're in lead positions), I wouldn't be surprised if the cultural differences leaked into the game's core design.

Of course I'm not necessarily referring to Allan here, more so now that I know of his relationship with Japan. That isn't to say area of birth or where someone was raised dictates what kind of games they make, but I do believe it's at least somewhat of a factor.
 
To be polite, sir, you have no idea what you are talking about.

Could there be a high-budget Japanese style RPG on consoles made by a western developer? I'm talking turn-based combat, world maps, anime-esq art, all that stuff.

Edit: Unless you were referring to the Japanese devs in the Japan studio part, in which case I agree with you.
 

JPKellams

Member
Could there be a high-budget Japanese style RPG on consoles made by a western developer? I'm talking turn-based combat, world maps, anime-esq art, all that stuff.

Absolutely. You'd just need to be the salesman of the century when pitching the project.

Games are made because someone convinces someone (or more specifically a group) that their idea is good enough for the ridiculous amount of resources in time, money, and people that it would take to make that game.

You'd think Japanese games are some sort of legendary creation the way people talk about them like they either a) no longer exist or b) are some sort of mystical art that only people with Yamato blood could ever seek to replicate.
 

kuroshiki

Member
Well, we can all agree that SCEJ needed some kick in the butt to make things happen.

They have been in dormant stage for way too long time.
 

DXPett1

Member
They should try to make a brand new authentic "Ape Escape" experience on the Vita. Man, can you imagine the gameplay possibilities with such a character?

They could do it like how the original game showcased the Dual Shock controller and make it showcase the Vita's various control methods (without resorting to shitty mini-games)
 

Globox_82

Banned
So do Tokyo Jungle and Gravity count as games under his management?
And Soul Sacrifice, forgot that one. Or is that 3rd party?
 
Absolutely. You'd just need to be the salesman of the century when pitching the project.

Games are made because someone convinces someone (or more specifically a group) that their idea is good enough for the ridiculous amount of resources in time, money, and people that it would take to make that game.

You'd think Japanese games are some sort of legendary creation the way people talk about them like they either a) no longer exist or b) are some sort of mystical art that only people with Yamato blood could ever seek to replicate.

This is what I mean. I'm not denying the ability to make it, I'm denying the willingness. There are always new and innovative things coming from both sides of the pond, but there are also certain things confined to a single region. Unless by some miracle Japan became the market leader again and had an incredibly profitable import market to the point western developers would want to appeal to them, you won't see certain types of games coming from them outside of the indie scene.

Edit: Wow, we've gotten off topic.
 

Globox_82

Banned
They could do it like how the original game showcased the Dual Shock controller and make it showcase the Vita's various control methods (without resorting to shitty mini-games)

I have a great idea, how about they make Ape Escape game that uses MOVE, to showcase move functionality. I am sure everyone would love it.....one can dream...
 

patsu

Member
So do Tokyo Jungle and Gravity count as games under his management?
And Soul Sacrifice, forgot that one. Or is that 3rd party?

Yes, I want to know the answer to these questions too. And does he really have direct influence over Polyphony and Team ICO.

Speaking of TJ, is it coming to US ?
 

JPKellams

Member
This is what I mean. I'm not denying the ability to make it, I'm denying the willingness. There are always new and innovative things coming from both sides of the pond, but there are also certain things confined to a single region. Unless by some miracle Japan became the market leader again and had an incredibly profitable import market to the point western developers would want to appeal to them, you won't see certain types of games coming from them outside of the indie scene.

If someone had a great, innovative idea anywhere it is going to get made, as long as the idea matches the risk and the idea gets in front of the right people.

However, your question wasn't about a great, innovative idea - it was about one of the riskiest, most awful ideas I could think of: Making a big budget, Japanese RPG. Even Japanese publishers won't fund that anymore. (Regardless of whether it was a Japanese team or a Western one.)

EDIT: Not saying I wouldn't want to see a huge budget FF6-style game. Or an even bigger budget Matsuno tactics game. I just can't ever see anyone saying "yeah, great idea, here's $50 million."

EDIT 2: Bah! I give up! Allan Becker is awesome. The Puppeteer team is awesome. Everyone should give them mad props, regardless of what their passports say.
 
Absolutely. You'd just need to be the salesman of the century when pitching the project.

Games are made because someone convinces someone (or more specifically a group) that their idea is good enough for the ridiculous amount of resources in time, money, and people that it would take to make that game.

You'd think Japanese games are some sort of legendary creation the way people talk about them like they either a) no longer exist or b) are some sort of mystical art that only people with Yamato blood could ever seek to replicate.

I'm talking about games which are already available and you're talking about non-existent projects it seems.

In our 'real world' where I can compare existent games which are already available in stores. My opinion still stands.
 
I think there two games are some of the best ideas and look good from this generation period.
Rain looks like it will simply be funn to figure out puzzles in puddles and rain. If they create the world right and if they create sophisticated puzzles it could be an amazing title.

If they just make it simple and straightforward with the puzzles and rain then maybe not so much.

I think it all depends how they change the world up and how in depth it will feel. Will the world strech out and feel like the disaster games, or will it always stay mostly on the ground and have a few climb ups?

if you cross sky scrappers high in the air, and go through buildings that have missing roofs and leaking ceilings that you have to cross beams and it useses the rain and not being able to see your character well.. then this game will ace my mind.
 
If someone had a great, innovative idea anywhere it is going to get made, as long as the idea matches the risk and the idea gets in front of the right people.

However, your question wasn't about a great, innovative idea - it was about one of the riskiest, most awful ideas I could think of: Making a big budget, Japanese RPG. Even Japanese publishers won't fund that anymore. (Regardless of whether it was a Japanese team or a Western one.)

EDIT: Not saying I wouldn't want to see a huge budget FF6-style game. Or an even bigger budget Matsuno tactics game. I just can't ever see anyone saying "yeah, great idea, here's $50 million."

EDIT 2: Bah! I give up! Allan Becker is awesome. The Puppeteer team is awesome. Everyone should give them mad props, regardless of what their passports say.

Yeah, sorry if that discussion got a little stupid there. I'll definitely at least keep an eye on Puppeteer while readily anticipating Rain.
 

mujun

Member
You'd think Japanese games are some sort of legendary creation the way people talk about them like they either a) no longer exist or b) are some sort of mystical art that only people with Yamato blood could ever seek to replicate.

Fans of Japanese games can't help but try to be as Japanese as possible. When you can't explain something (because you never considered the why) either say it's something that the person asking can't understand or say it's just plain mystical/magical :p
 
Yes, I want to know the answer to these questions too. And does he really have direct influence over Polyphony and Team ICO.

Speaking of TJ, is it coming to US ?
I got this feeling that he is brought to specifically deal with team ico. Apparently puppeteer has been developed more than 2 years ago. The project has been put on hold 2 years ago to help team ico. And then we got news this guy coming and now they're back to work on puppeteer.
 

Withnail

Member
Some pretty daft posts in this thread. Thank you PlatinumGamesJP for trying to spread intelligence.

This is Yoshida's appointment and more proof if it were needed that he is doing a great job in charge of SCEWWS.
 
But I want a NEW studio, too, to make games alongside Sony Japan and Polyphony Digital.

This is great and all, but to compare it to SCEA, it's like if we were all happy SSM suddenly got off its ass while Naughty Dog were taking five years to make a game and Sucker Punch, Sony Bend, and Sony Foster City didn't exist.

Edit:

I realize you can't just say "here's some cash, go make games" and create a studio like that, and this is a great step in the right direction for Japan Studio, but I can't help but start ranting irrationally when the subject of SCEJ comes up. I want SCEJ to have the manpower of SCEA/SCEE. I want a Japanese manufacturer selling Japanese consoles to at least be capable of that. =(
 
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