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[Scribble]

How can I miss a point I made myself? You think making games for the DS is the problem?
You're not explaining yourself too well here.

That's easy to say. Have we got some proof? I'm not saying it not true but it would be nice to see.

But if you have any memory of last-gen, proof isn't necessary, really.

 

[duckroll]

It's also likely The Another World gets a western release, but I don't think there's been confirmation.

The game doesn't even have a Japanese release date. Kinda early to be whining about it not having a western release...

 

[freddy]

But if you have any memory of last-gen, proof isn't necessary, really.

ON consoles yea but I have more Japanese games on my DS than I ever bought from 1995 to 2005 for consoles.

 

[ShineALight]

Like what? I'm not trying to antagonise you, I just can't think of any -- outside the exceptions like the Tim Schafer and Warren Spector stuff (And games like Portal and indie games).

Despite me being unhappy with console gaming for my own reasons, I will say that at least a a lot of these cookie cutter games are polished and well-executed. Anyway, I think the problem has only been with this generation. Both Japanese and western developers were at the top of their game during the Dreamcast/PS2/Gamecube/Xbox era. You had the quirky Japanese games, the polished, well-executed FPSes, the 'hardcore' Nintendo franchises blah blah. Basically, you had both blue skies and brown skies =)

I should have used "creative" and "polished" now that you mention it. I'm pretty reluctant to list any games, because I know someone will have to piss on my choices and insult my tastes. I'll just say there are some but perhaps not enough.

 

[freddy]

I think this basically boils down to perspective.

From my perspective I game on my DS and consoles at home or in my office most of the time so a game is a game to me regardless of what device it's on. Those who are mainly console gamers might see a lack of games coming their way.

Having read a bit about Inafune it seems he believes Japan should adopt some of the design philosophies of the west and he doesn't see much of that happening. So from his perspective he sees a lack.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

I still like your games, Inafune.

 

[jrricky]

Because obviously Inafune's vast history in Japanese development (as you stated) commands some respect when, as I so eloquently pointed out, he's as guilty as those he is painting on the canvas. He is nothing but a hypocritical twat.

How can he be a hypocrite when the industry has changed and he has (seemingly) changed with it you twat?

 

[FoxSpirit]

:lol
No.

Yes. Capcom makes some fine games.

That said, there so far hasn't been a decent western entry in the fighting game genre in the past... 15 or so years?

 

[AnnSwag]

Have to admit, this years TGS is abit crappy. There's just nothing new coming out of it, I think the only games announced were Sony’s 8 motion games and most of them sound like vanilla PSN games without even a piece of artwork to back any of them up. You could argue that we’ve seen some new footage but its still stuff from already announced games.

I agree that Japanese game have gotten stale. Mostly the gameplay. They are still using old clunky control and game mechanics. The RPGs are tired and slow and action games.. well.. look like they never moved past 2002.

 

[Zen]

Ben Judd translates for Inafune? I guess he hasn't been totally 'relocated' following the sales flop of Bionic Commando

 

[Scribble]

I should have used "creative" and "polished" now that you mention it. I'm pretty reluctant to list any games, because I know someone will have to piss on my choices and insult my tastes. I'll just say there are some but perhaps not enough.

I would say "I guess it's too early to decide," but it's been quite a while now since the 360 was released. I wasn't blown away year's E3, like so many other people here.

I think this basically boils down to perspective.

From my perspective I game on my DS and consoles at home or in my office most of the time so a game is a game to me regardless of what device it's on. Those who are mainly console gamers might see a lack of games coming their way.

Having read a bit about Inafune it seems he believes Japan should adopt some of the design philosophies of the west and he doesn't see much of that happening. So from his perspective he sees a lack.

Well, I agree. I feel guilty playing console games nowadays for some reason. If I was still in secondary/high school I'd probably be more disappointed then I actually am. The DS is shaping up to be current-gen 16-bit era.

Also, the current gen console games feel like caricatures of last gen games. At least I've gotten Crackdown out of it!

 

[Dra-Q]

We only need Nintendo and Capcom, the rest can die.

 

[bafflewaffle]

retrogame challenge was made from japan, so that makes them ok to me...
it is better than any capcom game of the last 20 years imo

 

[M3d10n]

It's because video games turned into Hollywood movies and PC gaming hijacked console gaming, Americans are simply better at that.

Fixed

 

[Sadist]

To a certain degree, he is right. Japan is in a "little crisis" and this years TGS makes it even more depressing. The Japanese industry needs to do something. On handhelds they are fine, but looking at the big consoles it's pretty much meh. Still, even with the western developers taking over the industry, I think the Japanese can reinvent themselves. The question is how of course.

 

[Arhal_Katarn]

Of all the games i plan on buying next year only a couple are from Japan (FF13 and MGS Rising if it comes out next year). The rest are from the west. If i compared this to last gen half of the games i bought where from Japan and in the ps1/n64 era 75% of my games where Japanese.
The only 2 Japanese games i have got this year are RE5 and SF4. Most of there games seem outdated with characters who don't appeal to a guy of my age (25). Why would i want to play a random jrpg when i could play Fallout 3 or Mass Effect? I am sick of playing as whiney emo anime teens( not saying western design is much better but there characters appeal to me more) when i can just play as my own character in Fallout or Oblivion or my own Shepard in ME.
Dead Space was a better game then RE5, and if FF13 doesn't impress me i doubt i will ever play a jrpg again.

 

[ShineALight]

Of all the games i plan on buying next year only a couple are from Japan (FF13 and MGS Rising if it comes out next year). The rest are from the west. If i compared this to last gen half of the games i bought where from Japan and in the ps1/n64 era 75% of my games where Japanese.
The only 2 Japanese games i have got this year are RE5 and SF4. Most of there games seem outdated with characters who don't appeal to a guy of my age (25). Why would i want to play a random jrpg when i could play Fallout 3 or Mass Effect? I am sick of playing as whiney emo anime teens( not saying western design is much better but there characters appeal to me more) when i can just play as my own character in Fallout or Oblivion or my own Shepard in ME.
Dead Space was a better game then RE5, and if FF13 doesn't impress me i doubt i will ever play a jrpg again.

I think the JRPG genre is specifically in a crisis, in the west anyway. A lot of people , you and I among them, simply can't stomach them like we used to be able to.

 

[MrPing1000]

Japan has been slowly falling behind since we jumped to 3d.

 

[Epcott]

man japan is over, were done

BUT HERES SOME AWESOME GAMES FROM MY JAPANESE COMPANY

:lol

But when it goes on to state that the "awesome game" in question is Canadian made, it makes his comment a little true :lol

 

[Sleeker]

so what games was he looking at that made him feel this way?

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

Nice to see Ben Judd isn't busy with producing anymore. NEVER FORGET YOU ARE PHOENIX WRIGHT'S VOICE AND YOU WILL NEVER DO ANYTHING MORE WORTHY THAN THAT GREAT MISSION.

 

[jax (old)]

I think Inafune needs to stfu. Seriously. He's suffering from foot-in-mouth disease these days. Someone should ask him at the next interview about why Capcom is suddenly doing a sequel to Okami now. Since he decided to talk shit the last time and said Capcom is not "desperate" enough to need to use any of Clover's IPs.

way to miss the point.


the ds game won't be expensive to make.

 

[RurouniZel]

Maybe if Japan spent less time doing everything possible to ignore the home console industry leader and throw all of their money into HD titles that attempt (and fail) to win over US audiences, maybe they'd have more success?

Ironically, he should look at his own company's Monster Hunter 3 as a prime example of what happens when you actually, um, I dunno, put real effort into the Wii. Just sayin'.

 

[Black Rainbow]

To a certain degree, he is right. Japan is in a "little crisis" and this years TGS makes it even more depressing. The Japanese industry needs to do something. On handhelds they are fine, but looking at the big consoles it's pretty much meh. Still, even with the western developers taking over the industry, I think the Japanese can reinvent themselves. The question is how of course.

Good point and Japanese developers can start reinventing themselves by supporting Nintendo's next home console from the outset. It should have been obvious to everyone after the DS was released in 2004 that Nintendo was going to start setting trends in video games and become the dominant player. It would have behooved many a Japanese developer/publisher to get on board with the Wii early on. The fact that no high profile games from Japanese developers were released in the early days of the Wii's life is a terrible shame and the greatest missed opportunity in the recent history of video games.

Edit: Thanks RurouniZel for putting it more succinctly.

 

[LordPhoque]

He's right.

 

[Black Rainbow]

He's right.

On the contrary. As long as Nintendo exists, and several other highly successful Japanese developers and publishers, his statement will never be right.

 

[Error]

Have to admit, this years TGS is abit crappy. There's just nothing new coming out of it, I think the only games announced were Sony’s 8 motion games and most of them sound like vanilla PSN games without even a piece of artwork to back any of them up. You could argue that we’ve seen some new footage but its still stuff from already announced games.

I agree that Japanese game have gotten stale. Mostly the gameplay. They are still using old clunky control and game mechanics. The RPGs are tired and slow and action games.. well.. look like they never moved past 2002.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Nice to see Ben Judd isn't busy with producing anymore. NEVER FORGET YOU ARE PHOENIX WRIGHT'S VOICE AND YOU WILL NEVER DO ANYTHING MORE WORTHY THAN THAT GREAT MISSION.

I never knew Judd did that. :lol

 

[RurouniZel]

Good point and Japanese developers can start reinventing themselves by supporting Nintendo's next home console from the outset. It should have been obvious to everyone after the DS was released in 2004 that Nintendo was going to start setting trends in video games and become the dominant player. It would have behooved many a Japanese developer/publisher to get on board with the Wii early on. The fact that no high profile games from Japanese developers were released in the early days of the Wii's life is a terrible shame and the greatest missed opportunity in the recent history of video games.

Edit: Thanks RurouniZel for putting it more succinctly.

You're welcome.

And before people look at me and say "ZOMG WII HUMPER!", I'm not so much a Wii fanboy as much as I am a common sense fanboy. Common sense make the world so much easier, it's infuriating to see people/developers do everything possible to ignore it, building a bubble of their own truthiness with which to exist.

If there's a reason the Japanese industry is "done" as he puts it, it's that.

 

[Sadist]

the ds game won't be expensive to make.

Still doesn't tell us why they are using Clover's content when he indeed told us a few months(?) ago that they weren't that desperate to use it.

 

[Error]

this thread is another thinly veiled west vs east troll thread.

 

[Brofist]

Japan has been slowly falling behind since we jumped to 3d.

I don't know if I'd go that far, unless you're including PC. As far as consoles I really think Japan was still far ahead of the game up until well into last generation.

 

[Feindflug]

I think Inafune needs to stfu. Seriously. He's suffering from foot-in-mouth disease these days. Someone should ask him at the next interview about why Capcom is suddenly doing a sequel to Okami now. Since he decided to talk shit the last time and said Capcom is not "desperate" enough to need to use any of Clover's IPs.

Well he's definitely an idiot but he's right about the lack of Japanese projects and AAA games this gen especially when compared to last gen.

The fact that many franchises from Japan got disappointing sequels this gen (see DMC4, NG2, Star Ocean 4 e.t.c.), the lacking technology in most cases except Nintendo, Capcom, Team ICO, Kojima Productions & Square Enix (FFXIII) and the fact that the overall quality of the Eastern games has been reduced prove his concerns.

Thank god there's still The Last Guardian, Bayonetta, FFXIII, MGS: Rising, SMG2 & NMH2.

 

[ShineALight]

You're welcome.

And before people look at me and say "ZOMG WII HUMPER!", I'm not so much a Wii fanboy as much as I am a common sense fanboy. Common sense make the world so much easier, it's infuriating to see people/developers do everything possible to ignore it, building a bubble of their own truthiness with which to exist.

If there's a reason the Japanese industry is "done" as he puts it, it's that.

To hear you guys put it that way, it's pretty mindblowing how much opportunity was wasted by third-parties on the Wii. There was a time when "hardcore" gamers were very excited and hopeful for the system, and just a few games of RE5 or Dead Rising caliber (not the abortion Wii got) would have set a much better tone for the system (which I think, this year especially, has blossomed into something worthwhile, but I guess that's neither here nor there). It's true too that the success of the DS should have been an indicator.

 

[Sohter.Nura]

I think he's right. This year's TGS was pretty underwhelming.
I think the problem is that the new "PS2" this gen is the DS, and obviously it lacks the horsepower to power big AAA titles. I love it, but I can see why a developper would be underwhelmed and make a statement like that.

 

[duckroll]

Well he's definitely an idiot but he's right about the lack of Japanese projects and AAA games this gen especially when compared to last gen.

The fact that many franchises from Japan got disappointing sequels this gen (see DMC4, NG2, Star Ocean 4 e.t.c.), the lacking technology in most cases except Nintendo, Capcom, Team ICO, Kojima Productions & Square Enix (FFXIII) and the fact that the overall quality of the Eastern games has been reduced prove his concerns.

Thank god there's still The Last Guardian, Bayonetta, FFXIII, MGS: Rising, SMG2 & NMH2.

There's a difference between talking about a decline and a slow/quiet TGS, and saying shit like "OMG WE'RE FINISHED! LONG LIVE THE AMERICAN DEVELOPERS! *sucks more Western cock*" which Inafune loves doing. Other developers like Kojima have a much more positive and pragmatic way of expressing the same thing. He will readily admit that Japanese developers have something to learn from the West in terms of workflow and development cycles, but at the same time he doesn't go out of his way to sound like a tard who wants so desperately to be accepted in the West that he starts slagging off his own country.

 

[TunaLover]

The problem comes to inability to produce compelling software for home consoles, in a basis way. Japan tried to emulate the western high production model, and they are failing to get people excited, resourses consumed by high budget games don´t give room for mid-tier projects, experimental projects, a new IP creations. The time for those projects is ridiculous long, it only accent dry periods (see TGS). Even small companies see few incentives to enter to the home console space because they don´t only compete with a excluding model, they compete against big marketing products, co paid in part by, yes! the same console maker. So yes, it´s not a healthy industry. On home console space of course.

 

[avatar299]

A japanese company completely controls the industry, and none of their games have been westernized.

I'm sorry, but Nintendo is the reason why TGS sucked. Not because the Japanese are going through a crisis.

if anything they are ahead of the curve. Looks to me like handheld gaming is set to be greater than it has ever been, and unreal 3 can't do shit about that.

 

[Sadist]

Maybe if Japan spent less time doing everything possible to ignore the home console industry leader and throw all of their money into HD titles that attempt (and fail) to win over US audiences, maybe they'd have more success?

Ironically, he should look at his own company's Monster Hunter 3 as a prime example of what happens when you actually, um, I dunno, put real effort into the Wii. Just sayin'.

Ironically, but Capcom is one of the few actually making money on HD game. With Nintendo, they are the only Japanese companies who don't have any problems competing with the west.

Other Japanese companies should have done more with the Wii though.

 

[schuelma]

Everyone really fucked up this console gen. Pubs, devs, hardware makers...just a disaster. Nintendo has probably fucked up the least, but it still fucked up especially in Japan.

Sadly, I don't see any evidence that third parties learned any lessons.

 

[Brofist]

A japanese company completely controls the industry, and none of their games have been westernized.

I'm sorry, but Nintendo is the reason why TGS sucked. Not because the Japanese are going through a crisis.

if anything they are ahead of the curve. Looks to me like handheld gaming is set to be greater than it has ever been, and unreal 3 can't do shit about that.

I don't think Nintendo being at TGS would have made any difference in the scheme of things. It's not like Nintendo themselves would have have pounded out a huge catalog of impressive games to display. And remember 3rd party games for Nintendo systems were still there. Show would have been about the same and probably his opinion too.

 

[RurouniZel]

Everyone really fucked up this console gen. Pubs, devs, hardware makers...just a disaster. Nintendo has probably fucked up the least, but it still fucked up especially in Japan.

Sadly, I don't see any evidence that third parties learned any lessons.

This is Nintendo's biggest mistake in Japan; expecting 3rd parties to show a little common sense and jump aboard the logic train. I remember making a thread about this ages ago.

EDIT: Here we go.

 

[Raist]

Try to stop milking your franchises over and over again for a start.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

He's wrong and his stance is not the right one to ensure confidence in the region. Of course Japan has not been as strong as Europe and the US but their best games are upon us too.

And when he says they have awesome games, I guess you can discount FF13, The Last Guardian, and many others. I don't know if I really see it as weak but maybe not to the same caliber as past shows. Doesn't mean there was nothing to see. Others have already noted it but I found that to be quite the selfish statement.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

I don't really think Japanese games are any worse off than last gen. Some Japanese devs have shifted focus onto handhelds, but really the only Japanese developers I can think of that are really lagging behind in releases compared to last gen are Sony's Japanese studios. Yeah, Western games have finally come out to play full-bore from the middle of last gen and on, so Japanese games aren't making up quite the percentage they used to, but I don't see that as a negative on Japanese games so much as a positive on Western games.

 

[Maztorre]

Japan was fucked as soon as it threw all its eggs in the PS3 basket, and they have still shown precious little of their development for that system (Ryu ga Gotoku is the only Japanese title I've seen that has really hit the ground running on PS3). Square-Enix especially, who were arrogant enough to proclaim that they would try to support the 360/Wii in some way to make sure their PS3 support doesn't dominate the market (what happened there guys?).

Probably most pathetically, a huge number of small and mid-level Japanese studios could have made a fortune early on in the Wii's life cycle by bringing over their PS2/Xbox/GC titles. They have all these codebases sitting on their shelves, and instead of making use of them, they bemoan the fact that they can't compete on next-gen consoles.

Japanese development is fucked as long as their management continues to defy common sense approaches to development.

He's wrong and his stance is not the right one to ensure confidence in the region.

A wake up call like this is required, not the pleading, excessively polite statements that usually come out of Japanese companies.

 

[Ardorx]

Try to stop milking your franchises over and over again for a start.

Are you talking strictly about Capcom or Japanese developers in general?

 

[Teasel]

I don't really think Japanese games are any worse off than last gen. Some Japanese devs have shifted focus onto handhelds, but really the only Japanese developers I can think of that are really lagging behind in releases compared to last gen are Sony's Japanese studios. Yeah, Western games have finally come out to play full-bore from the middle of last gen and on, so Japanese games aren't making up quite the percentage they used to, but I don't see that as a negative on Japanese games so much as a positive on Western games.

what about konami? does konami matters anymore besides housing kojima development studio?

 

[Urban Scholar]

what about konami? does konami matters anymore besides housing kojima development studio?

That's a really good question, the only other thing that pops into my mind in to Pro Evo games and their global appeal/success.

 

[HDR+ragdoll]

Ben Judd confirmed alive!

At least there's some good news in this thread