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[Dennis]

Maybe you don't think you're biased. But let me tell you, you've had nothing but a hostile attitude towards the Japanese game industry for as long as I've remembered your name around here. Not a "I want to see it get better" attitude. A "that shit sucks and you guys are a bunch of dumb fucking weeaboos if you like it" attitude.

I dunno, it's kind of a shame.

I don't think I have a hostile attitude towards japanese gaming but I don't believe in sticking your head in the sand. And the knee-jerk reaction to any criticism of the japanese industry is annoying. Western games put up with a shit-ton of critique all the time - "Bald space marines!" - without the hostility.

 

[Pureauthor]

By the way, I love many Japanese and Western games this gen; you only seem to like the western ones. My avatar is a parody of a Japanese game that I hate. Doesn't that make me less biased?

But you like the series... or the concept of the series... or something. So that reverses it... or something.

Spoiler

Darkness hearts light KINGDOM HEARTS

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

I don't think I have a hostile attitude towards japanese gaming but I don't believe in sticking your head in the sand. And the knee-jerk reaction to any criticism of the japanese industry is annoying. Western games put up with a shit-ton of critique all the time - "Bald space marines!" - without the hostility.

And yet, that's exactly what you've done. You've given up on Japanese games completely. You have a predisposed dislike to anything that comes out of the country and you let it colour your perceptions. You preach opening eyes and in the same post lavishly lick your chops about the idea that Japanese games will be nullified from Western culture completely.

Look, every one of us is pretty bad at seeing our own faults. I'm definitely no exception and neither, it seems, are you.

 

[sonicmj1]

Like many others have said, I used to play a lot more japanese games before than I do know. I don't see how I am biased. I want to keep Japan, and not just Nintendo, relevant in a big way in the future and so does Inafune. For that to hapen change is necessary.

Only open worlds

Only non-linear games

This is the future

- A Haiku

 

[Dennis]

And yet, that's exactly what you've done. You've given up on Japanese games completely. You have a predisposed dislike to anything that comes out of the country and you let it colour your perceptions. You preach opening eyes and in the same post lavishly lick your chops about the idea that Japanese games will be nullified from Western culture completely.

Look, every one of us is pretty bad at seeing our own faults. I'm definitely no exception and neither, it seems, are you.

No to pretty much everything you wrote. I still play japanese games but now mostly Nintendo games and the odd game like Demon's Souls and Valkyrie Chronicles - and lots of handheld games. And I want Japan to be relevant for the next round of HD consoles as well. You are so caught up in defending the japanes industry from any critism that you interpret critique as some weird desire to see japanese games "nullified" from the West. Which is a pretty far out interpretation.

Only open worlds

Only non-linear games

This is the future

- A Haiku

Expansive open world games is one of the areas where Japan would be well served to offer their own vision, instead of just avoiding it alltogether.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

No to pretty much everything you wrote. I still play japanese games but now mostly Nintendo games and the odd game like Demon's Souls and Valkyrie Chronicles - and lots of handheld games. And I want Japan to be relevant for the next round of HD consoles as well. You are so caught up in defending the japanes industry from any critism that you interpret critique as some weird desire to see japanese games "nullified" from the West. Which is a pretty far out interpretation.

I think we're pretty much talking past each other here. Best of wishes in the future and have a great summer!

 

[Dennis]

I think we're pretty much talking past each other here. Best of wishes in the future and have a great summer!

You too.

 

[demosthenes]

After that comment about Resident Evil 5, I don't want him to. He'll probably go on a rant about how... ah fuck it. Here's hoping Capcom management will kick him out and puts Yoshinori Ono in charge. The ritual to ask people to show their dollar bills in order to get a title greenlit is probably the brainchild of Inafune.

Yea but he's getting attention. After he says such blanket generalized statements I want him to back it up instead of just spouting shit like this off.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

I think everyone can agree that everyone in the games industry, regardless of ethnicity or culture, could stand to improve.

From Aonuma to Zampella, everyone can stand to expand their skillset.

My problem with Inafune is that he has the right idea with terrible reasoning. He thinks Japanese games should be more global. I agree! Not everything needs to be global, but if you're aiming for that kind of game, go full tilt. But he doesn't understand the hows and whys, so he comes off as unintelligent and uninformed.

Inafune: Shadow of Rome didn't do well, you need more than just a Western-looking character.

No one can disagree with that. You do need more than just a western-looking character.

Inafune five minutes later: Resident Evil 5 sold well and it was because Chris was American and spoke english.

Now hold on a second there, Inafune. This misconception is where you go off the rails. This is where it stops being about having a global appeal in your gameplay and more about superficial layers that, more than likely, have no cause or correlation with a title's sales. Inafune seems to think that western development is inherently superior, not inherently different, and any western developer is better than any Japanese one. Which leads to situations like Bionic Commando and DmC.

In his defense, he is far from the only developer that thinks this. D3, as evidenced by the new EDF game, believes that western gamers will only buy games made in the west due to some intangible quality. Meanwhile, all the fans hope for is a game that's as good as the one made b the actual developers of the first game. Suda and Mkami are both huge fans of western culture, but find it fascinating and not necessarily something to emulate at the sacrifice of their own styles.

Who knows, maybe Inafune is right and Japanese development should focus on making their characters more American. In that case, I have to wonder what that says about us?

 

[sonicmj1]

Expansive open world games is one of the areas where Japan would be well served to offer their own vision, instead of just avoiding it alltogether.

Is this as opposed to smaller-scale open-world games, like Shenmue or Dead Rising?

I'd be interested to see a Japanese game with a GTA/RDR type open world, but if they don't have the sorts of budgets that the West has, it will be very difficult to compete in that space, or even in general HD development. Quality aside, if you compare the volume of Japanese games coming out for HD platforms versus Western games, it's a completely different ballgame from last gen. Capcom is one of the only Japanese devs to make strides in this area.

There's a lot that Japanese developers could do to improve, but Inafune is being pretty incoherent here. Is it a matter of game design? Character design? What needs to change, and what needs to stay the same? Between Inafune's massive expectations for the sales needed to keep the Japanese industry from dying, his Resident Evil comments, and his company's tendencies recently to outsource major franchises to Western developers, he comes across as saying that Japanese developers need to become Western. But they can't win that way. It hasn't worked in the past, and it won't work now.

Character design is a part of appealing to the West, but there's a balance of appealing to Western expectations (especially with online functionality and control) and maintaining an original identity for designs. Sometimes in that interview, Inafune shows more nuance (Lost Planet 2 comments, even if they're inarticulate), and sometimes he doesn't.

 

[kitzkozan]

Truth be told,japanese developers should allow the cycle of life to go on and follow the flow. :lol

Most gamer are casual/semi-hardcore and as far removed from GAF or any message board as possible.

They never cared all that much for japanese culture or were annoyed by the quirks or androgynous males,but had to put up with it because that was pretty much what was available on console or simply didn't buy anything.Now that they have options and numerous western made game on console,the result speak for themselves imo.

Most western made game are tailored for casual/semi-hardcore gamers or older people with less time to play.The games are quite short,don't require that much skill to play or finish,stories in wrpg are rather straightforward,online play/DLC to extend the longevity,typical western alpha male hero,etc.

Japanese game have a tradition of super hardcore arcade gaming behind them(all based on solid gameplay and a high degree of difficulty),mastering the gameplay,polishing the game to perfection thus taking a lot of time to develop,etc.They can't go head to head with most western developers in term of budget or marketing power or even online expertise,so they are better off sticking with what make them different.

Western developer would fail as well if they were to make their game japanese.The gap in cultural difference is immense and all of these strange quirks are alien to westerners who weren't raised and born in Japan.what was the name of that xbox rpg which tried to be a jrpg made by a western developer? :lol