"Why Japanese Games are Breaking Up With the West"

[kane_magus]

A three point explanation for why fewer Japanese games are going beyond their shores lately.

Be that as it may, however, it still doesn't explain why, for example, Nintendo has been refusing to release games such as Mother 3, Fatal Frame IV, Trace Memory 2, Last Window, and several others outside of Japan. Or if they are released outside of Japan, recently they've only been making it to the EU and not, for whatever dumb reason, to North America. These aren't games that are moe or whatever, and still appeal to at least some Western gamers, even if not necessarily to the twitch-kiddie set who are only into stuff like Call of Duty or whatever these days.* Then again, I think that this particular situation is more an issue with Nintendo of America being retarded rather than Nintendo of Japan and, as such, may not be the best of examples. (Yeah, I just wanted another excuse to rant yet again about all the games Nintendo is aggravatingly refusing to release over here.)

* - Honestly, if all I had to base my opinion of Western games on was the glut of current FPS games and other such gritty, "realistic", grimdark games, I'd agree with the "yo-ge kuso-ge" sentiment myself. That said, however, the Japanese guy mentioned in the article who played BioShock for 30 seconds and then dismissed it as "cheap" was also pretty retarded in his own way.

Comments

[stuckinacave.livejournal.com]

The issue I have with Japanese games is the same I have with current Western games...they continually make the same game with a different coat of paint.

Lately I've been HUGE into playing indie games, thanks in part to Steam and Xbox Live Arcade/Indies. I feel I'm getting something different, and even when it's something familiar, there's an interesting game mechanic or little twist that's interesting. Also, at $15 or less, you don't mind trying something different.

And frankly, that's why Japanese games were such a juggernaut in the PS1 and Dreamcast/PS2 days...the games they offered were different and unique experiences. However, over time they just became rehashes and remakes. I mean, it has become a horrific trend in Japanese games to remake and re-release the same game over and over, put out sequel after sequel instead of a new idea. Nintendo is an amazing developer, but they've been quite bad in NOT releasing new franchises (excluding all that Wii[insert word] games).

For a while, Western developers were creating loads of great stuff, but lately, it too has become full of sequels as of late.

The way I see it, Japanese game development began its slow descent into blandness around the time that Sega stopped making its own console. Coincidence?

I'm sure things will come around again for Japanese games, but first, they need to STOP trying to copy "Western game philosophies", stop trying to figure out what "Japanese game philosophies" are, and just focus on making something fun. Can't go wrong with that.

[owsf2000.livejournal.com]

"I'm sure things will come around again for Japanese games, but first, they need to STOP trying to copy "Western game philosophies", stop trying to figure out what "Japanese game philosophies" are, and just focus on making something fun. Can't go wrong with that."

You -do- realize that that's exactly what the linked article was about ne? The reason why the rest of the world is starting to feel like japan's going into a game idea recession is because we're expecting them to please us. And whether you like it or not, for a lot of Americans that pretty much means "copy what the big boys over here are doing!" Which means "turn all your games into FPSes too!"

Basically Japan is mostly trying to please japanese gamers at present. And apparently they like what they're being fed. This of course translates into not many companies over here wanting to take a risk bringing over anything but the biggest titles in japan. Those titles don't try to cater to any specific group rather than play it safe with a well established formula.
(Exactly like what's going on in the western game industry, which is why we see everything turning into FPS or MMORPGs and loads and LOADS of sequels.) Regardless of what the world may think based on japanese games reception outside of japan, they're still doing quite fine where they're made.

As for the Sega comment, I would say the coincidence is simply because Sega tended to port more things over than Sony or Nintendo ever risked taking a chance on. And as the costs to produce games skyrocket, the chances of any company taking a risk on some new idea become smaller.

[kane-magus.livejournal.com]

You -do- realize that that's exactly what the linked article was about ne? The reason why the rest of the world is starting to feel like japan's going into a game idea recession is because we're expecting them to please us. And whether you like it or not, for a lot of Americans that pretty much means "copy what the big boys over here are doing!" Which means "turn all your games into FPSes too!"

That, and there is the growing perception (which also feeds into the idea of the "Japanese game idea recession") that all Japan is producing and can produce anymore is just the same cookie-cutter RPGs all the time. It seems like when people talk about "Japanese games" these days, all they think of are JRPGs and little else. If I had a nickel for every time I've read on some forum a comment along the lines of "I'm tired of all these bland JRPGs with androgynous spikey-haired protagonists" I'd be a very rich man. (Likewise, I'm sick and tired of the same bland FPSs with burly space marine protagonists or whatever, but I digress.) Those things used to be all the rage with Western gamers (e.g. Final Fantasy circa late '90s early '00s), but now it seems like most gamers consider them to be passé now.

Note, however, I said this was the perception of a lot of Western gamers, whether it's actually true or not. (Likewise, again, Western devs make more than the same old shitty FPS games as well, but when someone mentions "Western games" the immediate image that comes to mind is probably that of the big meathead soldier carrying around a bunch of guns.) For every Japanese gamer saying "yo-ge kuso-ge" about games over here, there are probably three American gamers who are saying "Japanese games are shit." I don't agree with that, and maybe I'm unintentionally exaggerating, but that's the impression I get from delving into the horrid cesspools that are the comments sections of any and all of the gaming websites I (used to) frequent.

As for Sega... well, they stopped making consoles, but they didn't stop making games. And when anyone thinks of Sega games nowadays, what's probably the first thing they think of? Sonic the Hedgehog. And when most people talk about Sonic these days, it seems like the words "sucks" and "shit" and the like get thrown around quite a bit. Granted, I haven't played a Sonic game since the Sega CD game, so I couldn't speak on the quality of the current games, myself. I don't know if they're really that bad, or if it's just another case of my own tastes diverging from those of most other Western gamers. That said, Sonic-as-werewolf seemed like a really retarded idea to me, and that human Princess character (http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Princess_Elise) in one of the recent games seems to me to be almost tailor-made to try to appeal to the moe-crowd. Come to think of it, I wonder how well the recent Sonic games have done in Japan versus how they did here, actually...?

I wouldn't put all the blame on Sega, though. You could just as easily say "The way I see it, Japanese game development began its slow descent into blandness around the time that Square and Enix merged. Coincidence?"