"Japan is in trouble", says Silent Hill 5 producer

Akira Yamaoka, the Producer and composer of Konami's forthcoming Silent Hill 5 has said he believes that the future of Japanese game development is in trouble following his experience in working with American studio, The Collective.

Speaking with Game Development Magazine, Yamaoka, who has worked on numerous instalments in the Silent Hill franchise, said that "Japan is in trouble", before elaborating on western firms, insisting, "They're very advanced".

[Multigamer]

very true

[Liar]

Maybe if they spent more time working on the actual games instead of CG cutscenes they wouldn't have fallen behind.

[zapass]

well, masturbation is clearly not falling behind in this country. the hilarious bit for me is that some dork submits this just before the GT5 demo comes out, so that I don't have to waste that much typing: just check out GT5 prologue and compare with... anything else: how's that behind forza23 or pgr45? woahahaha! someone thought he could get away with this kinda trash?

now, for the konami dude, I feel very sorry for him, he's gonna have some explaining to do. he's an obscure producer who never made it to kojima's team and now, he's made a worldwide total fool of himself, his company and his country: ouch!

now for the really funny bit: he said that after dealing with "the collective", HA! (they're notoriously bad in the industry)

[Rikitatsu]

but Western devs fail a lot in making a game with Great gameplay , or nice art direction , or Good story , thats why i prefer Japanese games

Western devs should stick developing FPSs

[predator]

fail at great gameplay and story?

mass effect, uncharted, halo 3, oblivion, to name a few disagree with your comment

[Bombomb]

he wouldn't know a good story & game even if his ps3 had one. I bet you lair is on top of his list.

Japan western devs have caught up to you. Your game mostly attract japanese gamers while development cost are sky-high, I think it's time to start catering to all regions with some of the tiles, if you wanna make some money. Even square and capcom recognizes this.

console no longer die in japan. Europe/Us is where it's hot.

[WilliamRLBaker]

Final fantasy, Most capcom games... as sources of bad Story lines any more.

Token bad guy...fighting token evil...finds token sword....has token magic or special power....and thats about 6 out of 10 games in japan any more.

[Genuine]

First, you can't tell people what they personally prefer. While you consider games like MGS and FF to have great stories. I completely disagree. Imo MGS has one of the lamest most convaluted stories in video game history. FF is simply far too emo for my tastes. And gameplay, you consider MGS to have great gameplay. I consider 3rd person fixed camera, running in circles flailing trying to punch someone to be pretty shoddy gameplay.

Just because your an anime fan, and Japan makes anime games doesn't make Japanese developers better. In all actuality, anime isn't all that popular on the world stage. I know in the U.S. most anime fans are looked at as strange emo perverts.

[socomnick]

The japanese games that I like this gen rare. They seem to have drooped the ball if it wasnt for capcom I would own no Japanese games .

[TheSadTruth]

are u retarded predator? I understand your point but you didn't exactly pick games with good stories lmao. Halo 3's single player story is absolutely horrid, and I'm a huge halo 3 fanboy. They need to hire professional writers in the future, because the plot is extremely embarrassing as a halo fan. It's like they made it up as they went along without a script. Oblivion? Good plot? lol. That's definitely not a strong point of the game, go there do this quest go here do that quest, close the portals, save the kingdom. Great plot.. and I haven't played mass effect but Bioware does know how to write good stories so I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

[mikeslemonade]

American development hasn't evolved and is still young. There's potential in American development but Japanese games will sell better in general for the time being because America games sell the best only in America and Japanese games sell everywhere.

[Bombomb]

but good observation, gaming if you look at history started real big in japan. That goes with the best selling hardware and software titles.

The point is the tide is starting to shift as the Us and Europe markets are becoming bigger and more important.

western devs have gotten a strong hold and their RPG's keeps getting better, which is a top favorite in japan. As well as shooters, platformers. Top selling games in japan are mostly jrpg's, is what I'm saying. Western Dev make all types of games that sell well, these days.

The top selling games have been FF's and Metal Gears as they will be for the PS3 this gen , I predict, but after that what do you have? maybe GT. Another thing western gamers play everything in the top 5-6 generes. shooters, western rpg, jrpg's you name it..

euro and us are becoming more important in terms of sales.

Rikitatsu below, your list is exactly what I just described, you just named the biggest japanese franchises in the last 20 years. reading my current post what else is there after they die?

Urban you can take me on every single sentence or you can discuss, your bringing nothing new to the convo. looking at what really got the home console market going, atari started it but nintendo really helped revitalize the US video game industry after the 83 crash. Hey a testament of time it's still around. Well that's another subject.

[UrbanJabroni]

"but good observation, gaming if you look at history started real big in japan. "

Pong was American. ATARI is an american company...games exploded in the US long before the Japanese came along.

[ReBurn]

That's not the case at all. American game development is evolving at a faster rate than Japanese development. I would go as far as to say that Japanese development has matured to the point where it pretty much isn't really changing much.

What Japanese games have been setting the the new generation on fire? Most of the ones that everyone says are the best haven't even been released yet.

[Rikitatsu]

and MGS , FF , Tekken , GT , Zelda , Mario , Shenmue , Resident Evil , Dragon Quest , Soul caliber , metroid prime , DMC , Okami , Shadow Of the colossus , Ico , etc... disagrees with your list

Halo was totaly overhyped , Mass effect is full of bugs and glitches , Oblivion Is the one of the few great western games though , Uncharted is so-so

@Bombomb:

"he wouldn't know a good story & game even if his ps3 had one. I bet you lair is on top of his list. "

LOL aren't you contradicting yourself ? Lair is a Western game lol , it can't be on top of my list

[HarryEtTubMan]

all the games u named are amazming and I wouldnt say Uncharted is just " so so" at all. Its a very good game.

[v1c1ous]

but more than half of your list are true and tried IPs (zelda, mario etc) and everything else was last gen.

in this new gen, western games have gotten the most attention than before.

try to name a few big name japanese titles released so far for the next gen.

lost planet, GT:prologue, Virtua Fighter 5...and the list gets harder and harder.

now try to name western games that have garnered a lot of attention this gen, and while most are shooters, the top selling titles have all been western made.

Japan is still the most important market in terms of game creation, but it is no longer the gaming mecca. halo topping the japanese sales for even a week is an indication of this. hell, the xbox 360 sales in japan, while nothing to launder at, are still semi-decent given the xbox1's track.

japan no longer makes or brakes a system.

[predator]

out of all off what you send (oh and buy the way i could make my list a hell of a lot bigger) all of them but 2 have been milked, how many tekkens?, metel gear, resi, soul cal, dmc? and last but not least how many FF?

European and american devs take risks, create new IPs, japan just keep bringin out sequel after sequel

[WilliamRLBaker]

and MGS , FF , Tekken , GT , Zelda , Mario , Shenmue , Resident Evil , Dragon Quest , Soul caliber , metroid prime , DMC , Okami , Shadow Of the colossus , Ico , etc... disagrees with your list

1.MGS hey This is a story bout this guy, whos a genetic clone, is all angsty and clint east woody and every thing makes sense up untill you get to the 2nd and 3rd game which pretty much make you insane when you try to understand any thing that happens. Oh and how many games have been based upon it? 4? the psp games...ect lol

2.Final Fantasy-Token good person, Token Bad Person, Token Item and or sword and or magic power neeeded to defeat bad person.

3.GT never had a story, and its gameplay has all ways sucked compared to other racers it was all ways an eye candy look at the car models I can build game.

4.Zelda.....Token bad guy token good guy.....HOW many times can you remake a game? because thats what all the games have been REMAKES of the original game nother new just new ways to interpret the story....every few years its remade with new graphics and thats IT.

5.Mario needs to be killed off hes had like 30 different games made about it, And the games are yet again JUST REMAKES new tellings of the same story in new graphical coating, I think with all the bullet bills, bobombs and mushrooms he's shoved up Bowsers ass bowser would give up by now...

6.Shenmue was cool it was an awesome game, the 2nd one sucked though because it wasn't what it should have been and not alot of people liked this game its a niche title.

7.Resident evil is cool up until Resident evil 2...3 sucked it told this story that really made no sense in why she'd be there and never once in 2 do they mention a missle strike landing on the city...as for that half the city was destroyed by the lab explosion....how did Jill survive that? The series got stale and stupid when they NEVER explained what the hell happend between 3-4 (RE4 is actually 5 if you count Code veronica) they ruined the story line it was supposed to be them fight umbrella but they never really continue to fight umbrella they end up fighting some French/spainish aristocrats...and their villagers. (i've read the books, and the Resident evil Chronicles, and I own every game in the gamecube version so i know what im talking bout I own RE4 in the wii version)

8.Dragon Quest-Token bad guy, Token good guy, Magic, OR sword or item needed to kill them, and Drawn by the DBZ guy....

9.There have been how many soul fighting games....6 now? when are they gonna kill the evil blades? I mean they've destroyed these things 4 or so times now....why do they keep comming back?

10.Metroid prime....We're just remakes! Every single one except the last 2 we're remakes of the same game and thats a fact, Miyamoto has no capability of creating new IDEAS he just makes a few ideas and remakes those with new graphics each couple of years.

11.DMC bad demon dude is really good dude, and token bad demon chicks are his enemies...

The rest are all good games ICO, shadow they we're good original IPs.

[Bombomb]

predator and v1c1ous!!!.

What I've been trying to say.

[ry-guy]

Now, before you get into a hussy I disagree with your major critism of some of the japanese games.

Token X, Token Y, Token Z. So what? Every game ever created, when you look back at it, is easy to determine who the bad guy was, who the good guy was, and what was the succession of weapons you needed, or keys, or items of X.

Japense are not the only ones guilty of that. Oblivion, you were the Token Good Guy. No matter which way you cut it. The Token Bad Guy was the demon trying to invade (pretty easy to identify). You upgraded your weapon through out the game but you had to go on token adventures! (Closing those oblivion gates 230975023993742097 times). And finally you got a token finish (peace is restored! a new age!) and that was a western game.

A lot more goes into a game that what you are boiling it down to. That is like trying to give a game review and saying only "Yes or No" to purchasing it. You could get one person who says NO to Ratchet and Clank because he does not enjoy platformers and then you could get a YES because it is a great game for his 10 year-old-kid.

Anyways, my original point is this: It is not just about these 'token' elements you claim. You need atleast a strong story and strong gameplay. The rest is icing onto the cake. Mass Effect has proven that. It may not be the most bug-free game in the world but cripes it is a GREAT game. Some of those games being listed a tried and true games. They hold a place in people's hearts.

What the Silent Hill producer is saying is that Japanese developers are no longer the cream of the crop when it comes to creating new IPs and creating new storys and creating new ways of playing the same old game (Example: Halo going from FPS to RTS). Japanese have fallen behind, but your critism of WHY they have fallen behind is rubbish. If you said something like "They are not bringing out new IPs and they are just riding the same horse" then yes, I'd agree with you.

[Wii60PS3DSPSP]

The hell are you talking about WilliamRLBaker... Did you forget Metroid Prime was helped made by Retro Studios which is in America? The rest of your list has weak reasons also.

[tordavis]

"japan no longer makes or brakes a system."

Couldn't have said it better man! Bubbles for you!

[Rikitatsu]

that oblivion is a new IP and Halo is a new IP etc.... Okami and Shadow of the colossus is the proof that Japanese gaming is still suprior than Westerner one , as it appears that westerners only knows 2 genres : FPS + RTS <<< which is all best played on PC

[v1c1ous]

I love Okami too, but don't use 2 games as end-all proof of superiority.

it's making you look like a japanophile who thinks anything japan = gold

[Genuine]

post deleted

[ry-guy]

Two words: Mass Effect.

Also, buddy, please, let's move onto this generation please?

P.S. Oblivion is an RPG, might as well add that your list. Western companies can do FPS, RTS, and RPG!

Oh wait, how about racing!? Or! Or! Sports! No. The Madden franchise is not successful in any way.

[ruiner4482]

It's named The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. This is the 4th game in the series, hence not a new IP.

[moses]

I have been a nintendo fan all my life, and played Jrpgs all my life until I decided to pick up a copy of Oblivion for my PC, and all I have to say is that Oblivion beats the living piss out of any Jrpg out there in Story depth, playability, and fun. Jrpgs are just grinding work, in Oblivion you level naturally as you explore the vast NON-LINEAR world around you.

[SaiyanFury]

I think the Japanese market geared towards PS3 is just starting to warm up. I prefer Japanese games myself, and I will admit there has been a lack of great Japanese games on PS3 of late. Releases of Ratchet & Clank/Uncharted show the abilities of Western developers. Those are two of my fave Sony developers. But there are Japanese games coming. MGS4, and FF XIII are two of them. With a new system/generation, it takes time to make games that accommodate new hardware. But with the proposed release of GT5 later in 08 and other games, it shows what the system has coming. Sure the PS3 didn't have a crapload of games in 08, but neither did the original PS in it's first year. After that, the games practically overran the system from Japan. I would guess that 08 is the year that games from Japan finally start to show their mettle. Afterall, it was over a year after it's release that Japanese games on the 360 finally started to show quality. Unlike western producers of games, the Japanese enjoy reinventing game engines with every new major game. That takes a lot of time. Western companies like reusing game engines as much as possible, which is one of the reasons to account for the consistent release of sequels almost every year.

[v1c1ous]

the one difference b/w japan and western developers is that western developers stride to improve the mechanics of the games (graphics, speed, engine) and japanese strive to come up with new storylines and concepts.

but this was last gen. this gen, western developers have started to do the same. assassin's creed is proof of this. i mean, a game about the crusades? that's out of left field. bioshock is an FPS set in a utopian like city underwater tackling the issues of self-deprivation of society.

western gamers are taking risks and applying their technological prowess to new ideas. it's still in an infant phase, but japanese developers have taken notice. why else would they start hiring western developers on their games like MGS4 or Bionic commando etc etc...

[Rikitatsu]

all i am saying is in an overall view , Japanese devs makes better games than Westerner ones , while i agree there is a lot of Great Westerner games like oblivion and Total war series , there is also Crap japanese titles like Sengoku Basara , etc...

[v1c1ous]

japan just got a wake-up call.

if you don't follow your great use of imagination with great mechanics to make it transcend onto consoles, you're going to be left behind.

that's why you're going to start seeing a lot more western developers in japanese teams.

hell it's already starting. look at square-enix. this is the first time in a while they had to create a new engine for a system. and even so they got the rights to unreal-engine "just in case"

[JokesOnYou]

obviously on your tastes but also in general I think in the last 10 yrs western devs have been consistently making games every bit as good as Japanese devs and in many cases depending on the game they have surpassed Japanese devs. I think Japanese devs in most cases are favored simply based on Japans past legacy in the videogame industry.

Like I said its a matter of taste but seriously I look at Japanese software charts and there are so often games on the list that leave me scratching my head wondering how in the world can someone sit down and actually play that game and enjoy it. Yes, the same could be said for the way Japanese might feel about some western games, but honestly I think its a simple matter of whether you enjoy more realistic theme games or more fantasy fairy tale world type games, either that or cooking games.= wtf?

One thing I notice is Japan relies much more on the usual IP's remakes of the same stuff, I mean everybody does this alot and games are usually victims of their own success(public wants them) but all of Japans most anticipated games are just the next game in line from a long running franchise or rpg's all created in the same mold, I know I know FPS's are guilty of the same but I would dare say they at least try to vary the gameplay and style of the game more than Japan does with many of their popular franchises, I mean quite frankly its going to be really hard for ANY dev to make a game thats totally fresh with so many things never done before but its up to every dev to at least give the game a identity of its own by doing *something different or waaaay better than what we've seen before OTHER than graphics.

JOY

[mesh1]

all japanese games look like xbox 1 game this gen thier story line are all the same nothing new

[Bolts]

When it comes to multiplayer games, the west totally destroy the Japanese and we're leaders in numerous genres such as FPS, RTS and action games.

The problem with the Japanese is their inability to move on to new IPs. Other than FF, MGS and the tired Resident Evil franchise they really dont have anything else. If you look at western developers they're able to swing from one IP to the next with ease.

[Bombomb]

we disagreed on another thread but you redeemed urself lol

I know some gamers on here can think outside the box.

[Vojkan]

I have been saying this for last 2 years. This is very obvious. If you look at all generation pre PS2/Xbox/GC Japanese developers were kings, western developers were like undeveloped foreign country trying to catch up. But tables have turned in last 7 years, and especially in last 2.
Japanese developers are not "evolving" they keep on making same kind of games but just prettier.
Only studios that are not failing at this are Konami(MGS4 one of vest examples, mostly thx to Kojima), Capcom and maybe maybe SquareEnix with its FF13 series. But we have to see that first.
Japanese developers WERE so ahead on western during PS1 era, now that is over.

[MK_Red]

While I kinda agree with him, I actually believe that the whole industry in Japan is in trouble. Look at sales market, games like NiGHTs Wii and No More Heroes bomb in Japan (They are Wii games!) and a useless scale like WiiFit outsells Gran Turismo 5 in latest sales. Not to forget that they don't pay any attention to Xbox 360 and keep buying those crazy DS and anime gams most of the time...
Sure, there are great and true gamers in Japan but things don't look good in a big scale.

Also, graphically, Japanesse devs are really really behind and most of them are focused on developing for graphically inferior Wii and are avoiding PS3 and 360. Those that do, mostly have ended up with games that don't nowhere near as good looking as their western counterparts (With Polyphony's Gran Turismo 5 being an exception).
Blue Dragon, BladeStorm, Warriors Orochi, Lost Odyssey, Folklore, Vampire Rain and few others are nowhere near Gears of War, Uncharted, BioShock, AC, ME and other western games in terms of technical graphics.

[JokesOnYou]

yeah, I'm not trying to attack Japans taste, but I would much rather see games like Gran Turismo beat wii fit, simply because I'm a long time game fan but now with so many non-traditional gamers buying into the wii, along with japans obviously *different* gaming habits I just dont want too many devs to follow the hype train and play to the much larger casual market thats very fickle when it comes to gaming, will they stick with it? will they keep buying these games and support the devs when this trend becomes standard? I don't know, and I think everybody is entitled to what the like, but I have no interest in most of the stuff available for the wii, so my only concern is that devs keep pushing the boundaries on all levels, graphics, AI, gameplay etc and not just settle for a quick buck trying to capitalize on the hype with boring motion sensing games, cooking games or exercise gimmicks.

JOY

[MK_Red]

Great and bubble worthy comment :)
I agree with all of your point. The idea of other publishers going gimmicky and seriously casual after WiiFit and such is indeed disturbing.
The signs are not good either. Wii (THE popular console) has real games like No More Heroes and NiGHTs: Journey of Dreams. Both BOMBED badly in Japan and another Wii classic also failed in both Japan and worldwide commercially.
The scary thing is that even Super Mario Galaxy is doing weaker compared to casual and gimmicky games.

Most of Japanesse devs have already quit working graphics, AI, gameplay etc (It can be seen in games like Soulcalibur Legends) and have just focused on more uses for Wiimote without caring for any technical aspect of their products.
And Wii Fit... the single most disgusting and useless piece of material masqurading as a game is doing more than well and soon there will be games like Wii Sleep, Wii Sit, Wii Walk and such.

We no longer see too many great games from Japan. BioShock, AC, ME, COD4, R&C: TOD, RB, Crysis, UT3, GearsOW, GodOW2, GRAW2, Uncharted, Halo 3, Warhawk and many many other bests of 2007 are non Japanesse unlike a couple of years ago that half of GOTYs were J developed games (And lets not forget about days of PSone that all top games were Japanesse).
Of course, there are still some great J games but when one of their best games, namely Gran Turismo 5 is outsold by something Wii Fit, we know Japan is definitly in trouble. From both consumer and developer stand points.

Lets hope this doesn't happen to the rest of the world and great teams like Epic, Criterion, Ifinity Ward, ND, Insomniac, Bungie, BioWare and others don't start making mini-game collections and gimmicky weight games that sell better than Mass Effect 2, AC2, Uncharted 2, Resistance 2, Gears 2, BioShock 2 and such.

[scheme_a]

Myself being a japanese gamer for over 10 years, now i do feel that their interest is shifting away further and further from real gaming (as you mentioned, WiiFit and other casual games sitting at No. 1 is one evidence).
Cell phone games are very huge in japan as much, if not more, as portable games.
Nowadays everything is casual as if they just got tired of big-budget and insanely hyped up games like FFXX or Mario something.
Either that or something that is based on anime which are bought largely not by game fans but anime fans who don't really mind even if it is a bad game as long as they feature their favorite characters...

Budget is definitely also part of the key as the producer mentioned.
Only very few companies can afford to take risk developing high profile games. It's been mentioned time and time again since PS2 tripled the cost of creating games. It's only very recently that the cost and risk went down (for PS2) because of matured dev kit and large install base.

I have a friend who is at small game company and told me that right now PSP is becoming more of an interest rather than wii or DS or any other next gen console, because
1) Getting more install base now
2) 360 and PS3 is simply out of question because of the cost
3) a lot of casual gaming concepts are already done by someone else for Wii and DS because most companies used to go all wii and DS.

It's just sad. They have to start from ground up trying to educate and grow the real game fan base.

[Percy]

video game music composer Akira Yamaoka. I might just have a very incorrect idea of this position but i would assume he is composing the music. so does that mean if i compose a song while people are building cars in the background and i pop in to get feedback every so often i am qualified to say that they are better than another manufacturer. I'm trying to make a comparison without sounding like a ass but i think im failing. I just dont understand how he would know what was going on without actually being a designer, programmer whatever other people actually working on the game part of the game.

[Skerj]

Because he's not just the composer, he's also the series Producer he just wears two hats and wears them quite well.

[Keowrath]

Does he have a funny shaped head?

[RadientFlux]

Why so much hate for western developers? Most of my great game experience of the last few years came from games developed from western developers.

People seem to forget that only a small percentage of japanese games are brought over to Europe and North America and these games are usually the cream of the crop. Japanese developers are as guilty as western developers when it comes to developing generic video games (Dynasty Warriors is a perfect example)

I think most people here are confusing their personal choice with quality of game development.

[Rikitatsu]

You are Talking Nonsense , Dynasty Warriors series is really great, one of my fav games , just because it doesn't suit your tastes and a few others doesn't mean its bad

[RadientFlux]

Thank you for proving my point that you are confusing your own personal preference (in gaming) with the quality of game developers/development in various regions.

Also I didn't say Dynasty Warriors was a bad game (while I personally don't like the series) just that it is a good example of Japanese developers doing what developers do all over the world.

[Skynetone]

is connect 3 ps3 together and have a super computer how hard can that be

[Keowrath]

Maybe it's because I'm set in my ways of playing Japanese games for over 20 years but I still think that Japanese games are usually better than other regions. This is my opinion, you can disagree with me but I really don't care.

Take this year for example and what is the one overwhelming genre of games from western developers (although this seems to be the same as EVERY year). FPS FPS FPS. Yeah there have been a few rpg's action games etc etc but I'd say the variety was lacking SEVERELY. I have 2 particular games this year that I think handle 100 times better than any other western game on the system. Although I enjoyed Heavenly Sword, compare that with Ninja Gaiden and you'll see where I'm coming from.

For all you gamers playing your western games and thinking they are the best thing ever, that's great for you. There's just something about Japanese games that seem to be more playable and less clunky than the Eastern titles.

But That's my preference. I love metal gear, Tekken, Streetfighter, Devil may cry and couldn't really care less for Battlefield 2104567 part 2. You guys are complaining that all Japan does is bring sequals out of the same old game. At least they choose different genres.

I've been playing games for far too long and I know what I like and Although Western developers have brought out some cracking good games, they don't hold a candle to Japanese titles.

[Says you]

Halo series was a sequel and Mass Effect is going to have a sequel and Gears of Crap is going to have a sequel and Too Human so I don't know what he's talking about that America makes new IP's when there sequels are just going to end up on PC and also maybe BioSh1t is going to have a sequel.

[jaja1434]

Setting aside your useless fanboy attitude, until they make the second installment of all of the games you mentioned, they are new IP's. Perhaps this is lost on you though?

[Noodlecup]

Western devs still have a long way to go with story/gameplay, first person shooters have the simplest game mechanics and worst storylines available, most of them put too much effort into the visuals rather than what we're playing.

One guy above said what about Halo for gameplay and story, don't make me laugh.

[R M Spender]

because of how they run a business!! not as free and flexable. look at a tour of some studio like bungie or epic, there seems to be more collaboration and willingness to change ideas. good luck even finding a japanese tour vid like that. japanese games are good but just not seeing anything really new or different.

but i have to say nintendo still has there touch.

[Kareshi_X]

Imo I always Have more Fun Playing Japanese Games, But what This Producer is Saying Is True in a Way.

[PimpHandHappy]

well there entire country was leveled to the ground and yet they lead the world in technolgy

that was just 60 years ago and if you dont know Honda or Nissan then i guess ur right

add Sony in there also

[jaja1434]

Actually the reason they lead anything is because their country got leveled to the ground. Think how much further the US would be if the 35% of the nations revenue got spent on science/education instead of the military.

[R M Spender]

trust me the way business gets done here is not what i would call exactly creative and free. people in general on a whole seem less creative as well. you want to talk about tech? japan is the most advanced country in the world? naw come on...i really love the new japanese space shuttle... and why is their economy failing? ten years from now japan will be either part of chin/korea or the 51st state.
talk cars? yeah americas cars arent all that great but i have a feeling its all done on purpose. oil business.. and who played a huge part in rebuilding/reshaping Japan besides the lab (japanese) that invented crystal-meth? America...
and sony please...they are world famous for stealing ideas and tech. think nintendo or samsung, how many ideas did sony rip off from them. how many times has sony been sued for stealing ideas? Sony? you are another one of these dummies supporting sony cause you got ripped off and you are starting to figure it out but instead of admitting it you come here to try and bash other companies...

[TheMART]

Well there might be some truth in this.

In the past, the only great games came from Japan. That has changed a lot since then. But still, there will be some projects that can only be made in Japan probably.

I do think Western devs have grown in quality, gameplay, graphics etc. in a faster way then the Japanese devs did

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Western devs are like the film industry here in the US, they are always a gen ahead on tech. Lucas arts, Dreamworks, The Matrix and Crysis to name a few, it's just the way it is. Maybe it has to do with more money and resources but he has a point. In Japan they make animated movies because it cost so much to make live action film. It's the same way with games, the better graphics the more it cost. You can't deny the money and resources that American entertainment has, just look at what Hollywood produces in a year.

[sleepbox]

YAY, it's a survival horror I might actually play because the controls won't be so frikkin cumbersome for "realism".

[Wii60_FTW]

hahahahahaha Akira rules. SH rules. and he just proved that America kicks the every-loving SH1T out of all you Asian-worshiping droids out there. LOL. sorry, but it's true. He sees the amazing job we Americans are doing on SH5 and never wants to go back to Asianville. LOL.

[sonyfanonly]

FINAL FANTASY AND DRAGON QUEST IS THE HUGE SYSTEM SELLERS IN JAPAN AND GUESS WHAT THE PS3 AND WII HAS THOSE. THERE IS A FUTURE IN VIDEO GAMES IN JAPAN BUT IT DONT INCLUDE M$

[R M Spender]

blue dragon or lost odyssey, infinite rediscovery, trusty bell, ace combat, the last reminant, FFxi ninja Gaidan2? its odd that you say that microsoft has no part in japan now when it is at its most popular. another retard who feels angry for buyin a ps3....

[GlockNinja]

The Japanese have a way of allowing the US or other countries to invent or come up with new technology but the japanese copy it, and make it better. Thats been the story of Japanese culture ever since they got into the 20th century.

The Japanese are not inventive people. They take other people's idea and make them better. Other Asian countries like Korea and China are doing the same.

[jaja1434]

Just curious, do your actually believe that or did you read some false information somewhere?

[PS360PCROCKS]

lol...wow...your kinda ignorant

[cmrbe]

And the americans borrowed from the brits which themselves borrowed from the romans which borrowed from the greeks etc. Whats your point?.My point is nations/civilizations borrowed ideas/concepts/tech from previous work done. otherwise every civilization/nations will start with the reinvention of the wheel. China for example are using some tech developed by the Japanese and everyone used paper that was developed by China.

[CRIMS0N_W0LF]

Best games come from Japan.

END.

Also funny how people above say Final Fantasy / Silent Hill are crap and also crap story and say Halo 3 has better story.

[PS360PCROCKS]

Well i personally think Japanese games have always sucked. DMC, Mario, Zelda, mgs, GT, Resi evil, lost planet, dead rising are like the only games i have enjoyed from them. I hate anime and I hate their RPG's. blue dragon is the most idiotic game I have ever seen, i don't know how anyone can play as a group of what? like 6 year old kids? To save the world from enemies in a turn based fashion and the kids turn into different characters when they attack? Yeah when I think fun I think about playing as a kid to destroy dumbass looking enemies all the while turning into a blue dragon, yay I'm fuc*ing sold! i'd rather drive 100 mph around a corner, chainsaw locusts, sticky bomb and grenade tag, snipe enemies from 1/4 mile with a .50 cal sniper rifle, levitate enemies in mass effect, light people up to 1000 degrees Bioshock...call me the perfect american consumer for our games but playing as a blue dragon is not my idea of fun.

[Maddens Raiders]

another submission chock full of hyperbole, hidden agendas and 0% value to this site. This is so stupid and narrow-minded, like "I wish all cars were American, or German, or (fill in blank)" - retarded! Who wants a bland, watered down market like that? Answer: Mummified Fanboys.

The day Japanese games go away is the day I stop gaming. Take care.

[chrno6]

Why do I get the feeling that 360 fans, especially those who are Americans, seem to hate Japanese games? Many of the upcomming next gen titles such as ff13 and mgs4 are developed by Japanese. I like fps with gore too, but I also prefer games with an actual story line.

And anyone who think halo has a good story is delusional.

[THE_JUDGE]

long as its a good game.

[tordavis]

Every thread is littered with MGS4 and FFXIII statements. Until we see tried and true gameplay for FFXIII that game shouldn't be mentioned. MGS4 is a sequel and it's not the end all.

Everyone has different tastes. One of the things that makes Japan different is their tastes in culture. Gaming is one of the anomalies that I'll never truly understand about Japan. The only thing really selling well is DS, PSP and Wii. That leaves no room for PS3 and 360 over there. Microsoft however isn't spending a lot of money in Japan so you could say they are breaking even over there. I mean really, Elites selling out?

I stopped playing single player RPG's because of FFVII. Final Fantasy games are noting but pretentious bs. It's the same friggin battle system every time and it's filled with characters that don't even look Asian. I just don't understand the appeal to Jrpg's. However, Lost Odyysey looks tempting to get me back in the game.

Poly Digital even said Forza 2 has more features than their game but theirs will look better. I know people love GT for the massive amount of cars and crap but the gameplay has always sucked in GT games. It's Eye Candy over quality every time. Smashing into a wall at 100mph just to have your car stop is not what I call a racing simulation. Give me car crash physics at least Poly.

I'm just rambling but in a nutshell, while Western devs are deep in the FPS genre, they make changes to each game they produce to make them different. We have great sports, racing, rpg, 3D action and FPS games. What we are doing with the technology is ahead of what Japan is doing and I think this is what the dev is talking about. Dragon Quest 80 might sell 10 million copies but did they make any technological advances in producing the game? No, because they don't have to.

[harv052]

I think Japan, North America and Europe are pretty much on par with each other. They all have their share of excellent games and crappy games.

[season007]

they don't want to develop on 360 and they can't develop on PS3 yet ...for 2007

that make Japan devs troble? i don't think so

maybe we should check which country got most devs developing games on Wii, thats where the troble is

[BloodySinner]

If they don't want to developer for the Xbox 360, who's fault is that? It's theirs. Look at the Japanese studios that developed for the system. Capcom (Dead Rising, Devil May Cry 4, Lost Planet...) , Tecmo (DOA Xtreme, DOA4, Ninja Gaiden 2), just to name a few.

Those guys are the ones benefiting AND they clearly saw the benefits ($$$) of developing for the Xbox 360 and did not look back, EVER. Japanese studios that refuse to develop for it because of personal bias against the western gaming machine are only shooting themselves in the foot.

[season007]

did not ever look back? for just em...1 year and you can make a conclusion like this?

and if benefits can be determined in an year, there is absolutely not a better place than being in the game industry if you want to make some money.....

[DrPirate]

Stories from western developers I liked: Halo, Uncharted, Bioshock, Half-Life (1,2,Ep1,Ep2,Portal), Resistance, Assassin's Creed, Hitman Series, God of War 1 and 2.

Stories from European Develoeprs I liked: Heavenly Sword, The Getaway, Indigo Prophecy, XIII (although it was way too much like the Bourne Identity), Killzone (And Liberation).

Stories from Japanese Developers I liked: Metal Gear, Final Fantasy 7, Parasite Eve, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 4, Earthbound, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico.

There's many, many, many, many more, these just sprung up to mind.

My point is, good games come from all over the world. Stop fighting.

[Lord_Mike]

So why does FFXIII, MGS4, and GT5 looks so good? That guy is a total idiot, he's just crying because he didn't make it in Kojima's team.

[cmrbe]

Generalizing as there are still alot of Japanese devs pushing boundaries like the teams developing MGS and FF. I think what he meant was the actual dev tech which might be true. What matters though is the end result and sofar the Japanese devs have delivered no question about it. With the popularity of the wii and DS in Japan. I think some Japanese devs might have not kept up because of this and i stress "some" here. Western devs have come along way though and i agree with that comment.

[pshizle]

team ninja and thats about it =) and nintendo and very little capcom

[bootsielon]

But that's just not true. Japanese Games are superior in nearly every way to american games. He's talking about corporations and how american administrations are "better". That's likely, american corporations save even in toilet paper, and I don't doubt a few japanese studios waste some resources, but again, this is trivial compared to game making, and we're seeing the Japanese market change: Bandai Namco and Square-Enix-Taito are just a few examples of two giants fusing to make one huge ass corporation and what's coming next. Who knows, maybe we'll see "Capkonami" and "Koei-Atlus-Level 5" or some sh1t like that soon.

[Mercutio]

JaPn has got better gameplay, every or most western games are FirstPerson. I HATE FIRST PERSON and imnot the only one, its soo ugly to see someone else for instance in HALO 3, the other players got crappy movements cos the devs didnt make effort or just couldnt make good character animations.