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330°

The Decline of the Japanese Gaming Industry. Is It a Reality?

GameDynamo - "The Japanese gaming industry has been getting a lot of flak as of late. First, we've had the creator of Mega Man himself, Keiji Inafune, publicly stating that Japan has lost its fighting spirit. After that, Team Coloblind's Ben Ruiz flat out called modern Japanese games trash. And, just recently, we have Hideo Kojima, the man behind the Metal Gear Solid series, criticizing Japanese games in general.

All of these arguments hold the same criticisms: that Japan has lost its creative spark. That the industry there now only appeals to a small minority, rather than a larger, worldwide audience. And for each person that has spoken out about this issue, they have received a serious backlash from their peers and gamers alike.

The truth is, however, is that those men are actually right."

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Community4440d ago
Godmars2904440d ago

More like its inability to establish itself on HD consoles.

Shivan4440d ago (Edited 4440d ago )

theres really no need to.......not when handhelds are the most popular systems worldwide.....

its like saying the west cant establish itself on handhelds.........

it isnt true.........but thats what moron article writers think

@below

I am not sure what your trying to say. I am not sure whether your agreeing with me or not. Because both things are false generalizations

plenty of western companies put great things on handhelds, and plenty of japanese devs put great things on consoles

fyi there is no such thing as a "ps2 or ps1" level game. Hell it doesnt even mean anything

Godmars2904440d ago (Edited 4440d ago )

And yet where you get cases where JP devs have thoroughly pretty much embarrassed themselves trying to put out a PS2 or even PS1 level game on the PS3 or 360, Western Devs like ID and Epic often insult handhelds by saying they're not worth their time. Then turn around and make the most basic of games on the iPad.

And yes, while they may look good, the gameplay is as basic as you can get. It just that because it looks good, that somehow makes the game mechanics just as advanced. It doesn't.

Edit:
Agreeing with you, just pointing out that like with my broad statement towards JP Devs and HD consoles, there are exceptions. The Western examples I give for handheld aversions are just in the high-profiled minority.

Also, look up the Zoids STG for the 360. Another one with werewolves and vampires in WWII. You'll see what I mean by "PS2 or PS1" level games. Cheap titles that had little more than the shallowest of HD facelifts.

miyamoto4440d ago (Edited 4440d ago )

budget, budget, budget
geo politics. geo politics, geo politics,
Buy American, Buy American, Buy American campaign
globalization, globalization, globalization
USAF, USAF, USAF, USAF, USAF
Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft,
Apple, Apple, Apple

Poor Japan they gave birth to modern video games, nurtured it into a billion dollar industry worldwide only for deep pocketed American bullies to take over it. But yes Japan has some faults to it has succumbed to to America and did not even give up a fight.

Godmars2904440d ago

More like Americans game birth to video games, promptly ran the fledgling industry into the ground with a low investment/high profit mentality which Japan saved in their post-industrial period. Now Americans are back in the driver seat and more than anything exploitation seems to be coming back as well.

miyamoto4440d ago

but given America's man-handling of Japan I am not a bit surprised.
Even their almighty car export industry has been hit by America's bullying.

NYC_Gamer4440d ago

Japanese developers have failed to catch up with the HD gen of gaming.That's why many of them have moved over to handhelds.

OmegaSlayer4440d ago

Poorly written article.

First, there's Japan-phobia.
The new youth don't like Japanese characters anymore (manga/anime lover are considered awkward people nowadays)

Second, Japan wants to westernize their products ending up in disappointing that little fanbase they had left.

RedDead4440d ago

We're considered Awkward nowadays...dayum

Bimkoblerutso4440d ago (Edited 4440d ago )

It's much more likely that this has to do with the rampant xenophobia that still plagues Japan these days. It is an OPEN and well-documented fact that Japan as a culture, dislikes any outside cultural influence whatsoever.

I don't mean that they need to cater to Western cultures, but aside from the "big" developers like Capcom and SquareEnix that blatantly attempt to emulate western identities (and usually fail), the large majority of Japanese developers are still creating games that appeal SOLELY to native Japanese gamers and/or the now niche otaku culture we have here in the Americas and Europe.

The thing is, here in America and Europe, we have our tropes (like space shooters and the brown color palette), but our culture is so open and diverse that we hit pretty much every end of the spectrum of creativity. We have big, stupid shooters like CoD, but then we also have an incredibly large collection of more artistically driven art-house games...and just about everything in between.

So just compare the Western market -- a market that can offer something to just about everyone -- to the majority of the Japanese market -- that appeals to a much, much smaller and very specific group of people. I don't think the Western market has anything to feel bad about, to be perfectly honest.

knifefight4440d ago

"The truth is, however, is that "

This article is putting on a journalism clinic. What an awesome sentence.

Shivan4440d ago (Edited 4440d ago )

Sorry, but this article is 100 percent ridiculous and half truthed

just like japanese devs say there thing, plenty of western devs say the same thing about the west

And your going to talk to me about lack of innovation? Thats what the west majors in. And thats what your asking japan to do? no thanks

You talk about how japanese rpgs are in a rut, and then you bring up skyrim.

Didnt 38 say all bethesda games are exactly the same?

didnt they?

"It was a Japanese game, but it didn't strictly feel like one, because it had such an original premise, an engaging story, and spectacular gameplay. Developed by the same team behind Persona 4, it wasn't made just with the Japanese audience in mind, but rather for all audiences of all regions to enjoy."

this is just complete BS I cant even deal with that

So the next time peter M calls the west nothing but generic riskless entities, or kojima, who insults the west far more than japan says something. Dont post half truths

this article is an abomination

This article does nothing but generalize, lie, mis represent opinon, and give half truths........ you say all japanese rpgs are like that? Then I say all western rpgs use a realistic style are all action rpgs, and only allow you tyo control a single character see what happens when you generalize? you sound like a moron This writer should be fired flat out today

now lets look at the top games of last year really skyward sword was the best game of the year flat out. The best rpgs all came out of japan pokemon black white was the highest selling rpg and wonderful then you have trails, disgaea, radiant historia, tales of xillia and others, and what does the west have? the same generic stuff

SJPFTW4438d ago (Edited 4438d ago )

LOL looks like we got a fanboy here. Japan is no longer leading the way in gaming innovation. whats so innovative about any of those games you listed? thats the problem japan is sticking with the same formula since ever, while western DEVs are leading the way in innovations in story telling, graphics, immersion, gameplay etc etc

seriously compare mass effect, uncharted, LA noire, BF3 etc to any of those japanese games. not even close

Tuxedo_Mask4440d ago

While Japanese games may not be as popular in the West as they used to be, I'd argue that every developer has their own faults. Bethesda may have made a great game in Skyrim, but it gets repetitive and the game launched with major glitches.

I'd like to see some of the more exclusive Japanese games come Westward, but their developers don't release them because they don't think people in the West would like them. A lack of creativity is a problem all over the world though, the difference is that what is known to work in the West is being done by the West and what is known to work in Japan is being done there. And in my opinion "Game of the Year" awards are useless and not definitive of whether a game is good or not.

Shivan4440d ago

I appreciate your point but it isnt true.

In every gen there are titles that are not localized. It has nothing to do with what people think.

Its just the way it is.......

Tuxedo_Mask4440d ago (Edited 4440d ago )

This is one instance that backs me up, although it has more to do with making a game in general. An example of localizing specifically is Namco with their Tales of series, although hopefully that is changing.

http://www.siliconera.com/2...

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60°

Interview on Fallout 4 with the Actor for Nick Valentine, Codsworth & Mr Handy (Stephen Russell)

Interview with Stephen Russell, Actor for (Nick Valentine, Codsworth, My Handy) in Fallout 4 which is a vast open world role playing game set in the apocalyptic wastes of Boston, the Commonwealth. The career goes further with other Bethesda games from Starfield to Prey to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

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90°

10 Weirdest Video Games of All Time

Plenty of unforgettable games have completely messed up their players throughout the years, all the way back from the PS1 days to the dark recesses of the modern internet.

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JonTheGod30d ago

Why are the Katamari games not on the list??

70°

I'm Replaying Skyrim (again), and So Should You

Replaying Skyrim after 13 years is a reminder of the progress made in western RPGs over the last decade, but also what's been lost.

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anast43d ago

I tried, but it's a poorly made game that insults its customers.

lucian22943d ago

nah, only mods make it decent, and even then it's bad, and this is after i modded for at least 3 years

Nittdarko43d ago

Funnily enough, I'm about to play it for the first time in VR with 1000 mods to make the game playable, as is the Bethesda way