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Why Japan Was Surpassed By Western Devs

This article collects comments from numerous Japanese developers that have gone on record to say that Japan has fallen behind Western developers recently. The author asserts that because Japanese gamers don't like guns, they never embraced FPS games. And since FPS games pushed graphics technology, the Japanese missed out on the graphical revolution of the mid nineties for cultural reasons. Now as more and more PC devs are switching to consoles, Japanese devs, who have little experience with PC gaming, struggle to compete.

The article cites several Japanese developers' criticisms of Japanese trends in game design, but ends on a positive note by showing how Hideo Kojima's latest game, Metal Gear Solid 4 will incorporate many of the technologies that have made Western games successful, offering a ray of hope for fans of Japanese game design.

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donalbane - contributor
Published: 581 days 23 hours ago | Article | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii | Sony PSP | Nintendo DS | Mobile | Arcade | Xbox | PlayStation 2 | GameCube | Gaming | PC | Dev News

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Showing: 1 - 38 of 38 Comments

1 Vojkan | 581 days 23 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show

1.1 theKiller | 581 days 19 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show

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mikeslemonade - 581 days 15 hours ago

1.2 -

Why western games has seemed to be better lately is inherent to the 360 launching a year earlier. 360 is a western platform, and the Wii and PS3 are eastern at its core. Therefore 360 launching earlier means the western games had to finish earlier.

Many of the most anticipated western games have already been released where as the eastern games have just gotten started. For example Halo 3, Mass Effect, Bioshock, Resistance, Uncharted, Gears of War all have been released. The eastern games have barely gotten here with Gran Turismo being the only highly anticipated next gen games to make an introduction. All this only creates an illusion that western has surpassed eastern developers.

And the writers must have forgotten about the PSP and DS which are the true leading sellers in the gameing industry. And in the last few years i can argue that western gaming has seen no growth with the 360 just doing barely better than the original xbox and the PC sales have fallen greatly where as DS, PSP, PS2, and Wii have all done better than expected.

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LastDance - 581 days 14 hours ago

1.3 -

Both have ups and downs. Westerners all have idiot proof un individual controls and camera schemes. Yea i love how easy and intuitive COD4 is but i dont want all my games feeling the same.

I havent even played a next gen Eastern game yet...are there even that many out?? seems like most of them are in the works at the moment.

Japan is still king of the story line in my eyes.

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CRIMS0N_W0LF - 581 days 23 hours ago

2 - I know why people think that

Because Itagaki gives bad example to all asain developers

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Asurastrike - 581 days 22 hours ago

2.1 -

Itagaki really needs to update his game style. Save points, and no continues are so 90's.

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CRIMS0N_W0LF - 581 days 22 hours ago

2.2 -

its not his game style.

Let him do useless boob games but the problem is

HIS ATTITUDE

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socomnick - 581 days 22 hours ago

2.3 -

I actually like his attitude. His attitude differentiates him from other Japanese developers. It also works for Western developers look at cliffy b .

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Kleptic - 581 days 15 hours ago

2.4 -

^^what?...Cliffy B. is nothing like him...cliff just gets drunk all the time and takes playmates for 'rides' in his lambo...Itgaki is yet another japanese dev that says how 'the japanese are very modest' (Kojima is occasionally guilty of doing the same thing) then turning around and claiming no game is even in the same league as his own...

sorry...NG,NGB, and NG sigma were great...NG 2 will be great...but Dead or Alive and all the other sexual sports games that spun out of that franchise are next to worthless...when he criticizes other action games (namely Heavenly Sword for having God of War inspired mini-games) all he could say was how much better NG was...and yeah, his stuff doesn't show any modern action innovation...its just a fighting game where you fight random enemies in full environments rather than in an arena...thats not a bad thing...but the save system...the inventory...and everything else was out-dated 2 generations ago...

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criticalzero - 581 days 22 hours ago

3 - respect for Kojima

I have a lot of respect for Kojima. Not only cause of how great MGS is, but how much effort he takes into making his games. He has a very open mind. He is not an orthodox-Japanese game developer. He understands and accepts the good parts of the Japanese as well as the western tradition.

MGS series is probably the only Japanese game series I like...

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ruibing - 581 days 14 hours ago

3.1 -

Yeah, I think Japanese developers are simply more humble.

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OoLegendoO - 581 days 22 hours ago

4 -

Just wait until FF 13 comes out = )

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devilhunterx - 581 days 22 hours ago

5 -

Not all western developers are great either. Majority of the shovelware are made by western developers. Barbie Horse adventure anyone?

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BSigel81 - 581 days 22 hours ago

6 -

Do you guys remember when there was an article saying how Kojima was watching someone play COD4 to get some tips, but got sick and kept on trying just to learn something new. That shows how he is dedicated to bringing the best material to his fans. Much respect to Kojima

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kornbeaner - 581 days 22 hours ago

7 -

I really don't agree with the title this story.
Because both Western and Eastern devs have their strengths and weaknesses. Here in the west Graphics and Physics reign supreme, but in the east Style and Scope seem to be the order of the day, with Story being a stalement and greatly varied by the talents of the writers.

Out here (West) we have Gears, Resistance, Ratchet and Clank, Fable, Mass effect, Drake:uncharted, Call of Duty 4 plus PC great such as Starcraft, WoW, Fallout, Diablo, Doom, Quake and more, these series and games show off to great credit the strength of our devs.

Out East they have given us Okami, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Blue Dragon, Lost Odysee not to mention fighters that have never been riveled by any western dev, such as Street Fighter, Soul Calibur, Tekken, Viruta Figher and Dead or alive. And who can forget the Big daddy of them all Metal Gear more importantly Metal Gear Solid 4.

Both sides of the pond have their own skill set and have used it to great results, but I guess to make it a story somebody has to be a winner.

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donalbane - 581 days 21 hours ago

7.1 - Yeah...

You make a fair point. To be honest, I just thought to myself, "If the FPS genre moved the graphical ball forward, and if Japanese devs don't make a lot of FPS games, then maybe that explains this gap I've been hearing about so much lately... and from the Japanese themselves!" But I agree... I'd love to see the West adopt some of the techniques I see in Japanese titles like the sweeping, opulent cutscenes, and the premium many of the devs seem to place on absolutely perfect presentation. Itagaki, one of the great Japanese developers mentioned earlier in the thread, is one of these consummate perfectionists, and I love him for that. But shoot... DOA feels like a button mash compared to Tekken or Soul Calibur. Guess I'm more of a Namco-Bandai kinda' guy. But you can't knock Itagaki's aesthetics.

Sorry if the article came off as unnecessarily belligerent, but at the end of the day, the barrel must explode from time to time.

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Bellic Jr - 581 days 21 hours ago

8 - Ok I'm American

Did I miss something here? When the fuk did Western Devs Surpass Japan devs? Gears Of War is the only Super Hit we have. Mass Effect, Halo, Oblivion, Orange Box are all ok but they aint no master pieces.

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donalbane - 581 days 21 hours ago

8.1 -

I disagree with you about Oblivion. I can't think of a better game. And Mass Effect, while flawed, offered the most compelling human interaction I've ever seen in a game, which helps inspire all devs down the line. And every game on the Orange Box was a monumental human achievement. At the very least, you have to applaud Valve for their ability to convey highly emotional stories IN ENGINE, and their proficiency with physics and pacing.

You know what they say about opinions, though.

@

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Eclipticus - 581 days 19 hours ago

8.2 -

Gears of War, is hardly a masterpiece, in my opinion. :-)
To me, outside of Bioware: Mass Effect, KOTR, no company that isnot in the East, provides compelling stories. Something Japan developers heavily focus on, even if doesnt make sense. Here i think Story, take a backseat to graphics and technology.
but that is just my opinion, i might be wrong

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Kleptic - 581 days 15 hours ago

8.3 -

dude...Bethesda is king in the west in terms of stories...Oblivion, and wait for Fallout 3...Bioware has nothing on them...

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RiceFiend - 581 days 20 hours ago

9 -

"Japan Was Surpassed By Western Devs", quite the opposite actually. In my opinion, Japanese developers are more worried about content quality vs. western graphical quality. Nintendo clearly has made a cash cow out of the Nintendo Wii showing that are were more successful than their competitors in their strategy(innovation vs. technical improvement).

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Douglasp - 581 days 18 hours ago

10 - My 2 cents.

This story to me mostly refers to the amount of money western devs are making in todays world compare to 10 years ago. All that was in help due to FPS and great engines. Back in 97 what ruled the console earth. JRPG, fighting style of games, from street fighter to tekken, and all those Japanese devs where laughing at western devs saying ohhh look at them with their piss poor PC sales, quake, to diablo. FWD to today 2007 and up. What where the best selling games for PS3 and 360, HALO3, and COD4 where are the fighting games and jrpgs.?? And now in 2008 its so far GTA4. While the japan devs are still making money but they are no longer on top of the Console world. All that was in help of western PC style Engines. Now look how many companies have licensed and have already used the UT3 engine. Even Square Enix is using it. Just wait till MMO's are huge on consoles, we will see another gaming revolution (waiting for halo 4 MMO. Face it in todays world FPS rule the consoles market, just like when they where doing back 10 years ago on the PC market, is just that the pc market dollar by dollar can never compare to console market. Every genre has its times and for the 360 and ps3 is the FPS. While no genre will die completly, but no genre will stay on top forever.

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kornbeaner - 581 days 16 hours ago

10.1 -

I agree with all points that you pointed out in your post +bubbles.

P.S. what game is SquareEnix currently using the UT3 engine on? Cause I am unaware of one.

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Bacon - 581 days 15 hours ago

10.2 - @ kornbeaner

The Last Remnant will use Unreal Engine 3.
Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII will use Crystal Tools.

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Bacon - 581 days 15 hours ago

11 -

I'm American and I prefer games developed by the Japanese.

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Superfragilistic - 581 days 15 hours ago

11.1 -

I'm Australian and I prefer games from the UK (and Europe). :/

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mistertwoturbo - 581 days 15 hours ago

11.2 -

I'm American and just prefer any good games in general whether it's from The West, The UK, or Japan.

I just hope japanese developers stick to they're Japanese ways of developing or else we'll run out of variety in our games.

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Keowrath - 581 days 12 hours ago

11.3 -

Bacon, I agree. I'm from the UK but I'm a Japanese gamer and have been since the beginning of the Nineties. That's why 08 is looking to possibly one of the best years in gaming ever to me.

DMC4, MGS4, NG2, SC4, Streetfighter4, Bionic Commando, KoF 26 (or whatever number it's on now) RE 5, Tekken6, The Last Remnant and White Knight story. (Granted some of these titles may be delayed till 09) If all I was looking at was western games this year, I very much doubt I would have bothered at all with this generation.

Japan is the reason I'm the gamer I am today. When Japan stop making games, I stop being a gamer. Western devs seem to be all about FPS, thank god Japan never embraced the FPS genre otherwise every game would probably be FPS... For example, Fallout 3...

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12 Big Jim | 581 days 15 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show

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OC Shock Value - 581 days 15 hours ago

13 -

I would get some PS3 japanese rpgs if they would actually come out with one.

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The Wood - 581 days 13 hours ago

13.1 - dont worry

jrpgs come like english buses .............. in 2's and 3's. Im sure you can appreciate the time it takes to dev/convert an rpg

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mistertwoturbo - 581 days 13 hours ago

13.2 -

Yeah RPGs in general seem to take a long time to make. Heck, look at the PS2, there's friggin hundreds of RPGs filler titles that most people aren't even going to play.

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v1c1ous - 581 days 9 hours ago

13.3 - some are out right now

on 360 :D

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Horny Melon - 581 days 14 hours ago

14 - I think western developers have passed japan because of the following

Japan makes games that cater to japanese gamers. The characters are all androgynies, every plot line involves love, every plot line goes off on some tangent, every j-game has some insanely unrealistic unbeatable weapon/enemy, every j-game is linear and offers no character attachment , the fantasy worlds in thier RPGs are more like a bad acid trip than a well thought out developed environment.

Japan used to be the gaming mecha it's not anymore and japanese developers haven't come to terms with that yet.

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edonus - 581 days 14 hours ago

15 -

They didnt embrase the market, they tried to control it. Look at last gen, they milked the Ps2 with all the games from genres they had spear headed fighting games, platformers, and Jrpgs. Xbox is kinda like the trojan horse of PC games. They were trying to get online play set up, FPS, DLC, and adding action to RPGs. When you see the interviews they say Japan didnt like guns or the violence and stuff, but when you look at the movies being made that makes no sense. The facts support that they didnt try to support the games for reasons other than not interested, you cant be interested if you never look.

The West had always been looking at the Japanese dev for years and learning from them, look at RPGs now they have integrated skill systems class systems and level up systems based off of the most traditional of JRPGs, Kotor, Mass Effect for example they also learned how to integrate a story. Now they are telling complex tales that are easy to follow, meaning a better understanding, meaning a better connection with the game. If they ever start using some of the things they learn from western dev they can probably make some great things too.

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The Wood - 581 days 14 hours ago

16 - good article though i dont totally agree

modesty is the Eastern way the majority of the time. Some aspects of gaming may of been passed by Western developers but they have totally disregarded the influence of their own work on the Western devs. This just makes me think on the graphics vs gameplay level. Games will need more than just great graphics to be considered a truly great game and maybe some of the Eastern devs dont focus enough on graphics but of this gen the games most people pine after are from the East. I suppose its down to the individual as always. I can gaurantee you this article could be flipped with Western devs saying how they feel they are yet to reach the the greatness of their Eastern counterparts if the same question were asked. One thing is for certain though. Eastern devs have raised their game and the technical bar in many aspects just not every aspect.

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Avto - 581 days 12 hours ago

17 -

This article is just a point of view and a wrong one at that, Japanese devs have better graphics I mean look at MGS4 the level of detail is worth both Gears and Resistance together SE RPG look almost CGI, GT5P looks better than any other racing game and FFVII CC is second only to GOW on PSP. There devs are just modest about their work, while western devs brag a lot.

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The Wood - 581 days 12 hours ago

17.1 - yep

ive heard a couple eastern devs brag also but on the whole their just more modest and talk less about over devs. That comment about R+C was a bit annoying though (mario guy i think) and the same with that ninja gaiden guy about H sword and devil may cry (if nothing was misinterpreted or lost in translation) but again on the whole I agree with ya

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1 AngryXbot | 581 days 10 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show

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donalbane - 581 days 7 hours ago

2 - If you think that Kojima and his cohorts are wrong...

...then you've horribly contradicted yourself about how awesome the Japanese developers are. What? Did you just read the title and respond without having read the article?

This was meant to illuminate Kojima's recent statements, which are being echoed by numerous other Japanese devs from a variety of game houses. If you click on the red text scattered in the article, you'll see that the Japanese devs feel that they've lost the lead in using high end graphics. And I wholeheartedly disagree that the Japanese make the best games.

Tell you what... if you find a Westerd gaming legend that says "The Japanese have surpassed us in graphics," I'll write one about that.

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RAM MAGNUMS - 581 days 6 hours ago

3 - This is a Trick?!?

The Japanese are ninja developers they say something & do something else. They always invent a new style of gaming & im pretty sure that the recent words spoken from japanese developers are to keep the spies guessing on what is the next game so that nobody can steal the idea, rush it to the market & whether the game is good or bad recieve praise for being innovative. Just like a company I know of that practices in dirty business. Yeah thats right microsoft I'm talking about you!

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