Kojima and Mikami speak out about the Japanese gaming industry
This generation has seen the Japanese gaming industry fall further behind the North American and European gaming industries. This is typified with the likes of Pro Evolution Soccer being beaten annually in terms of sales and quality by FIFA, should Japanese developers start to worry?
It doesn’t stop there. Most of the best major RPG’s, once a Japanese developers speciality, are now made either in Europe or North America. Oblivion, Fable, Fallout, Dragon Age and Mass Effect all now take a huge portion of the RPG market. In terms of raw power, again, Japanese developers are losing their grip. Uncharted, Gears of War and Killzone produce the best graphics on console and they are all made by Western developers. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Gran Turismo 5 are really the only games that can compete.
The problem is that Japanese developers struggle to make games for the modern Western gamer. Final Fantasy XIII was adapted to appeal to the western audience, but was met by lacklustre reviews. Even the attempt at a Gears of War clone that was Quantum Theory ended up being diabolical. Gran Turismo 5, although sold well, failed to move with the times. Its aged menus and GT mode coupled with a poor executed online mode meant that Forza overtook it before Polyphony realised what hit them. Capcom have even let Ninja Theory make their latest Devil May Cry in an attempt to kick-start the series and appeal more to the west.
In an interview with PSM3, Hideo Kojima had this to say when asked about the Japanese gaming industry. “One thing about Japan – and this isn’t just games – is that things that are made in Japan are very much targeted at Japan, whether it’s games, movies or novels. It’s the curse of Japan. My generation is now being exposed to a wide range of influences, that’s why what I want to make is a little bit more in tune with what the people in the west would like”. He went on to say, “I really like the things that are being made in the west. When I come to shows like E3 and see the announcements and go to Comic-Con, I love all the presentations, so really I’ve been thinking maybe I was born in the wrong country!”
Recently at GDC, Phil Fish (indie developer, Polytron) openly stated that all Japanese games suck. In another interview with PSM3, Shinji Mikami was asked about this comment. “I hadn’t heard about that! To be told that Japanese games suck is a bit harsh, but personally, 80% of the games I Play at the moment are not Japanese. Skyrim, Batman… games like that are more interesting to me right now. Japan need to make more good games to make people think otherwise”.
Two people that have played major roles in the Japanese gaming industry acknowledge that Japan needs to adapt. They need to make their games more suited for the West to avoid being overshadowed by Western gaming developers. Next gen is around the corner and probably the best time to start a turn around
Thank the Lord that Nintendo is not a Japanese company. Because that company has produced some games this generation that actually outsold Call of Duty and many of the games available on the HD twins – check Wii Sports, Wii Fit numbers if you don’t believe it. No other Western game has sold nearly 80 million units on a single console.
And including Nintendo in this theory that claims that the Japanese industry sucks, would just ruin things. Wouldn’t it?
Sure it would.
So therefore, lets ignore Nintendo and pretend they’re not Japanese.
@MisterED. You are entirely right about Nintendo. Nintendo are very good at making games that appeal to the west. But my article shows that Japan, overall, are losing their grip in the gaming industry. I didnt go into what sells well from japan because this isn’t s comparison article, it’s a article to highligh the problems and show that gaming companies in the west are starting to overshadow japan.
A lot of people love japanese games and I get that. Most of us that write for GC like Japanese games. But do we want japanese games to be a thing of the past?
But why are Japanese devs trying to emulate Western companies and their games? It has not really worked with what either Mikami or Suda 51 have done. I mean Vanquish and Shadows of the Damn and even Lollipop Chainsaw despite giving them some respectable revenue, didn’t even come close to the sales numbers that the popular Western games that they admire so much earn in the West. Granted, Suda 51′s games never really make it big. Now, the thing to notice here is, that catering to the West in a more open fashion, didn’t really change that. Outside of some circles (his fans both in the industry and among niche gamers).
Yet they forget about Nintendo. How is it that this company can still put out their usual fare (Mario, Kid Icarus, Pokemon, etc.) along with their casual stuff that is less iconic (such as Wii Sports, Wii Fit), and they still manage to sell their games by the millions? Popular mascots don’t sell games by themselves BTW, just ask SEGA and their close to being irrelevant main mascot. There is obviously more to it. They should also take note about the fact that Nintendo games seem to work both in Japan, the US and many other countries around the world.
So why don’t these Japanese companies look into what Nintendo is doing, and apply that strategy to what they’re doing? Because imitating western devs such doesn’t seem like is working for anybody but western devs.
Now, IMO one big factor as to why most Japanese are falling behind, is because videogame making is starting to become like making feature films. In terms of budget and scope. It’s starting to become like Hollywood (well it has already). Japanese companies, just like most of the film industries outside of Hollywood, cannot keep up with the US. Films like The Avengers can only be financed and made in the US and only this country has the machinery in place to make sure that such films have a big impact across the world. Just like Call of Duty with the millions Activision spends promoting it.
Film industries outside of Hollywood barely make a dent in the world scene. There are noticeable exceptions alright. Some ‘foreign’ films do make it big, but then Hollywood quickly grabs and remakes them with popular actors. To make sure people across the world can digest them ‘properly’.
And this makes me feel that Japanese companies, just like their movie industry, will equally have some minor hits here and there. But they will not be able to keep up, if their strategy is to beat the West at their game. They just can’t. I don’t think so.
Sorry for the rant, but looking at my collection of games (dates back to the SNES, PSX), the great majority of them were made by the Japanese. So it bothers me that suddenly Japanese games are a dying species or something. Just saying “Japanese games SUCK” sure doesn’t help the situation. Especially when the guy who made that comment, has no problems imitating classic Japanese games (FEZ) and then complaining that modern games are not as good.
But the reality is, that modern Japanese games simply have been overshadowed with games that cater to casuals/mainstream consumers. The ones that nailed it in terms of what most modern gamers want (it gives them games that compensates for their inner feeling that their manhood is a thing of mere fantasy – like big explosions, gunning and running, being able to throw racial/homophobic slurs at other “bros” online and a ton of eye candy, especially in the cutscenes). If the Japanese want to take that same road, then they will die out. They just cannot win against Western devs at doing all that. So they have to take a different approach. Again, they should look at Nintendo and copy their strategy. Something close to it.
They don’t necessarily need to emulate Western games but they need to compete with them. Nintendo games aren’t your typical japanese games and thats why they could be sucessful.
Hollywood style films are possible outside of the US. Quantic Dream and Guerilla Games to name a few companies that have produced hollywood style games. Metal Gear Solid is also another example and thats made by kojima productions, a Japanese company. But I don’t think this is the problem.
I think Japan can keep it’s identity and compete with the west. It will be interesting how japanese developers respond next gen.
On the other hand, it could be that Japanese creators are generally creating games that are more suited towards their audiences, which are Japanese.
There are many games which are seen in the west as failures, yet over there are successes. Take for example the Sengoku Musou series, in the west, it is seen as a game which has failed to move with the times, yet their prime target, the east, loves it. Bayonetta as well, a massive hit over there, bombed in the west and ended up in the bargain bins here, even though it was a very accomplished and highly enjoyable game.
Monster hunter portable 3rd, a brilliant game which is pretty hardcore isn’t even being released in the west because of the sales figures seen in the west, again, in the east, its a massive cult hit that.
JRPGs are also a completely different beast to western RPGs. Whilst in the west, the games are more geared towards player choice where the player is left in a sandbox environment and can do what they want. Japanese RPGs are a more story driven experience that is a lot more linear though can be a much more defined experience.
Mascots aren’t always the way forward, they don’t just appear out of thin air either and aren’t easy to just create. Mascots are something that need to a smash hit out of the box that is appreciated by everyone. If every company could create a Mario clone, don’t you think they would? think of the money!