Question of the Day, May 22, 2010

[The Escapist Staff]

Question of the Day, May 22, 2010



Game developers often design their games for specific audiences and tweak when trying to appeal to other demographics. Nier is the latest game to feature two different protagonists: one for Japanese consumers, and the other for European and American consumers. Do you think games should completely change fundamental characters in order to appeal to their target audiences?

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[Dragon_of_red]

Sure, as long as its done well. Not a shoddy job.

The one done in Nier is quite well done, and it slotted in well with the story.

 

[FactualSquirrel]

I think it should be done if the developer wants to and if it doesn't kill the game, if it does then it's pointless.

 

[rees263]

It really depends what they do I guess. I haven't played Nier but I don't think I'd have been bothered to find out that my protagnist was different to the one they got in Japan, provided the rest of the game was the same. It's a shame there's no real way to find out what the difference in sales and customer satisfaction would have been had we all got the Japanese guy. Personally I don't think anyone would have cared.

There is that thing where they alter the difficulty for different audiences or perhaps otherwise alter the content, and while I don't know too much about it myself I gather some people have been quite annoyed that they got a "dumbed down" version.

 

[JEBWrench]

Of course. It ought to help sell more copies of the game.

 

[Kaltazraza]

As long as it doesn't end in something horribly pink and shiny.

 

[GundamSentinel]

Nier proves it can be done, but developers should be careful when trying to do it. It can ruin the story and be less appealing to people who are actually looking to play the game in its original (say, Japanese) setting. Not to mention, there are people out there who actually like the creepy bishonen protagonists...

But sure, I'd like to see different versions of of the same game. Would be very interesting to see how they turn out.

 

[Two Angels]

Games, just like any other product, need to be adapted for their target market so that they can appeal to a wider audience and work in different markets.

 

[Kaymish]

i dont see a problem with it its just a way to sell games and thats what the devlopers are in it for right however the dev's need to be sure they are not making a shoddy product out of a good one

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Depends on the game, really. For Nier, the change fit.

 

[Me55enger]

It is not financially comprehensible.

A game, book, film, TV show, porn film must appeal to the widest target audience it possibly possibly can.

Remember their primary objective: Making money.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

I said "it depends on the game," but I really feel like it depends on the reason. Nier was fine, but there wasn't a very good reason to change it. Bethesda or whoever, on the other hand, changing Fallout 3 so that it would be released in Australia was a good reason.

 

[drkchmst]

I think Nier suffered some from having an old main character in a midlife crisis just for american and european audiences.

 

[Scobie]

DELETED

 

[Yamikotai]

I want to play the character which will best complement and fit in to the story. So, for the most part - no.

 

[Archemetis]

It's a bit of a cop out answer, but it does depend on the game.

Obviously some games you'll want the one character or setting or story to be set in stone.
But of course like Nier when it comes to what the audience may prefer, then yeah it's totally acceptable.

However I don't like the idea of the choice being made without the audience's input.
A better way to maybe handle it is to put both characters in the game and let the player choose which one they'd prefer to play as.
Sure it'd take up disc space and cost twice as much in voice acting and you'd need a few little differences in script and visuals but if you've already decided t sit down and revise your lead character simply so the audience will be comfortable playing as them then you won't mind spending a little bit more for the full experience and element of choice.

 

[neoontime]

I guess they should if it's what they think will sell more games

 

[Lucane]

I said depends, but if it ever happens to every game the it'll be the end of cultural diversity if everyone uses characters that are popular in certain regions.

 

[-Torchedini-]

It already happens. Every game is made with a target audience in mind.
So everybody who voted no wants games that aren't on the market

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

With videogames being big business nowadays, it's only logical that serious developers would make videogames for their intended audience, not just because they think it's a cool idea.

Still, as I said in the Nier thread, it's better to just focus on making a good game than to worry about how cool the protagonist is or isn't.