Capcom Producer: Japanese Industry Has No "Hope in Hell"

[John Funk]

Capcom Producer: Japanese Industry Has No "Hope in Hell"

Jun Takeuchi, producer of Lost Planet 2 [http://www.gamefly.com/game/ps3/Resident-Evil-5/124710/], thinks that his native games industry needs to evolve or perish.

Jun Takeuchi may have just shipped a game, but the Capcom producer had some harsh words for his countrymen. When games mag Xbox World 360 asked Takeuchi if he thought the Japanese industry could catch up to an increasingly-dominant Western development scene, the RE5 boss gave a grim answer.

"If the Japanese games industry doesn't evolve and simply maintains its current status quo, I really don't think we have a hope in hell," said Takeuchi. "Drastically innovative ideas are needed - and quickly - to equal or exceed the Western games industry."

This seems to echo remarks made by fellow Capcom star Keiji Inafune, who at last year's Tokyo Game Show said he thought the Japanese games industry was "finished" [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95024-Inafune-Japanese-Game-Industry-is-Finished]: "Personally when I looked around [at] all the different games at the TGS floor ... I said 'Man, Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished.'"

One has to wonder if Takeuchi is also pointing fingers at himself: Regardless of what you want to say about quality, neither Resident Evil 5 nor Lost Planet 2 were particularly "innovative."

(CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=246736])

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[Julianking93]

They seem to be doing just fine to me.

There are plenty of little emo kids in the world who still play the shit out of JRPGs.

 

[Jark212]

That's a pretty grim view. The Japanese gaming industry will do fine as long as Japanese gamers don't demand new ideas, Japan is after all the largest consumer of Japanese games...

 

[Thaius]

I will admit that the Japanese industry is not exactly movie forward, but I think JRPGs are still a valid genre, not aged and outdated. I would hate to see them die.

 

[archvile93]

They'll be fine as long as they have pokemon.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

They seem to be doing just fine to me.

There are plenty of little emo kids in the world who still play the shit out of JRPGs.

I think the same but it MUST look better from this side of the pond, we've been hearing this from a lot of people lately and keep in mind that Square, Konami, Nintendo and Capcom consider themselves International Studios, not specifically Japanese Studios hence "they" don't count in the "Japanese Game Industry is Dying" discussion.

I'm thinking the general assertion of "massive innovation needed" comes from the fact that many Core Japanese Devs are bound by old fashioned ideas about how to make a game (JRPG's for example) and refuse to move on from concepts and ideas that are so 1999. As well many Japanese Devs have had trouble adapting to Next-Gen technology and have been putting out substandard products or games for old systems rather than moving into the new gen.

 

[Proteus214]

In some ways it's true. The market is so saturated with games that are unlike anything that comes out of Japan, that it has almost become a niche appeal. 15-20 years ago, almost the opposite could be said. I guess their "style" is just not what's popular.

 

[GiantRedButton]

It's interesting that capcom says that.
I think they are the only ones who get it right, they even managed to revive the 2d fighters and did a great pc version of SF4.
Thats right a japanese developrer that can code or pc.
The jrpgs are pretty stagnant, really annoys me because I used to be a big fan, but i have a rather big backlog, for example ff9

 

[Jack and Calumon]

May I bring Metal Gear to the table?

Calumon: Can I bring Demons Souls?

 

[AboveUp]

Creating too many games starring overly angsty protagonists has started having quite the effect on Japan's elite in the gaming industry, wouldn't you say?

I'm quite afraid what's going to happen with the western gaming industry now...

 

[Jared]

They keep saying it but there is little visible change.

Although his words echo those of SE nit too long ago

 

[Gindil]

Gaijin Smash - anytime a Westerner exerts inherent dominance over the Japanese people.

I believe it has finally been acknowledged. The Japanese people have shuffled their feet long enough and their RPGs have been shown lacking. With sheer will and ingenuity, we have broken their will.

Gaijin Smash!

 

[SamuelT]

They seem to be doing just fine to me.

There are plenty of little emo kids in the world who still play the shit out of JRPGs.

Right, what I'm about to say might come off as a bit jerkish. Do note that it isn't meant to be like that.

Is there a reason you rage on emo's so much? I've seen, and heard, you're quick to call them out.

 

[Julianking93]

They seem to be doing just fine to me.

There are plenty of little emo kids in the world who still play the shit out of JRPGs.

Right, what I'm about to say might come off as a bit jerkish. Do note that it isn't meant to be like that.

Is there a reason you rage on emo's so much? I've seen, and heard, you're quick to call them out.

I didn't think I did it that much.

I don't rage on them though, I just make fun of them. There's a difference

If I raged about them, I would be legitimately pissed off at the very existence of emo kids. I just think it's funny that there are these whiny little kids who have perfectly good lives, yet sit around complaining about how they only feel pain and misery.

 

[NiPah]

God you trolls are annoying, you don't like JRPGs, we get it, you obsess over their flaws and insult those who play them more then a homophobic redneck before they come out of the closet.

Go back to your counsels and play the games you do like, don't feel the need to insult the ones we like.

 

[Cody211282]

They seem to be doing just fine to me.

There are plenty of little emo kids in the world who still play the shit out of JRPGs.

Right, what I'm about to say might come off as a bit jerkish. Do note that it isn't meant to be like that.

Is there a reason you rage on emo's so much? I've seen, and heard, you're quick to call them out.

I'm going to go ahead and answer this for myself, because emos are the most annoying group to kids you will ever run into, all they do is sit around and complain about their completely average life being so horrible and they have probably never had something all that bad happen to them, that and they wear girl pants, and there is just something wrong with that. Also being "nonconformist" by wearing all black and shopping at hot topic isn't nonconformist, it's just conformist to a different group.