Japanese Game Industry Insiders Blame Endless Sequels for Declining Sales

[Greg Tito]

Japanese Game Industry Insiders Blame Endless Sequels for Declining Sales

The Japanese game industry has shrunk over the last three years and the creators of Kirby and Yakuza think that the lack of new ideas is to blame.

The West used to look at Japan as the paragon of business-saavy but now it appears that the Japanese videogame industry is in a deep slump. Enterbrain, publisher of the Japanese game magazine Famitsu, reported today that consumer in the island nation bought 493 billion yen worth of videogames and consoles in 2010. That's $5.9 billion for you non-natives and non-mathematically inclined and that translates to a 9 percent decline from 2009, marking the third consecutive year of shrinkage. The question is: Why? Is it just the world economy or is there something rotten in the state of Japan? Masahiro Sakurai, designer of most Kirby games and the upcoming Kid Icarus, on the 3DS and Toshihiro Nagoshi, producer of the original Shenmue game and the Yakuza series, think that there needs to be a shift away from endless sequels.

"Looking at the industry as a whole," Sakurai said, "I feel like it's getting harder than ever to find something really new out there. Original properties are far less common than once upon a time, and I think this era we're in with strong franchises going on for ages and ages has lasted too long."

"There are some new properties coming that I'm looking forward to, but I don't think anyone's expecting them to become instant hits any longer," Nagoshi said. "That's a bad thing, really, the fact there's zero chance of success with new titles. We need more successes along those lines, more people thinking 'If that publisher can hit it big with this sort of thing, then I bet we can do it, too!'"

"I think ideas like that are what we need more of in the game industry right now," said Sakurai. "Relying so much on this steady line of games and sequels is something that needs to change. We're at the point where both gamers and devs expect that if a game sells, a sequel's inevitable."

Sakurai thinks that so many sequels is keeping new gamers from picking up the hobby. "If you haven't played a game series, then you can't fully enjoy the sequels, and that trend makes games less accessible than other forms of entertainment. It'd be nice if we could do something about that to give games more common accessibility."

Source: 1up [http://www.1up.com/news/japan-game-industry-hoping-2011]

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[WanderingFool]

Oh Dear God... I think he is on to something.

*Looks at Activision & Capcom*

 

[Dr. wonderful]

So now it's inverse with new gaming properties?

I'll also like to say, I enjoy the Dragon quest series and would love to have them again.

 

[Xander_VJ]

Western developers can be blamed too for... well... every single thing they say!

 

[Bretty]

Really.......?

Haven't we all been telling them this for over a yaer now?

 

[SageRuffin]

Looks like Japan has a different mindset when it comes to the overall business model of game development. Do keep in mind that this is purely conjecture and I could be completely wrong.

One of the few times I actually paid attention and agreed with Extra Credits was when they were answering a question about why most games seem to be the same these days (or something like that). To paraphrase what I think is an obvious answer, why experiment with a new IP that has a strong chance of flopping (especially in today's society and economy) when you can stick to what everyone recognizes and be guaranteed at least equal payback? No payback for a new IP, less of a chance the developer will try something new again, less "new" games to play.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Well yes sequels can be bad but new ips aren't always better. I think the problem most people find if they haven't really tried playing a lot of different Japanese games especially JRPGs they see no innovation or difference between them. Since people on this site always associate FF with JRPGs I may as well do it for my post. FF is one game that from the single player games there is a staggering variety of different spins and variations and evolutions in the system over the years(ATB system). Some of which have been dropped(Junction and Draw) or phased out but still there in ways(job system). While others are still evolving(Sphere/License Grid). While the general story premise is very similar I think gameplay wise there has been innovation but what they really need is just something completely new to rejuvenate it in the eyes of gamers.

 

[Slaanax]

I dunno, if its the lack of new titles, but it might have to do with lack of updated game play. I started play Star Ocean : the last hope. It's fun but it just feels older than 2009 game, plus it's incredibly cheesy feel good story. Plus the one character Meracle outfit makes me feel uncomfortable looking at her, feels like I should be carted away for possessing child pron. The point is the games need updated they just feel old and out of place.

 

[GonzoGamer]

So the guy who made Yakuza 4 thinks everyone (else?) should stop making endless sequels?

He should work for Fox News.

 

[Sir Prize]

I think that this is an understable issue. As SageRuffin has said there's less chance of a flop with a sqeuel than there is with something new, so of course designers will keep making what they know best. It's not just an issue in Japan, but a far amount of the gaming industry because new games and companies generally do not get as much attention.

 

[Tim Latshaw]

So sequels are the reason for lower sales, yet the highest-selling games over there are titles like DragonQuest IX, Pokemon Black and White and Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. That sort of puts developers between a rock and a hard place. A hard place that prints money.

Just to ponder: Could it be possible that there are simply too many companies and games out there at the moment? That there's only so much time and money to go around and this is a natural shrinkage given the period we're currently in? People may naturally go with what they know and love--and companies happy to cater to them--until there's a period when people feel more willing to explore.

 

[Chameliondude]

Really.... Because mario has done so badly over the last few years

Also: Uncharted 3, Resistance 3, Killzone 3, Grand turismo 5, new Cod, mass effect 2/3, The ICO collection (rerelease) are the games im hopefully getting next year, because i trust the devs to make a good game.

I can see how it might put of new buyers, but it keeps the existing ones.

 

[Anti-Robot Man]

While I agree that there should be more original games, game sequels are generally vastly better than film sequels. Film sequels almost as a rule are worse than the original, and suffer from the narrative problem mentioned of not being clued in on what you missed in the previous instalment.

Videogame sequels are very different, usually building upon and improving on what made the previous game good (helped alot by the fast rate of improvement in computer technology). Story is rarely an issue, but generally where it is, such as Mass Effect 2 they provide enough exposition to catch newcomers up. For most popular series plot is almost wholly irrelevant, or not ongoing (Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, Bomberman, Call of Duty, almost any fighting or racing game and of course all sports titles). Financially as well, developing an entirely new, untested IP is very expensive.

Shoddy, rushed sequels (Force Unleashed 2 for example) are bad for everyone, but sequels in general are a good thing in the games industry - something that it can take pride in when compared to Hollywood.

 

[GiantRaven]

And erm...exactly how many Kirby games are there? Not that I'm complaining mind you because they're the first things I want if I ever get a Wii.

I would love more original games but I would wager that the opposite of this is actually true, people are far more likely to part with their hard-earned cash to a known quantity rather than an unknown one (hell I know I do at the very least).

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Hm...I can see both sides here. On the one hand, I enjoy when my favorite games have sequels. See Xenosaga, Suikoden, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Half-Life, etc. Can you tell I like my series games? Having played the first game, then seeing characters (or events) from that game transfer over into the next game is something I really enjoy. Coming across the Hero from Suikoden in Suikoden II and then being able to play with him is one of my all time favorite video game memories.
On the other hand, churning out sequels over and over, while passing by great new ideas, is bad business sense. At least for me it is. A story eventually has to end. Characters need to come to their ending points, plots need to be wrapped out, and quests need to be closed. Injecting new blood is normally a good idea.

 

[Sevre]

Just to ponder: Could it be possible that there are simply too many companies and games out there at the moment? That there's only so much time and money to go around and this is a natural shrinkage given the period we're currently in? People may naturally go with what they know and love--and companies happy to cater to them--until there's a period when people feel more willing to explore.

Well then you have to ask yourself, do you want to compromise on your choice to give the gaming industry more money? Plenty of great games are coming from new companies (Look at Torchlight), if there were less companies, then you'd have less choice in what to buy.

Personally I think he's half-right in blaming sequels. Sequels are a great gateway to gaming for games like CoD, but at the same time, will inhibit people from getting into certain games. JRPGs fall into this category, many people fear picking up a JRPG before its prequel because they are mainly story driven.

 

[Busdriver580]

No shit

 

[Madmanonfire]

Yeah, we could use a lot less Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
Especially Dragon Quest.

 

[Dioxide20]

*cough* Square Enix *cough* FF13 plus all the random offshoots on FF7 *cough*

No game needs 13+ sequels/parallel stories. From what I understand of the Final Fantasy games, its more of a style of rpg, and not direct sequels, but still, that's ridiculous.

 

[Tim Latshaw]

Just to ponder: Could it be possible that there are simply too many companies and games out there at the moment? That there's only so much time and money to go around and this is a natural shrinkage given the period we're currently in? People may naturally go with what they know and love--and companies happy to cater to them--until there's a period when people feel more willing to explore.

Well then you have to ask yourself, do you want to compromise on your choice to give the gaming industry more money? Plenty of great games are coming from new companies (Look at Torchlight), if there were less companies, then you'd have less choice in what to buy.

If I was King of the World, I would give all companies all the means necessary to produce every game they could and spark a digital renaissance. Unfortunately, whether a game company lives or dies depends on the buying habits of people. There is a subculture--I am assuming like you and me--who appreciate the variety and exploration the medium of games offers and explores it as such. However, the size of this group pales in comparison to the public at large, who is not as involved in games and chooses to buy more upon what is popular and what they know.

It happens over and over: we demand innovation and new IPs from major companies, yet when they come out, the majority have disappointing sales numbers. I think we are in an exciting age of smaller studios producing independent projects, and that it doesn't seem to take as much to support them; but in terms of the big guys, it doesn't look like they have much reason to change their tunes anytime soon.