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

[Kingtrue]

While gaming should and will take a step in the right direction within the coming years, Jun Takeuchi seems to make a pretty valid 'point'. I'm not targeting japanese games as a whole but instead I'll poke my finger at JRPGs. JRPGs had some good moments, but lack what games of old used to have; originality. Seeing Anime over and over gets repetitive and tiresome, with a cast that can be stereotyped, but when you look back on the old NES games you see an innovative and simple game.

Lets compare here;
Who's going to remember valkyria chronicles in the next 10 years? Not alot of people.

Mention Megaman and you would recieve a bigger response.

 

[Korten12]

May I bring Metal Gear to the table?

Calumon: Can I bring Demons Souls?

thoses are good examples of japanese games that are very western.

 

[RvLeshrac]

May I bring Metal Gear to the table?

Calumon: Can I bring Demons Souls?

thoses are good examples of japanese games that are very western.

Demon's Souls is so incredibly far from Western gaming... more like a Record of Lodoss War(DC)/Dynasty Warriors cross.

Metal Gear is also not a Western-style game. The Japanese invented the style of gameplay used in Metal Gear *AND* Metal Gear Solid.

Lost Planet 2 is only "Western-styled" in that they took the Cover system from Gears. The stilted character movement and exaggerated, overly-long combat animations are distinctly Japanese. They're the main reasons I'd much rather play a shmup or RPG from Japan than I would an FPS/TPS.

 

[Korten12]

May I bring Metal Gear to the table?

Calumon: Can I bring Demons Souls?

thoses are good examples of japanese games that are very western.

Demon's Souls is so incredibly far from Western gaming... more like a Record of Lodoss War(DC)/Dynasty Warriors cross.

Metal Gear is also not a Western-style game. The Japanese invented the style of gameplay used in Metal Gear *AND* Metal Gear Solid.

Lost Planet 2 is only "Western-styled" in that they took the Cover system from Gears. The stilted character movement and exaggerated, overly-long combat animations are distinctly Japanese. They're the main reasons I'd much rather play a shmup or RPG from Japan than I would an FPS/TPS.

um... you havent played Demon's Souls or Lost Planet 2 have you? Demon's Souls look, has similarites with Oblivion just way way more darker, as for Lost Planet 2, Cover system? Their is no cover system!

 

[Atmos Duality]

I'm glad Jun had the balls to come out and say it at least.
Though in my opinion, the entire industry has stagnated, not just Japan's bit.

Of course, when you can't sell through innovation, you have to sell through better marketing, and I think Japan may have finally hit the ceiling on that.

As for JRPGs...yeah. They've really lost their charm. The latest one I've played (actually playing) is Infinite Space, though at least Sega (of all companies) had the foresight to actually have the game grow up a bit in the Second Act.

And then there is the big Japanese Gaming Giants...

-Nintendo: I guess they still make games in their spare time when they aren't playing Fisher Price.

-Konami: Has the most variety, but not necessarily in a good way. The rhythm action genre (a genre I can replicate almost in its entirety by tapping my fucking FINGER on a table while listening to the radio).
On the other hand, the Castlevania series is still good even though it's tired and repetitive.
Just make the last game already Konami!

-Capcom: Good gameplay in general, and one of the few companies whose games retain real difficulty..however, they regularly compete for the title of Remake King. I do laud their efforts for trying to expand into different genres.. at least until the game series gets franchised.

-Namco: Tales of Clones. I don't know what else to say...

-Squeenix: Still the soulless hackhouse it has been since the Merge. I think I've enjoyed maybe 3% of all the titles (of what I've seen or played) they've released since the merge.

Yeah. I think we get the idea now. A lot of repetition and stagnation.

Not that it's THAT much better for Western titles...look at our super games! Another World War 2/Modern Combat shooter! Space marines! Sports titles with increasing numbers on the end!
Bethesda titles that suck ass but somehow make millions!

 

[RvLeshrac]

May I bring Metal Gear to the table?

Calumon: Can I bring Demons Souls?

thoses are good examples of japanese games that are very western.

Demon's Souls is so incredibly far from Western gaming... more like a Record of Lodoss War(DC)/Dynasty Warriors cross.

Metal Gear is also not a Western-style game. The Japanese invented the style of gameplay used in Metal Gear *AND* Metal Gear Solid.

Lost Planet 2 is only "Western-styled" in that they took the Cover system from Gears. The stilted character movement and exaggerated, overly-long combat animations are distinctly Japanese. They're the main reasons I'd much rather play a shmup or RPG from Japan than I would an FPS/TPS.

um... you havent played Demon's Souls or Lost Planet 2 have you? Demon's Souls look, has similarites with Oblivion just way way more darker, as for Lost Planet 2, Cover system? Their is no cover system!

Whoops, I meant "combat system." Demon's Souls can LOOK like an episode of Transformers, that has little to do with the way the gameplay mechanics function.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Let's hope Team Ico comes to save the day.

Preferably this year.

 

[daftalchemist]

I'd really like it if the Japanese gaming industry could innovate a bit more. When I think of my most recent favorite games, they're almost entirely done by western developers. The only Japanese games that I can say I've ever truly loved are only old favorites such as Zelda or Metroid. But lately it seems the only thing I see with Japanese games are cookie-cutter RPGs that I literally find myself incapable of telling apart. Maybe Japanese consumers still like these types of games, and that's fine, but western developers have spoiled me with the likes of Mass Effect and I find myself unable to return to the drab and drawn-out plots of Japanese games after that.

 

[ultimasupersaiyan]

Japan's gaming industry is slowly dying in the western region because of how gamers have evolved. The games they used to make when we were kids were entertaining and now they just don't appeal to the majority anymore. I personally embrace Japanese made games over western developed games because they concerntrate on the narrative and gameplay a lot more then western developers in my opinion(outside of Bethesda and BioWare[who spend too much time on dialogue]). I've noticed most western games are mainly casual games and shooter and it seems most people prefer them over any other type of game, the sales of Bejewelled and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 are proof of that! I think Japanese developers should stick to what they know best and do what Square-Enix did and buy a western developer to make games that appeal to the western markets majority. I know a lot of gamers prefer these wiz-bang shooters and simple, small, eternal games but I wish more gamers were open to other genres. I prefer JRPGs over any other genre but I'll play any genre of games regardless of preference. I guess I'm more open then the average gamer... maybe, I don't know I'm just speculating.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

MONSTER HUNTER!

Those games are fucking Japanarific! I love you Capcom.

 

[twm1709]

One particularly glaring problem with a lot of japanese games I've seen is their tendency to overload the game with cutscenes and stuff that makes you feel you're playing an interactive anime or something rather than a game. Japan didn't get the memo that cutscenes stopped being impressive by the time the PSOne died.
To summarize: Lots of Spectacle, little substance.

 

[boholikeu]

People say that Japan needs to "Westernize" their games in order to get out of their current rut, but I think they just need to stop pandering to the idiotic Akihabara crowd. It's perfectly possible to make a very "Japanese" game without including the same bad anime stereotypes/plots/aesthetics we've been seeing for years now. Even people in Japan are embarrassed by this stuff.