Okami Creator: Western Devs Are Better

[John Funk]

Okami Creator: Western Devs Are Better

Atsushi Inaba, the man behind bizarre(ly awesome) Capcom titles such as Okami and Viewtiful Joe, thinks that Western developers are simply "superior" to their Japanese counterparts.

Speaking with Develop [http://www.developmag.com/news/31330/Western-developers-are-superior-to-the-Japanese-says-Inaba] about his upcoming Wii gorefest - a phrase I never thought I'd hear myself saying - Madworld, Inaba confessed that he didn't think Japanese developers were keeping up with the West:

[blockquote]"So we the Japanese developers should realise that we have to work hard to reach the Western level. We're fast reaching a stage where it's going to be about individual developers and not about what country they are in, globalization is coming to our industry too."[/blockquote]

While Japan is still a driving force in the industry - with two out of three console manufacturers and a host of iconic developers like Capcom, Konami, et al - the country is quickly finding itself marginalized as far as buying games is concerned, with Japanese sales a mere fraction of the market in North America and Europe. As Japanese developers realize just how important the overseas market has become compared to their home turf, it's interesting to see this kind of thing come from people like Inaba and Hideo Kojima [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/88662-Kojima-Maybe-I-Should-Quit-Being-Japanese].

As might be expected of the man behind Okami, Viewtiful Joe, and Madworld, Inaba thinks that more developers should focus on creating new IPs: "The best way for a developer to make a mark in the industry and secure its future is by creating new and successful IPs. It's a very hard process but if you succeed, the rewards are massive."

That said, the need for new IPs is hardly limited to either side of the Pacific. Of all the new games that gamers are looking forward to for 2009, how many of them aren't sequels in some form or another?

Other than Brutal Legend, I mean.

If you're interested in everything Inaba had to say, you can find the full interview here [http://www.developmag.com/interviews/396/QA-Platinum-Games-Atsushi-Inaba].



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[Noone From Nowhere]

Maybe why he believes that Western developers are superior (or at least fresher)is the whole lure of the exotic? By that, I don't just mean that he as an individual is in awe of the output of Western developers but Japan as a whole. If he was more accustomed to the types of titles to come out of the Mysterious West, he might be lamenting the lack of innovation everywhere in the industry (as Zero Punction's Yatzhee does on a regular basis)...unless he learned to be as complacent as some of the American consumers. Would he be himself any more if he did?

 

[Aardvark Soup]

I do not agree with him. Every developper has its own qualities and it's hard to say which of two developpers is better. So you certainly can't generalise all Eastern and Western developpers and say the second group is 'better'. He shouldn't forget it's his country where the Zelda's, Metal Gears and Final Fantasies come from.

 

[dekkarax]

Actually, he has a point. Western games were a lot more creative than their Japanese counterparts back in the day. In fact, most of my favourite games came from western developers, with only a handful of Japanese games being my favourites.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

Well they keep making wierd anime games and crap like that. Asians in japan almost all work are boring and live in a grey society. Thier games are excuses to kep thier country the same. Japan is doing the oposite from WW11 its just fencing itself from the world to keep its culture which is why all thier tv/ media is wierd crap. So when I'm in a store we can all tell "thats made in japan" X Play even did a segment on that. (Its gone.....) (not trying to be racist but thier culture pisses me of my step mom is Japanese I've got no problem with them just thier government)

 

[Keane Ng]

Well they keep making wierd anime games and crap like that. Asians in japan almost all work are boring and live in a grey society. Thier games are excuses to kep thier country the same. Japan is doing the oposite from WW11 its just fencing itself from the world to keep its culture which is why all thier tv/ media is wierd crap. So when I'm in a store we can all tell "thats made in japan" X Play even did a segment on that. To quote yahtzee thier almost all "Zenophobic Dicks". (not trying to be racist but thier culture pisses me of my step mom is Japanese I've got no problem with them just thier government)

I'm pretty sure when Yahtzee says things like that, he's not being entirely serious.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

Well they keep making wierd anime games and crap like that. Asians in japan almost all work are boring and live in a grey society. Thier games are excuses to kep thier country the same. Japan is doing the oposite from WW11 its just fencing itself from the world to keep its culture which is why all thier tv/ media is wierd crap. So when I'm in a store we can all tell "thats made in japan" X Play even did a segment on that.(Its gone....) (not trying to be racist but thier culture pisses me of my step mom is Japanese I've got no problem with them just thier government)

I'm pretty sure when Yahtzee says things like that, he's not being entirely serious.

I'm aware of that, but god I wen't on vactation to Japan with my cousin.... I've been thier first hand... its pretty bad, not all of them are like that. (yahtzee isn't someone I take seriously but that was a funny quote none the less)

 

[shial]

I do not agree with him. Every developper has its own qualities and it's hard to say which of two developpers is better. So you certainly can't generalise all Eastern and Western developpers and say the second group is 'better'. He shouldn't forget it's his country where the Zelda's, Metal Gears and Final Fantasies come from.

Mario really hasn't changed at all since the first Super Mario Bros in 1985,
Final fantasy was in 1987(FF7 was back in 1997 so over a decade now)
Metal Gear Solid was in 1995.
Zelda was back in 1986, Ocrania of time was in 1998
Metroid prime was created by an American team

Most of their big name franchises are over a decade old (some are old enough to buy cigs and drink now) and the only difference between them and a madden title in madden uses the year instead of the sequence number. The vast majority of the Japanese games don't go outside of Japan because they are too deeply rooted in either their own internal culture (making them very hard for outsiders to grasp) or in odd subjects that have very limited appeal outside of Japan (dating sims for one)

 

[Mrsoupcup]

I do not agree with him. Every developper has its own qualities and it's hard to say which of two developpers is better. So you certainly can't generalise all Eastern and Western developpers and say the second group is 'better'. He shouldn't forget it's his country where the Zelda's, Metal Gears and Final Fantasies come from.

Mario really hasn't changed at all since the first Super Mario Bros in 1985,
Final fantasy was in 1987 (FF7 was back in 1997 so over a decade now)
Metal Gear Solid was in 1995.
Zelda was back in 1986, Ocrania of time was in 1998
Metroid prime was created by an American team

Most of their big name franchises are over a decade old and the only difference between them and a madden title in madden uses the year instead of the sequence number. The vast majority of the Japanese games don't go outside of Japan because they are too deeply rooted in either their own internal culture (making them very hard for outsiders to grasp) or in odd subjects that have very limited appeal outside of Japan (dating sims for one)

Some of thier dating sims are gross while I was on vacation I wen't to a game store in Japan( My cousin can read and speak Japanese) and we saw a game thats a gay dating simm, but all the dudes look like young girls. *shutters*

 

[Clemenstation]

I agree with Inaba, for the most part. You could argue that Nintendo has done some pretty rad and different things lately (Wii Fit, Wii Music) but they aren't really advancing GAMES as a medium.

I think it's good that Japanese developers are realizing their shortcomings, en masse. Hopefully we'll see some good things come out of this in the near future.

And then Western developers will realize that releasing FPS after FPS isn't such a hot idea anymore, and the cycle will begin anew. All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again.

 

[Vianyte]

I think they're about the same. I like some western and Japanese games and hate some western and Japanese games.

I never really thought about which is better and don't really care.

 

[spyrewolf]

..seems to be true for most parts, apart from most of my favorite titles have come from japan,

ico, sotc, FF, katamari damaci mario, zelda, ... probably others i love but have forgotten, western devs are starting to see that epic scale/feeling games are where the real money is to be made, but japanese games are more about mold breaking is which i love.

 

[dalek sec]

All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again.

Just make sure that someone named Cavil, Doral or Simon isn't in on this.

Still kinda interesting to read about.

 

[joystickjunki3]

I do not agree with him. Every developper has its own qualities and it's hard to say which of two developpers is better. So you certainly can't generalise all Eastern and Western developpers and say the second group is 'better'. He shouldn't forget it's his country where the Zelda's, Metal Gears and Final Fantasies come from.

I don't think that was necessarily his point. I think what he means is that Japan has slacked off for a little while an w/i that time frame the Western devs have exceeded Japanese quality per capita. Also, it might have something to do w/ the increase in casual gaming as most core gamers will play games from either side of the Pacific as long as they're good while many casual gamers seem to not venture out of their cultural boxes. I do not have any studies backing that up, it was merely an observation I made based on a large number of my friends.

 

[Dectilon]

I do believe there's far more stagnation in the japanese gaming industry, along with a tendency to milk successes to the last drop. We certainly have similar examples of that (Star Wars probably being the best one), but it's far more pronounced there.

I read in a textbook on literature history that there's a historical tradition that entails that, in many Asian countries, copying the works of great writers is considered a virtue rather than true originality being what to strive for. I'm not sure to what extent this is still valid and alive today, but it often seems that way considering how long running a particular IP can be with so few variations (mainly talking about rpgs here).

 

[Joeshie]

Oh man, more evidence against the idiots who still think I was wrong with saying Western development has far surpassed that of Eastern development.

I can understand why some of you might prefer Japanese games over Western games, but that's mostly an aesthetic choice. If you really focus on the overall quality of games and innovation introduced into the industry, Japanese developers are getting their asses handed to them.

I mean, Japan still has it's moments, no doubt about it, but I rarely buy Japanese games anymore. Square-Enix has been enjoying milking it's endless cashcows for the past 5-6 years by spewing out sequels and remakes. Konami really only hits the target when Kojima is working on the project and even then, his products also have their glaring flaws to them. Sega has been hit or miss, which is the typical. And Nintendo...well, lets just say that their recent efforts have been nothing short of laughable. Really, the only Japanese developer who has been doing pretty good has been Capcom, but even then, they do get a bit heavy with the sequelitis.

I think it's good that Japanese developers are realizing their shortcomings and hopefully can learn something from Western developers. I would really like to seem them learn that storytelling can often be far more powerful than the actual story told, something Japanese developers really struggle with.

 

[shadow skill]

He sounds like someone who has seen anime for the first time and then swears absolutely everything else not anime is bad. I wouldn't say Western devs are better when the games they make tend to have this rather sad way of not working properly when they come out. Fable 2 buggy mess for many, Mass Effect the most pop in I have ever sseen in a game as empty as that one was. Not to mention I ended up getting stuck on a railing unable to move off of it., Assasin's Creed had some interesting bugs too. Oh and who could forget The Darkness that had a bug that prevented people from finishing the game if they happened to do a certain quest before the final chapter. How they missed that is beyond me. Whoever did the 360 port for the Orange box had brain slugs working for them since the button mapping options actually allowed the player to break weapon switching since they let you remap actions to the Dpad while it remained impossible to map the default dpad actions to other buttons! (I hope they fixed that by now.)

Socom Confrontation was essentially unplayable for about two months or so, Gears of War 2 had some rather interesting bugs with various weapons it was actually pretty funny to see these things in action. I don't really care about how creative you are with your product if it does not actually work when I use it. A perfect example of this is The Witcher when that game came out the security measures they used to prevent piracy actually prevented some people from playing the game because the tool did not like the fact that they used SATA DVD drives. While not technically CD Projekt Red's fault I still have to ask "WTF man?!"

I've read more reports/experienced more problems with Western games and various bugs within the last three or so years than I have with games coming from Japan. (I'm only taking about top tier games here.) So many otherwise perfectly fine games all but destroyed by the broken state they are in upon release.