Poll: Do you believe that Japanese developers should cater more towards the west?

[Raziel_Likes_Souls]

Which option is more Persona?

The dating sim/toned down Nocturne option.
Just kidding, I love Persona.

And I chose Yes, as long as they don't compromise anything in game.

Because some one already mentioned Demon's Souls and Vanquish.

 

[MrGalactus]

Where's the "let them do whatever the hell they want, it's their work" option?

 

[daydreamerdeluxe]

I believe it has probably been said, but I'm tired and therefore do not care if I'm reiterating a previously mentioned point.

Japanese developers should cater no more towards western tastes than western developers need to cater towards Japanese tastes. They are both different cultures, albeit ones that mingle noticeably, but, importantly, are important enough in their own right that you shouldn't expect one of them to bow to the wants of the other without reciprocation.

 

[ckam]

No, we'd just see more Halo and God of War derivatives.

 

[Mr. Omega]

I don't see why not.

Frankly, they've deliberately abandoned an entire region of the world, simply because they don't like FPS games...and let us be honest here, that is the main problem. In the west, FPS games have become the standard, with Gears-style third person games being a close second.

So you're saying Japanese devs need to make FPS games. You are saying we need more FPS games. ...............I'm sorry, but that makes taking the rest of this post seriously a very VERY difficult task...

Japanese developers, dominated by Nintendo as they have been for several console generations now, refuse to produce anything that doesn't:

A--have some gimmicky bullshit that got old SECONDS after the Wii dropped.

B--have some inane mascot bullshit that got old in 1996.

C--is a JRPG.

1: Translation: These aren't the kind of games I like! Start making games I like!

Spoiler: #2: And I guess these games don't count...

They literally produce NOTHING now but mascot games (effectively a dead genre elsewhere in the world), gimmick games of the sort that Wii owners love, and RPGs that have almost no role-play and even less GAME to them.

1: See above.
2: Dead genre. Riiiiiight...
3: You did somewhat sum up why I hate RPG fans: "this isn't a REEEEAL RPG! A real RPG is *some stupid trivial reason*" and also, just because FF is the most popular, that doesn't mean all other JRPGs are like it.

The reality of it is that if anything the Japanese market has become so tremendously stagnant that it can almost no longer co-exist with other markets, basically having sealed itself off, frozen in time around 1995-6 and trying to scream "Hey guys! Remember when Nintendo was still cool! Cloud Strife is still gnarly, yo! Right? RIGHT!!?!??" over the sound of modern gaming passing them by.

What world are you living in?

That, and no one will ever admit this, is the reason that the X-Box never made it in Japan. Not because it wasn't good or that there were no good games, but because the games on it were of a modern generation and, to a desensitized Japanese market, were therefore completely inaccessible.

So the FPS generation is the modern generation? And because one new system failed that means an entire region of game devs are behind the times? Your logic is that if you don't like FPS games, your region is stuck in the 90s?

For this exact same reason, any attempt by Japanese companies to make Westernized games, i.e. Quantum Theory or Madworld, sucked hard and tanked harder--they weren't genuine, they weren't competent, and they were archaic by modern gaming standards.

1: I liked Madworld. It had its problems, sure, but it was a good, stupid, fun entertaining game.
2: What modern gaming standards? Having a point system and power-ups?

Japanese developers need more practice producing something that not star a mascot, does not have gimmicks, and does not feature turn-based combat.

Once again, see above. And that was just 5 I picked at random. Plus, just because we don't like those games doesn't mean that they shouldn't be made.

Not for me.

And here lies the problem. You don't want them to cater to the west. You want them to cater to you.

No, I've got everything I need here between Gears 3, Resistance 3 and MW3 (the Big Three I calls 'em!) coming out soon.

.............................I'm done.

Even the die hard Japanophile gamers who buy anything with an androgynous boy holding a Buster Sword in it will eventually lose faith in a gaming marketplace so saturated with backwards-thinking nonsense.

...............I'm REALLY done... I should have read those two parts first.

Anyway, my opinion: Look, there are games for everyone. And we westerners have plenty of games that cater to us. What's the harm in games that aren't made for us? Does that mean we automatically won't like them? No! There'a always the chance we could like them! We need variety in the industry. Catering to all different audiences.

 

[TheDooD]

From Software is a Japanese developer that been making games that should have BEEN more popular in the west but never really caught on until Demon's Souls. The made the King's Field's series, Armored Core series, Otogi and Chromehounds. shoot they published a lot of the Tenchu games. It's weird that they're just now getting more popularity in the west. C'mon Knights, Mechs blowing shit up and fucking Ninjas when haven't these things been popular.

 

[Goldjit]

Thanks to everyone that commented. Good read.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

They should cater to who they are trying to sell the game to. Simple, really.

 

[Aeshi]

I definitely wouldn't say no to them moving a few exclusives over to us (Where's my Metal Wolf Chaos and Another Centuries Episode?)

 

[TrevHead]

I think too many gamers wish that every game was a FPS or a genre that they like and always hate on games that dont conform to their standards. "I dont like JRPGs so all Japanese games suck and should die" its just the same for casual games.

Why can ppl just grow to respect all the different types of games and gamers out there with different tastes. Varity is a spice of life as the say goes.

 

[Voulan]

I want my games to be diverse, not to mimic boring old Western culture. If anything, both should stay whole-heartedly unique so we don't have to deal with gritty FPSs constantly.

 

[z121231211]

That said .. having JAP games that are VERY JAP isn't bad ... Yakuza and Cathrine are examples of those .. they are very jap games and not too many people will enjoy them without having a liking for jap culture, quirkiness ... they are good to have from time to time ^_^

I really don't see how Catherine is an extremely Japanese game. Sure I've only played the demo, but it seems like a very original idea used to tell a story that isn't Japanese centric. It actually could be an example of Japan trying to cater to the west, or at least cater to a broader audience in general. The story doesn't require knowledge of Japanese culture to understand and the gameplay is quite neutral, unless it's true that the Japanese play more puzzle games. Really anyone (who's mature) could get into that game without a problem.

 

[Gigano]

No, how would we get hilarious stuff like this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95937-This-Is-the-Best-Trailer-for-a-Japanese-Porn-Game-Ever] then?

Aside from that compelling argument, also the lesser one of trying to adapt your products to a faraway market where there are plenty of strong competitors - undoubtedly at the expense of your home market - being a very bad idea.

And the one of trying to mold one's artistic vision into what the masses will like being pretty much a guarantee that it'll fail at having any serious artistic or literary merit at all.

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

I like my Katamari Damacies and other wacky Japanese games. They shouldn't ever start catering to Western audiences... except for Metal Wolf Chaos, that was awesome.

 

[Hunter.Wolf]

I really don't see how Catherine is an extremely Japanese game. Sure I've only played the demo, but it seems like a very original idea used to tell a story that isn't Japanese centric. It actually could be an example of Japan trying to cater to the west, or at least cater to a broader audience in general. The story doesn't require knowledge of Japanese culture to understand and the gameplay is quite neutral, unless it's true that the Japanese play more puzzle games. Really anyone (who's mature) could get into that game without a problem.

There are several reasons why Cathrine is a very Jap game:-
1-It has an anime art style in both in-game cell-shaded graphics and the cutscenes (which are animated by an anime studio called 4C).
2-The RPG parts play more like jap dating sims or visual novels.
3-The Puzzle parts have lots of wacky/weird/quirky elements to them (as in most jap games).

Hmmmm .. And

4-it isn't an FPS or a WRPG ... that all i guess XD