What makes a game "japanese"?

[Palademon]

The answer can't just be "because they're made in japan", that makes no sense.

IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE!

I could list tons of stereotypes, like big swords and stupid haircuts with colours that arent even natural for non-asians, but that would be pointless. The games are rather similar, except they usually tend to go more towards cartoony style and protagonists are usually androgynous emo looking males, rather than the character over-used everywhere else which is the hulking idiot with a gun. The main difference between japanese games and others is that the japanese KNOW HOW TO MAKE SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

A japanese game is merely one made in japan, nothing more.

 

[LightspeedJack]

lolwut - A sarcastic internet slang expression used to mock a seemingly unitelligent or reduntant question.

They come from Japan.

 

[SnowdensOfYesteryear]

I came in here hoping to post "Made In Japan," but everyone else did, so I'll say it's Japanese if it was made in China instead.

 

[nick n stuff]

stupid gravity defying, sharp edge hazard hair.

 

[are.you.the.god.its.me.vader]

If it's...........japanese.

Woah.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

It was made by Japanese developers. No amount of weeabooing by other developers will make their games Japanese.

I can sum up the huge difference between RPG's and JRPG's by simply saying many RPG's are Lord of the Rings, while many JRPG's are Final Fantasy. Either they ARE, or they ape after said franchises.

 

[Booze Zombie]

I suppose if it's designed for a Japanese audience, it has this strange sensibility that Japanese people really like.
Of course, all sensibilities are strange to people not of said culture, but, whatever.

Just like how games made in Britain don't always ring true over seas, but here they seem pretty popular, appealing to the sensibilities.

 

[rokkolpo]

mostly the *gasp* *ugh* *nya* *gehuh?*. at least that's what i think people get from jrpg's.

 

[rokkolpo]

stupid gravity defying, sharp edge hazard hair.

don't be hating on Sora.

 

[xXGuitarShredXx]

Being made in japan.

Seriously fuck all your stereotypical bullshit. Did you guys JUST come into gaming? are you entirely raised on cynical critics who go for the most humerous takes on everything? I mean seriously people come the fuck on. I was raised on Mario and Sonic and Zelda and Contra and Street Fighter and Metal Storm and Megaman and-yes- even final fantasy.

Are you all so blinded by "My countrys game peen is bigger than another countrys game peen" that you have reduced yourselves to stereotypical nearsighted view points.

This is to the same people who go "Oh all american games have big musclebound 'Manly' men" Yeah because Jak, Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet and Clank, The Prince and countless others are all musclebound generic spacemarines.

There are games with GOOD design and then there are games with bad design and any of you who think this depends on where a game is made rather than creative design on the directors part is a short sighted fool! I'm ashamed to be called a gamer and associated with any of you.

You just saved me the time of typing the same thing. Thank You.

 

[bolastristes]

I THINK THAT THE ANIME STYLE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT, I MEAN, SILENT HILL, CONTRA, TEKKEN, RESIDENT EVIL, ETC, ETC... PERSONALLY I CAN SPOT A JAP V.G ONLY BY WATCHING AND FEELING THE PHYSICS, THE ANIMATION-MOCAP AND THE GAMEPLAY, THOSE ARE KEY ELEMENTS, AT LEAST FOR ME...

 

[bolastristes]

YEAH, BUT THAT DOESN´T MEAN THAT WESTERN GAMES ARE BETTER!

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

Complete insanity. Look at Killer 7 and the Mother series.

However, Tim Schafer's complete insanity in his games stands out in the west.

And yup, the country of origin also plays a rather large part in determining the "nationality" of a game.

Like hentai and panty-vending machines.

I found a male/female thong dispenser in Bridlington, and that's on the east coast of the UK.

Then again, I wouldn't be surprised by anything like that if I found it in Bridlington.

YEAH, BUT THAT DOESN´T MEAN THAT WESTERN GAMES ARE BETTER!

The caps lock is not something you need employ constantly sir.

I'm ashamed to be called a gamer and associated with any of you.

Clearly you read none of the other posts that proclaimed "Made in Japan" as the primary thing that makes games "Japanese". Selective reading followed by sweeping statements does not an intelligent conversational participant make.

 

[Faulty Turmoil]

I know alot of people have said this, but I feel as though I should say this too.
In my opinion a game is japanese if it is made by japanese people.

 

[Nwabudike Morgan]

The Japanese industry is failing because a fair bit of Japanese publishers and developers are still thinking in terms of Japanese and western markets when the current reality of the games industry is one global market.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

Generally, I would say that things made in Japan by Japanese people are usually Japanese. If you try to apply the word to a school of aesthetics or design, it tends to just get stupid.

I would suggest that the Japanese game industry is having issues because, like the anime industry, they're not doing a very good job of adapting to the current environment and making smart longterm business decisions. Also like the anime industry, when they do make an excellent or innovative product which breaks from stereotypes and delivers an unique and engaging experience, NO ONE BUYS IT. This happens to western games too, of course, but it's overshadowed by the fact that the big blockbusters that don't innovate much from over here are currently much more in vogue than the ones from Japan, possibly because they haven't really changed their paradigm significantly in the past two console generations.

Oh, and they've been in a recession for the past TWENTY YEARS.

 

[Baneat]

bishounen is more popular than manly men, artistically they're very different, some are just fucked up (like rapelay), none of them are really that difficult, blah blah blah they're very different

 

[AngelofDarrkness]

Japanese games are made up of

Dude and grils With either Really Long hair or Really spiky hair
wear virtual no clothing Talk in Japanese and every character has a 6 pack except the girls in some cases have eng subs and usually u can decide what armour they wear