# Keiji Inafune says Japanese gaming industry is improving, but not by much



## Krory (Apr 4, 2013)

*Cliffnotes version*
He thinks Japan is improving, but not much. He says some of them know something is wrong and that they need to take notes from "western developers" but are too stubborn and prideful to and thus stay in the domestic market. Others honestly believe nothing is wrong with the Japanese industry. He also remarks how he believes people keep asking about it and talking about it because they legitimately care about the Japanese gaming industry and it's appreciated, but developers "just don't get it."

He ultimately says Japan needs to prove they're still in the game and until "at least a few Japanese titles make it into the top 10, we won't prove it."



> A couple of days ago, we alerted you to a conversation IGN had with Keiji Inafune in which he talked about why Japanese gamers don’t care about Xbox. In that same conversation, we asked Inafune what he thought about the Japanese gaming industry these days, what with his harsh words for his fellow Japanese developers around the time he left Capcom.
> 
> The long and the short of it is that Inafune thinks that things are improving in Japan, but not by much. “I hope Japanese game developers are breaking through the stagnation,” he told IGN. “However, the reality isn’t as good as I want it to be. I see they’re starting to be aware of the problem and that they have to do something. They know they have to learn more from western games and create games that’ll sell more in the western market. However, they don’t know what to do or how to do it.”
> 
> ...


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## Whip Whirlwind (Apr 4, 2013)

I think there are definitely issues with the japanese gaming industry, but I feel like a lot of these companies (capcom) are throwing the baby out with the bathwater in their attempts to appeal to wider (western) audiences.


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## Canute87 (Apr 4, 2013)

I see nothing wrong


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## Mael (Apr 4, 2013)

Other M.

Yeah I said it.


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## WhiteWolf (Apr 4, 2013)

*Keji Inafune says Japanese gaming market is dead.*
Capcom decides to "westernize" PLUS reboot DMC
DmC is  - AAA game (western).
Ni No kun + Metal Gear Rising (japanese) are made.
Darksiders 2 is also made(western)

The two japanese games succeeds salewise.
The two western games fails to meet sales expectations big time. Darksiders 2 seems to be a factor for THQ (publisher of Darksiders) bankruptcy.

*Now...Keji Inafune says japanese game industry is improving.*
You can enjoy the beauty of nature you arsehole:






P.S Darksiders is pretty ok game. No hate. Infact i've played Darksiders 1 alot recently despite with it's flaws (which seems to have been improved in 2). Just used it to point out Keji Inafune is full of shit.


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## Krory (Apr 4, 2013)

A) He never said it was dead. Remember kids: Reading is fundamental.

So because you can name two Western games that failed and two Japanese games that succeeded, that means it's not true?

Well, I'm sure I can name two video game companies aren't corrupt. That means the claim that there's corruption in the video game industry is false!

Woo, dodged a bullet there.

Shall we take a look at other Western-developed games like _Tomb Raider_ which has had the most successful launch this year? Even a fledgling title like _Hitman: Absolution_ sold over three million. Both of those published by a Japanese developer deciding to embrace the Western gaming. _BioShock Infinite_? I guess that failed, too, right? Then we have _Dragon's Dogma_ from last year, a new IP that was made to gear towards the western audience, developed _and_ published by Japanese gaming business, that was regarded as one of the most successful new IPs to date - tied with another _western_ new IP, _Dishonored_. And THQ was bankrupt _before_ _Darksiders II_. You continuously mix-up sales and sales expectations.

If you bothered to read - which you clearly didn't - you'd see he said it was _barely_ improving. It isn't doing much. Kind of like your whelp of an argument.


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## Sephiroth (Apr 4, 2013)

I would prefer Japanese developers go their own path rather than copying Western games, that's a good way to kill the variety between the two.


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## WhiteWolf (Apr 4, 2013)

Krory said:


> A) He never said it was dead. Remember kids: Reading is fundamental.
> 
> So because you can name two Western games that failed and two Japanese games that succeeded, that means it's not true?
> 
> ...


Wasn't really trying to give a indepth argument.
Poor choice of words from me. 

But i looked it upon and i found htis:


My point with post is that he should simply shut up. There are people who love western games, those who love japanese games etc. And that  good games have little to do with what art style they are in.

I played Darksiders: i really liked it (western).
I played Demon's Souls : i loved it. (japanese)
Metal Gear rising is look good. 
etc

Perhaps when he said "Japanese game market is doomed" is that he's thinking of the story of japanese games.


I don't know for sure. But all i know is that if he had shut his mouth overrated companies like Ninja theory wouldn't be credited for gameplay that was defined by japanese developers. And after 4 games, Ninja theory stepped in by order of Capcom and created a subpar iteration of DMC gameplay...and all of sudden "It's Ninja theory's best game".
I am not taking credit away from them but they sure as hell did not create the gameplay formula, they reproduced it and they received help from Capcom in doing so.
And this "western studio" was said to be master of story tellers: meanwhile the story of DmC is seriously mediocre.

If you looked at Darksiders 2 developers their inspiration was DMC (japanese made). And DmC the reboot was rebooted by western studio (NT), who couldn't provide a excellent story, whichis what they were "supposed to be good at ".
And the gameplay they reproduced wasn't overall innovating or as great as past games. 


My overall point is the same: People like this and that. And japanese market is not doomed as long as games with good gameplay are made such as Resident Evil 1, Parasite Eve 2, Demon and Dark Souls, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Rising, Bayonetta etc.


P.S Neither Hitman or Tomb raider for that matter are "fledglings" ( not saying u said tomb raider is).

I recall playing Hitman very first game, i loved it.  I believe Hitman Absolution is FIFTH game in serie?
That's not a fledgling.


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## WhiteWolf (Apr 4, 2013)

Let me give you some ideas to why games fail irelevant if it is japanese or western:
That XX part 2
That XX part 2




Link removed
That XX part 2


Stop with trying to sell everything, from DLC to achievements to microtransactions etc.

Create a game that is finished and without any DLC. And if you have plans for DLC it better be 6 months after release, or else it will easily look like content you withheld with addding to full game for more money.

Stop insulting fans. LISTEN TO THEM.

Stop rebooting - create new IPS (Dragon Dogma, Demon/Dark Souls!)
Even Tomb Raider reboot could have easily been successful from a gameplay perspective without a reboot. Though honestly i have nothing against Tomb Raider reboot as the serie had not been around for a big while.
But rebooting for sake of trying to get more sales is bullshit, and Capcom is good at this. When RE 6 doesnt meet their expectations they think of rebooting the serie...


Make a game that doesn't have bugs or is glitchy. And if there are such things it better be so minor that people barely encounter them.


With all of these marketing schemes - it's no wonder games fail to sell very well. People are tired of shit practices like this.
And therefor we don't think it's worth spending 60 dollars on a game that is glitchy, half asssed, probably will have dlc to leech more money out of us etc.

I hear good things from Witcher company. And their game seems to be received positively. And on top of that the game seems to be great. I read that a developer from Witcher said DLC shouldn't exist, and that only expansions (huge content) should.
Which i respect and agree with. Good philosphy.


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## Raidou Kuzunoha (Apr 4, 2013)

I think the answer they're looking for is improvement on immersion.

They need to combine the notion of fun gameplay and being engrossed in the game to a point. 

Hence why games like Fallout 3 and New Vegas, Mass Effect and Bioshock are popular because a solid combination of the two.

Because stuff like the usual japanese styles being a negative is complete and utter bullshit. People are just being stupid.

Not to mention whatever's coming out is very far few, console wise.

Cuz whatever that's coming out from Japan and is good or decent is mostly for handhelds. For understandable reasons.

You get rare cases like Nier where a game gets involving.

They do not have to do EXACTLY the same way western games do.



> I would prefer Japanese developers go their own path rather than copying Western games, that's a good way to kill the variety between the two.



Because this.

But if they make a particularly interactive and involving game along the lines of say Bioshock and add their own particular flavor, it'd be interesting.

I think the only game that came out that had me particularly hooked was Revengeance and that was more of a wild ride and very energetic along with a very fun playstyle and actually challenging. It pretty much activated every green flag in my head.

And previously before Revengeance being Tales of Graces F.


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## Krory (Apr 4, 2013)

Raidou Kuzunoha said:


> They do not have to do EXACTLY the same way western games do.



Which is what he said. He never said to copy them, do exactly as they do. He said _learn_ from them. It's just many are unwilling and when we have people deluding them into think they're okay like telling the kid that's failing that it's okay, he's just special in his own way, then things assuredly won't change.


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## Raidou Kuzunoha (Apr 4, 2013)

Pretty much, I like the asthetic, I like it being different. There are certain things in japanese games I don't normally get from western games. The only case being Mass Effect but that was because narrative in those games were particularly strong and stuff like jrpgs tend to have long winded and sweeping narratives. OK specifically story along with cinematics. 

Plus I can play something like ME, and Fallout because setting wise its different. Me personally I'm not not really for the usual D&D/Tolien style settings since 9/10 is pretty much literally the same thing but different game. Even down to the characters. Well same could be said for JRPG settings but most cases tend to be diverse to a degree and monsters and characters are polar opposite than what we see in the west.


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## Mickey Mouse (Apr 4, 2013)

It is not improving quite yet.


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## Buskuv (Apr 4, 2013)

Another slump; those unable to compete will be weeded out.

I can't wait for this FPS "Cinematic Experience" bubble to burst and all the companies basing their entire mission statement around pumping them out ad infinitum crumble and collapse in on themselves.  All of these companies shitting out these games don't even know what 'organic growth' means anymore and it's going to be great when they figure that out from their nosediving game sales.


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## Mickey Mouse (Apr 5, 2013)

Dr. Boskov Krevorkian said:


> Another slump; those unable to compete will be weeded out.
> 
> I can't wait for this FPS "Cinematic Experience" bubble to burst and all the companies basing their entire mission statement around pumping them out ad infinitum crumble and collapse in on themselves.  All of these companies shitting out these games don't even know what 'organic growth' means anymore and it's going to be great when they figure that out from their nosediving game sales.



 And how far away is this scenario? It has been going on at least for a good part of a decade. It depends on how the next big one comes out that shows if it has even started slowing down.


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## steveht93 (Apr 5, 2013)

Problem with the Japanese video game industry is they are not evolving. Trying to become like western developers is not the way to go,because both cultures are different and so is their styles in making games as well. What the Japanese gaming industry needs to do is create new ideas and ways to play in a way that their own cultural identity is present in that game. 

Instead of releasing hundreds of shitty games with fanservice they should concentrate more on innovation and accepting new ideas. 

Until then the western game industry will continue to dominate Japan in quality and innovation.


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## First Tsurugi (Apr 5, 2013)

Krory said:


> Shall we take a look at other Western-developed games like _Tomb Raider_ which has had the most successful launch this year? Even a fledgling title like _Hitman: Absolution_ sold over three million. Both of those published by a Japanese developer deciding to embrace the Western gaming.



Despite selling millions, neither Tomb Raider nor Hitman met their sales targets, as Square Enix themselves have admitted.



> Then we have _Dragon's Dogma_ from last year, a new IP that was made to gear towards the western audience, developed _and_ published by Japanese gaming business, that was regarded as one of the most successful new IPs to date - tied with another _western_ new IP, _Dishonored_.



Ironically Dragon's Dogma bombed in the West and only saw large success in Japan. What does that tell you?


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## Buskuv (Apr 5, 2013)

Despite 'bombing' in the US, Dragon's Dogma is getting the expansion and probably a sequel.  A great deal of my favorite games this gen--with Dark/Demon's Souls being the biggest example--have been Japanese games with a Western bent.


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## Deathbringerpt (Apr 5, 2013)

> Despite selling millions, neither Tomb Raider nor Hitman met their sales targets, as Square Enix themselves have admitted.



If those games didn't manage to break even, especially Tomb Raider which reached a ridiculous number in its first week, Square Enix should just review their business plan and overall the whole thing.

If it's yet another "It made us a lot of money but that other franchise makes more so this pile of money didn't reach our expectations" they can shut the fuck up. And this is coming from someone who thinks that both those games prioritized on every audience expect the original fanbase. This "pie in the sky" shit that permeates the business pisses me off.



First Tsurugi said:


> Ironically Dragon's Dogma bombed in the West and only saw large success in Japan. What does that tell you?



Only that Conservative High Fantasy is not that appealing in the western market while the same can't be said for the Japanese. They much prefer standard fantasy tropes over settings that think outside the box. Take a look at Dragon's Crown or Dark Souls 2 who focus primarily on their home country. They like their comfort zone.

That was part of the appeal of Dragon's Dogma though, a very pseudo realistic yet stylized artstyle applied in a normal fantasy setting. Plus, you have somewhat of a cult following in America.


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## Ben Tennyson (Apr 6, 2013)

most japanese games sucks.


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## ShiggyDiggyDoo (Apr 6, 2013)

The Japanese industry is good as it is. He's fucking full of shit.


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