We all know Japan as being responsible for some of the most memorable video games in this industry's short history. Mario, Zelda, Sonic, Metroid, and Final Fantasy to name a few. But in the last few years there have been fewer and fewer critically acclaimed games coming out of the Land of the Rising Sun.
There have been no games to rival western masterpieces such as Mass Effect, Fallout, Red Dead Redemption, or even Portal. Only weird, bizarre, and mediocre games appealing only to a select few.
And that, as some point out, is precisely the reason. Japan doesn't aim for a global audience. It is too embedded in it's target audience- the Japanese gamer.
Notable Critics
Some of the high-profile critics of the Japanese game industry are Japanese themselves. They understand the importance to cater to a wide audience. Most notable are:
- Hideo Kojima- creator of the Metal Gear Solid series published by Konami
- Tomonobu Itagaki- creator of the revitalized Ninja Gaiden series by Team Ninja
- and Akira Yamaoka- sound and music director of the Silent Hill series also published by Konami
As you may have already noticed, the games these developers have worked on are AAA titles that have garnered success worldwide. These developers give their view on why there are less and less 'Must Play' games coming out of Japan.
The Sound of Silent Hill
Akira Yamaoka- legendary sound designer of the Silent Hill series gives his take on the issue.
- “There's a huge gap, actually. They're very advanced. I'm Japanese, and I think this is not just with Silent Hill but with the whole of the industry — I look at what American developers are doing and I think wow... Japan is in trouble.”
Later he explains why he thinks his country is falling behind on the game development front, explaining that the nature of the publisher / developer relationship in Japan as well as low salaries contribute to games that need to be created fast and cheap, stifling innovation in the industry - much like we've feared would happen here for years.
- “So you've got pressure on these people to perform like they did when they were 20, and it's just not possible. I look at a game magazine, and I see interviews with the "important creators," like Mr. Sakaguchi. He's a great game creator, but he's not young. And I don't see many young game creators in Japan. Then I look at the west, and I see all these young guys coming up so fast, it's just amazing.”
Slice, Slice, Blood & Guts
Tomonobu Itagaki- the creator and designer of the re-launched Ninja Gaiden series of 2004 speaks out on another reason Japan falls behind: The management.
After coming to the U.S. to work on games, he was exposed to the way the West goes about creating great games. He notices that the people at the top know how to make games. They know the process, and the hard work that goes into making something from concept to reality and make it fun.
- In Japan, management people, they sort of pretend they know what they're doing. Those management people, they say, "I love games," but they don't know how to make them. So the kind of instructions that they would give to the employees would be, "Okay, you've got to make it by when, and it has to be within this budget, and you have to sell whatever many copies." It's the opposite of the practical. It's not practical.
Ninja Gaiden was one of the most challenging games I've ever played and fun at the same time. There were gallons of blood and tons of decapitations of demons and humans alike. Itagaki clearly knew what western audiences liked. He knew western consumers like dark, gritty, and realistic themes in their games. Even Itagaki himself likes this, as opposed to the usual Japanese anime inspired art and upbeat, cute characters littering games like Final Fantasy, Star Ocean, and many others.
This is Snake, Do you Read Me?
Hideo Kojima, creator of Metal Gear, went into this a while ago. He answered a question with what was a good answer to the topic of why certain games do well in some countries and not very well in others. This answer shows what it all comes down to... Target Audience.
- To put it in an extreme fashion, Americans like games where you have a gun and you’re shooting at space aliens. If you don’t understand why that’s fun, then you shouldn’t be making games for the world market; you don’t need to. Japanese people might say ‘Why space aliens?’, but Americans will counter with ‘What’s with these games featuring these feminine-looking boys fighting in Japan with these huge swords?’ It’s no wonder the target audience for a lot of games is getting so compartmentalized.”
Some developers do not understand that for a game to be successful worldwide, you have to cater to the worldwide audience. If not, don't market it so. This explains why there are many games released in Japan only.
Closing Thoughts
There are a lot of great Japanese games -- Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Ace Combat to name a few. But these are only the games that managed to escape and appeal to world wide audiences. The rest end up becoming Japan releases only.
Japan is struggling to push gaming forward and struggling to innovate. Japanese design has started to show its age and gamers that grew up with their favorite franchises want to see their beloved characters evolve just as they've grown. Resident Evil should be scarier, Silent Hill more cerebral, and Final Fantasy more emotionally stimulating than the last two iterations. Final Fantasy X will be the example of a great tear-jerker. Don't be afraid of change! Don't stick to the tried and true!
Oscar Chavez - Oscar is a game design student at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. He's very passionate about the video game industry as a whole.
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