Topic: Inafune: "I look around Tokyo Games Show, and everyone’s making awful games."

[Jericho]

* Note, this is a Mod Sanctioned and Moderated Debate Thread. Tread lightly and carry a good discussion piece/argument. *

NYTimes' Article: Japanese Playing a New Video Game: Catch-Up

“I look around Tokyo Games Show, and everyone’s making awful games; Japan is at least five years behind,” said Keiji Inafune, 45, head of global research and development at Capcom and one of Japan’s most prominent game designers.

“Capcom is barely keeping up,” he said in an interview at the show, which ended Sunday. “I want to study how Westerners live, and make games that appeal to them.”

Another year, another choice Inafune quote on how the east is sucking at making video games and glorious west is the only hope. Honestly, I just don't know what to say that I haven't said or made clear about how I feel in regards to this train of thought already, so I'm gonna save up some good discussion pieces and come back with a hell of a lot of good stuff to talk about tomorrow. Now RPM, I'd like to know what you think on the matter. Does it matter to you who is doing what better than the other? Is there a particular draw you have towards one type of game or the other? What helps or hurts that draw you may have to one side or the other?

For those of us who play on hard mode/are very invested in gaming and the game industry:

What is it about appealing to the west for an extra buck that has Capcom changing itself to such an extent and in the process trying to shed its amazing legacy all for the sake of appealing to this "ideal" market that may or may not pay off in the end? Why does Capcom feel as though incorporating more western philosophies into their game design means rejecting the quirks or personality given to them by being Japanese developers? Finally, how hard is it to create universal games instead of ones that pander to one side of the world's ideas of fun or the other's?

Bonus round: How come every time this silly "east is failing" vs "west is best" thing gets mentioned, Nintendo is never counted as a Japanese developer, but rather their own seperate entity?

[CephiYumi]

Wait, didn't he say this before?

[Jericho]

I thought I was the only one doing the time warp, but yea, he's alluded to it before. At last year's TGS no less:

Keiji Inafune: "Man, Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished."

At a hands-on event for Dead Rising 2, producer Keiji Inafune (father of Mega Man) had some not-so-nice-words about this year's Tokyo Game Show.

After asking the crowd of attendees what they thought of TGS this year (and urging them to be honest in their responses), Inafune expressed disappointment in this year's show and its games line-up.

"Personally when I looked around [at] all the different games at the TGS floor," Capcom's Ben Judd translated Inafune, "I said 'Man, Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished.'"

However, he then uses Capcom's upcoming titles as an example of "kick ass" games coming from Japan. An interesting remark, as Dead Rising 2 is being handled by Canadian studio Blue Castle Games.

While Inafune's remarks may seem harsh, he's not alone in his feelings -- many we've spoken to have told us they were underwhelmed by this year's shows. It's certainly smaller in size, and many Japanese developers (some due mainly to financial reasons) have chosen not to attend this year's show.

[Protoman Blues]

Does it matter to you who is doing what better than the other?

Yes, especially with the Wii. But mainly, that's because I so very much love being right!  

Is there a particular draw you have towards one type of game or the other?

Well I'm none too fond of RPG's really, but I'll pretty much play anything that I find fun. Sadly, the problem now is time & money. I can neither afford nor have the time to constantly try everything now.

What helps or hurts that draw you may have to one side or the other?

Helps - Blues

Hurts - No Blues

What is it about appealing to the west for an extra buck that has Capcom changing itself to such an extent and in the process trying to shed its amazing legacy all for the sake of appealing to this "ideal" market that may or may not pay off in the end?

Easy. That extra buck. Money is pretty much the driving force behind every decision made by any company. When they don't know if that idea will pay off in the end, it comes down to research and sometimes even luck.

Why does Capcom feel as though incorporating more western philosophies into their game design means rejecting the quirks or personality given to them by being Japanese developers?

I'll say money again, but regarding this, I think it could have to do more with the fact that the Western market just doesn't seem all that interested in their quirks, at least according to the article. Honestly, I don't know as I love a lot of Japanese only games that I don't see here. And by a lot, I mean a good portion of the Gundam Vs. games. Sometimes it might have to do with licensing as well, like the Macross series games.

Finally, how hard is it to create universal games instead of ones that pander to one side of the world's ideas of fun or the other's?

It's VERY easy actually. Why do you think the Wii & its party games sold so much everywhere? Why do you think that the Kinect & PS Move are coming out trying to tap some of that sweet Nintendo Nectar, or "Nintectar?"

Bonus round: How come every time this silly "east is failing" vs "west is best" thing gets mentioned, Nintendo is never counted as a Japanese developer, but rather their own seperate entity?

See above. Also, because Nintendo IS its own separate entity, as well as has many exclusive franchises that will not be found on other consoles ever.

[CephiYumi]

I thought I was the only one doing the time warp, but yea, he's alluded to it before. At last year's TGS no less:

Wow, it really doesn't feel like it's been a year since then.  But I guess if he keeps bringing it up he really wants people to hear it o.o

[Protoman Blues]

Wow, it really doesn't feel like it's been a year since then.  But I guess if he keeps bringing it up he really wants people to hear it o.o

Or he's just gone crazy from the lack of Blues in many games today! 

[CephiYumi]

That could drive anyone crazy I guess 

[Protoman Blues]

That could drive anyone crazy I guess 

Oh absolutely. Lack of Blues is dangerous to one's mental health.

[Aresian]

Personally, I'd rather see the Wii succeed, as it seemingly is already. Why? I don't like the HD absolution that the other two companies are trying to enforce. It's not a good look and frankly, HD makes me physically ill with motion sickness and other issues. Making it your selling point doesn't earn you my sells.

I'm aiming towards RPGs. Anyone that has been paying attention to my posts all these years knows that I want a story. Gameplay is secondary, RPGs tend to tell stories that are geared more towards my interest group. All the opinionated bullshit aside in the other topics, I'll just get right down to the details. I like Eastern style methods of display, in writing, musical and visual form. Anything that gives that to me, I enjoy.

Help: Not trying to fix what isn't broken, throw backs to original source material, sequels.

Hurt: Unnecessary changes to appeal to "other crowds" and constant desire to change. Change is good, in moderation. Wild change is just chaotic. Star Ocean's jump in battle system from 1-2 to 3-4 is an example. While I liked SO3, arguably my favorite, the drastic change in battle system and then 4's completely erratic additions were unnecessary and game breaking.

PB said a lot of it, but honestly it really is about making an extra buck by banking off of HORRIBLE decisions. Despite the increase in... interesting audiences, catering to the newbies isn't going to bring about the most desirable result. Part of that is biased, but part of it is true. At the end of the day, the Madden Halonauts will only show so much patriotism, the classicals and often considered "Nintardos" are the ones that always buy the extra products, more than one copy of a game and purchase special editions. But eh, just my two cents really.

Same goes for the following question really. It's all about money... which is both a good and bad thing I guess.

It can be done only in theory. There will always be a clashing involving the whole "East vs West" and trying to fuse the worlds together or find a middle ground. People enjoy bitching and enjoy the chaos. But also, people enjoy what they like being untouched by the "other side" due to lack of best interests for eachother.

Lastly, Nintendo is a buncha crazy mofos that are good at what they do.

[HokutoNoBen]

Finally, how hard is it to create universal games instead of ones that pander to one side of the world's ideas of fun or the other's?

In the end, it's only as hard as a company makes for itself. It doesn't help that Capcom is starting to stoop to levels that make even Sega look good, to some degree.

For example, I may bag on DMC4 for its flaws, but it should go without saying that even in spite of its faults, it's STILL a remarkably better game than the likes of Heavenly Sword or Dante's Inferno. And even more note-worthy? IT SOLD WELL. The fan base really only wanted to have at least some things addressed for a sequel (like over-usage of recycling assets, for one).

So, what does Capcom do? They go and REBOOT the saga for no reason, OUTSOURCE the game to an unproven developer like Ninja Theory and basically do more to cite the mantra of "THIS NEEDS MORE WESTERN APPEAL TO SELL". Sega's Shadow the Hedgehog (game) may be guilty of a number of these same sins, but Capcom's DmC really takes this notion to a whole new level.

And I like how Inafune is quick to point fingers at his fellow Japanese developers, when he's definitely a part of the problem, itself. If he's not happy with the way that Capcom is doing things, well, he can feel free to follow the likes of Nishitani, Funamizu and Inaba and the Clover bunch, who've all left the company to forge their own paths over the last 2 decades. But I guess that lofty position of being in Capcom's "Head of R&D" has just too many perks for Inafune to be really serious about rocking the boat, eh...?

[Bueno Excelente]

The problem with the "western appeal" thing is that they're pretty much doing it wrong when they try to stick western influences in a game that's already doing well.

Look at the MGS saga. Kojima sticks quite enough western appeal in it, moreso in each new game, and it works. They don't need western developers to make western games, they just need GOOD developers to make GOOD games. Do some research on western culture, maybe bring some western people into japanese teams to help (God knows there are too many unemployed dudes in the industry) and it all works. No need for Capcom to do this kind of a mess, specially trusting development teams which are honestly in a lower quality level than they are.

I will say the Japanese gaming industry needs to evolve BEYOND their damn sequelitis, and game genres that never change. It is the age of the Indie, and alot of new companies are progressing with whole new ways to play and new experiences. Look at team ICO. Now that's an awesome way to create whole new games that connect to one another, yet are completely different experiences. The problem is, many japanese companies are way too focused on making the same games for the same people over and over again. They gotta try and think a bit like Nintendo, and try to access that "extra audience", having new themes, new gameplay experiences, new games which revolutionize the ways of thinking.

[Flame]

What Bat said.^

[Bueno Excelente]

I'd like to add that so far, Capcom really has done right with their outsourcing. Bionic Commando Rearmed was a fantastic game, and the sequel appears to not dissapoint. (And for the record, under all the crap, there was a really good game in Bionic Commando, under the awful level design and shitty story, there was solid gameplay and quite an innovative use of controls, unfortunately with a very steep learning curve and hard to get used to. It was a puzzle with good pieces built in the wrong order.) Blue Castle Games also seems to be doing a very good job with Dead Rising 2 (Case Zero was very, very good), so no problem there. As far as Ninja Theory, I honestly don't know. We've only watched one single cutscene so far, and obviously Capcom knows more about this than us, so even though the horribleness that's happening to the DMC franchise is painfully obvious, we should wait and see what else they can bring us. Who knows, we might be surprised. And obviously they know about the fans' rants, so maybe this was their goal. (since with the first trailer of DMC4, it also showed Dante slaughtering people all over, and that turned out to be a twist).

...so Capcom is less to blame for this than we think. Obviously they're still guilty for related stuff, but let's not get into that. I do feel that Mikami is right in the way that companies really need to create new experiences and new ways to play a game. (not in terms of controllers or hardware, but in terms of actual GAMES).

[Acid]

Eh, everything I think about this matter has been said already.

[Align]

Capcom still makes good games when they make them themselves... so it's more everyone else that's lagging behind.

But JP devs aren't the only devs to design games based on outmoded concepts - or how would you explain all the wannabe MMOs the last few years? None of them trying to do anything that WoW (or in a few cases, PlanetSide) didn't already do better. Only now are we getting new and exciting things, like GW2.
Let's not get into shootan games.

Basically, I don't think this is new news.

[Gaia]

What the.. Inufaune, again? What about those that enjoy your games in the shadows, man? Don't let it get to ya. Develop a DDR Rockman series and we are good. Don't try pulling a Sonic Team, please.

Nintendo is never counted as a Japanese developer, but rather their own seperate entity?

Nintendo is basically a god in the gaming industry, next to Atari, who invented gaming.

[TheOnly]

1. Atari
2. Nintendo
3. All the rest.

Other then that, Inafune should listen to its fans once in a while. -.-"

[Zan]

Inafune should listen to its fans once in a while.

Bad idea. In Inafune's recent efforts to listen to the fans, he has severely pissed off a completely different bunch of fans.

[Blackhook]

You can't please everyone.

[Gaia]

You can't please everyone.

Look at Sega, they are trying hard to please the older fans who grew up with Sonic, while at the same time slightly annoying the younger fans for one reason or another.

[HokutoNoBen]

Look at Sega, they are trying hard to please the older fans who grew up with Sonic, while at the same time slightly annoying the younger fans for one reason or another.

And even in their attempts to try and appease the older fans, they're still not quite hitting the mark. This is why the whole "focus group" thing usually only succeeds in crafting "Poochies" that just makes things worse. Again, this is probably the one thing that Sega and Capcom share in common, especially here lately.

[Gaia]

And even in their attempts to try and appease the older fans, they're still not quite hitting the mark. This is why the whole "focus group" thing usually only succeeds in crafting "Poochies" that just makes things worse. Again, this is probably the one thing that Sega and Capcom share in common, especially here lately.

And that's why they are very selective when it comes to the age demographic (I.E. Target Audience), that's when they begin to screw up. Sega's "fanbase card" (as I like to call it), is mostly responsible for making games entirely out of interest to very select gamers. However in turn made Archie the better branch, although some of the stories make me go WTF at times.

Capcom on the other hand, I noticed they are very desperate to connect with older gamers (which in turn, tried too hard and nearly ruined their image, look at some of VJ's series of games in which only one game was good enough, I believe there were rumors of hidden innuendos in some of the later titles), while most of the market's aimed towards kids and teens, and young adults.

[TheOnly]

At LEAST please the DASH fans who have been crying out for it in the last DECADE...

[Flame]

Take a gander at this.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/one-on-one-keiji-inafune-game-designer/

[Archer]

"It’s like sushi. Everyone loves sushi in the West"

I think sushi is disgusting. |: