In a recent interview with Wired, Keiji Inafune talks about how Japan is stuck in the past and not looking to the future. In the interview Wired asked Inafune various questions about what the Japanese industry should do and why they are failing.
People think what I’m saying is vague. But it’s not vague, it’s the core message that they’re not getting. Japan is over because there aren’t any people who are admitting that they’ve lost the competition. Japan still talks about how American games are not good at all, because they’re sitting on the fact that they were winners in the game industry years ago. First, Japan has to admit that they’ve lost the battle once and they have to build up on the current state.
Is Japan really failing though? I’ve heard multiple times about how hard Microsoft has to work to get the XBOX 360 to sell in Japan. It always seems like it’s quite the opposite with the Playstation 3 and Wii, both of which come from local companies.
When the Wired interviewer mentioned that they liked Japanese games and didn’t want them to go away, Inafune seemed to brush that aside and said “You don’t like them now right? You like the old ones.†I haven’t played many Japanese RPG’s recently but from what I have played, my emotions are a bit mixed. With Final Fantasy XIII I saw a failure. With lengthy boss battles and tedious sidequests the game became a chore rather than something to relax my nerves. However the sequel, XIII-2, was much improved and I’ve found myself having fun and wanting to collect the strongest monsters for my party. Although mainly I have noticed myself playing more and more RPG’s that are not Japanese, like Skyrim for instance which did get a perfect score from Famitsu.
Going into more detail, Inafune was asked about Nintendo and their success. To which he replied that they’re a great company but they’re stagnant.
If Nintendo was a company with no money, they would have done it already. But they have so much money that they’re trying to come up with a new way, a new style of winning.
Nintendo to me seems to be trying too hard to stay cutsey and Disney-like. Recently they would not port The Binding of Isaac because of it’s religious references. This could also be an arena that Nintendo could get into. Bringing games like Modern Warfare 3 and Mass Effect to their console. To be fair Assassin’s Creed III will be available for the Wii-U but aside from that their aren’t many bloody and gore filled games for the Wii and 3DS.
In the interview Inafune even praises Phil Phish for saying that Japanese games suck:
There was a Canadian guy who appeared in a documentary film and did a Q&A afterwards. And a Japanese person asked what he thought of Japanese games, and he said he thought they sucked. That’s what’s necessary.
He’s right dear readers. We treat local developers, for instance EA and Bioware, like shit and give them grief beyond what they should. However when one person talks shit about Japan then all hell breaks loose. I admit, Phish could have been more tactful and constructive with his words but in the end the message is the same.
It’s very severe, but very honest. Unless Japanese people feel embarrassed from the experience of getting harsh comments, saying [new games] could have been better is not an opinion they would take seriously. When they’re embarrassed and they feel obliged to change, it would make a difference. – Keiji Inafune
In the end though, Inafune says that Japan is “very diligent†and “They work hard hoursâ€. However he goes on to say this:
The problem is they’re not led in the right direction. When they’re not shown a direction, they just waste their energy on unnecessary things. There’s definitely a lack of leadership. If they’re led in the right direction, they will come up with really good work.
Maybe Mr. Inafune is right, maybe Japan is going on a downward slope. Let’s just hope they can bring back the pizazz and glory they had years ago when they were at their prime.
Source: Wired
