Ever the eccentric, Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi went on stage at a video game conference and tried to tell the audience that video games are NOT the most important thing in the world.We couldn't believe it either.
Standing barefoot in front of
Takahashi also implied, rather laughably, that things like recycling and being friendly were just as important as beating Halo 3 on Legendary for the third time. "I'm not trying to be the next Al Gore but I'm not sure if we could afford to have video games in ten or twenty year's time," the fearmongering designer said, adding that white is black and up is actually down.
After the confusing opening, Takahashi showed off a demo of Nobi Nobi Boy, thankfully distracting the audience from the problems of the real world once again.
(Page 1) Reader Comments
i still enjoy playing video games though.
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Yeah... this guys was being a dick on stage...
Fact
http://www.show.me.uk/site/news/STO873.html
Global Warming is just a way to keep our mind off of Iraq and all the identity theft caused by Immigration...
Global Warming = Y2K
So this guy WAS being a dick on stage either way...
Fact
http://www.show.me.uk/site/news/STO873.html
Global Warming is just a way to keep our mind off of Iraq and all the identity theft caused by Immigration...
Global Warming = Y2K
So this guy WAS being a dick on stage either way...
Wow, that was one sophomoric piece of work. Move over Americans, it seems another very British culture cannot move beyond 3rd Grade Science too!
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Thanks buddy for lecturing me and telling me to go out and do other things. Oh wait, I have a brain and can do that without some clown who thinks his opinion actually matters to me.
I love video games. I also do my part to lead a full and active life that I will be proud of. Don't presume you know the innerworkings of the collective video game mind because you made a game about a boy who rolls stuff up into a ball that was popular for 2 seconds. You also make playground equipment. Tell me what you are doing to change the world?
Al gore actually DID something to help the environment and his cause.
No sir, you are most certainly NOT the next Al Gore.
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I will take the pot-smoking japanese video game creator over Al Gore anyday. At least this guy's personality isnt equivalent to a cardboard cut-out.
And making a video does not make you environmental.
But yeah man, just keep telling yourself whatever it is you tell yourself, I'm sure someone will listen.....
Thanks for playing.
I agree with everything Takahashi said here. You don't have to be a dick to like the environment and you don't have to be a dick to like video games. Anybody who thinks that playing games is more important than saving the world is either absolutely nuts or a G-d.
Chris, you're insane if you think Katamari was only popular for 2 seconds. The 4th game just came out, and it's STILL good.
And Al Gore DID do something. Or when was the last time any Joystiqqers made a documentary that educated the whole world about the most important danger facing our planet?
I want that beanie bad. Anyone know where I can get one?
Anyway, can't agree with your adoration of Al Gore, but its your right I guess.
Quality of life would improve, and we would be less dependent on parts of the world that don't like us anyway.
Anyway, I think the most important films of last year were 'Inconvenient Truth' and 'Idiocracy.' which, in a strange way, were about the exact same thing - a fucked-up future that could happen if we sit back and do nothing while the planet goes by.
I don't think that's why you got voted down.
Personally, I think its wrong to vote me down just becasue I dont tow every single party line that comes out of the Democrat party. Free will and freedom of choice is what this country is founded upon. You should mind that and make conscious decison of what you believe in, and not just jump on every bandwagon that comes your way. At least I can go to sleep every night knowing that am not a robot being told what to think by every Hillary Clinton or Al Gore that comes along.
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Cool hat. Laughably obvious talking points.
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Why are you bitching about how unimportant games are as opposed to real world issues if you still make video games. He even worse than Itagaki (attitude-wise).
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And its because the guy is so openminded that he is able to express like that, I mean, just look at his freaking game, nowadays all we are pretty much getting is wars, gangsters, or/and porn (not saying any of these are bad...), its just awesome to see that this guy was able to come up with an idea like that.
You can always play videogames, and yet still be able to focus on world issues.
and how the hell did you come up with this uber craptastic statement "He even worse than Itagaki (attitude-wise)"
Itagaki isn't as humble as this guy, all Itagaki has made is Ninja Gaiden, and he claims his games to be the best, Takahashi has never said that, as a matter of fact, he ONLY really wanted to make the first Katamari, I don't have the interview, but he said that he didn't want to be related to Katamari, but he made the second one, he had nothing to do on the 3rd one, you can tell that by his comment on the article mentioned here:
"one of the first points that the designer raised was that he was "sick of Katamari Damacy""
I want my Playstation 9 dammit... :(\
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2gzRQ5f3No
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Fact
http://www.show.me.uk/site/news/STO873.html
Global Warming is just a way to keep our mind off of Iraq and all the identity theft caused by Immigration...
Global Warming = Y2K
So this guy WAS being a dick on stage either way...
But I think you need to take it deeper, and start adding these things together - the problem may be enhanced from all those cows PLUS all of our cars... Both of which are in higher demand (beef and cars) as companies like McDonalds build more and more food franchises, move into areas like China, and cheap cars (and making people think they need new cars every year, it's like Madden!) become more available all over the world. All of the western influence of fast food in the east has raised the bar on the amount of beef needed - and that means more cows - and made obesity a bit of a problem in areas of the world not previously known for it. (Citing points far more expanded upon in the books 'No Logo' and 'Fast Food Nation')
So, plat. skeet, it's not only conspiracy, it's INTERTWINED conspiracies...
He'd have to invent the internet :P
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not because he's saying the obvious, not because he brings up valid points and not because no one likes to be lectured.
he's a 'tard because he's at video game conference talking about things that have nothing to do with games. see, there's this little thing called 'context' that keeps you focused on the subject matter at hand. if he wants to save the world, there are plenty of other conferences.
and I sense that he's in fact implying that video games are BAD. 'can't afford to have video games in 20 years'??!!? what the fuck?!!?? I'll bet there was a Roman version of this guy back then at the Coliseum saying 'can we afford to watch gladiators in 50-100 years?' guess what, it's been 2000 years and we're all doing the same damn ccrap we did back then... except now, with more style!
video games are still in their infancy. the technology behind them will power many great inventions and innovations. Maybe they will even help the environment, poverty or disease someday. he's a fucking 'tard.
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Think about his track record so far. While a game like Katamari does contain cartoon violence, it doesn't involve violence to the degree of it being considered graphic, or even anything other than passive. There's no malice in his games, and in an era of Grand Theft Autos, and Ninja Gaidens, it's quite a challenge to do so, not to mention at a profit. He made games ok to play with the family again, and if that's not a step in the right direction, I don't know what is.
I agree with your comment about games and their possible, future influence on environmentalism and conservation, though I believe that may be due to designers like Keita Takahashi, rather than in spite of them.
That being said, outside of the software side of the industry right now, the developing and manufacturing of games is a terribly costly and environmentally taxing process. We need to not only promote ethical practices in games, but also abide by them in their creation. Direct downloading is a possibility that's being exploited more and more of course, so there's that at least.
Oh, and regarding your Coliseum comment, if there was someone back then, as you had suggested, I'm sure they would be citing the cost to society, as it glorifies and promotes violence as a means of solving conflict and creating entertainment, instead of the monetary cost, just as Keita was.
"There is nothing so ruinous to good character as to idle away one's time at some spectacle. Vices have a way of creeping in because of the feeling of pleasure that it brings. Why do you think that I say that I personally return from shows greedier, more ambitious and more given to luxury, and I might add, with thoughts of greater cruelty and less humanity, simply because I have been among humans?
The other day, I chanced to drop in at the midday games, expecting sport and wit and some relaxation to rest men's eyes from the sight of human blood. Just the opposite was the case. Any fighting before that was as nothing; all trifles were now put aside - it was plain butchery.
The men had nothing with which to protect themselves, for their whole bodies were open to the thrust, and every thrust told. The common people prefer this to matches on level terms or request performances. Of course they do. The blade is not parried by helmet or shield, and what use is skill or defense? All these merely postpone death.
In the morning men are thrown to bears or lions, at midday to those who were previously watching them. The crowd cries for the killers to be paired with those who will kill them, and reserves the victor for yet another death. This is the only release the gladiators have. The whole business needs fire and steel to urge men on to fight. There was no escape for them. The slayer was kept fighting until he could be slain.
'Kill him! Flog him! Burn him alive!' (the spectators roared) 'Why is he such a coward? Why won't he rush on the steel? Why does he fall so meekly? Why won't he die willingly?
Unhappy as I am, how have I deserved that I must look on such a scene as this? Do not, my Lucilius, attend the games, I pray you. Either you will be corrupted by the multitude, or, if you show disgust, be hated by them. So stay away."
Long, I know, and I'm sorry for that, but it's pretty poignant.
I understand what you're trying to get at but compare the number of people at the Coliseum that day with the number of people at the World Series yesterday.
the Coliseum is still going strong 2000 years later... you think 20 more years will make the difference?
what if your hobby was model trains and some guy who makes the trains gets up in front of a train hobbyist convention and starts talking about saving Rowanda? You'd wonder if you were at the right convention!
That's exactly why I believe it's still pertinent. I'm not saying we have to burn the mother down. I'm just in agreement with Keita about how there's got to be a better way. And even then, it's not like an alternative, more nurturing form of entertainment has to completely replace our current model at all. There will always be room for a game like Gears of War, but as Seneca would later write, we need to learn to manage ourselves better, and be more productive members of society.
"what if your hobby was model trains and some guy who makes the trains gets up in front of a train hobbyist convention and starts talking about saving Rowanda? You'd wonder if you were at the right convention!"
Not really. I'd be thankful that someone in my industry was forward thinking enough to talk about more than just this year's small post office models and wheel kits. Really, I'd be happy to be a part of something with a conscience.
I think Keita's comment about 20 years serves more as a reminder than a deadline. Everything could be gone tomorrow, really.
@jovin6
"Way to quote a Stoic philosopher to defend a reactionary and limited viewpoint."
I'd say his viewpoint is anything but limited, and what's reactionary wasn't Keita's comments; it's what's going on all around us, and in this forum this very moment.
"...Seneca doesn't understand or value human nature"
I beg to differ. The man had to instruct Nero. That would wise you up to human nature pretty damn fast.
>> I'm just in agreement with Keita about how there's got to be a better way.
but this is the whole problem I have with what he's saying. the stuff he's talking about are problems that have been around and will be around no matter what - some of this stuff is what makes us human.
it's like George Bush saying he's going to defeat Evil. Sure it's a noble ideal but it's just not going to happen. ever. just accept that bad things happen to good people and try to be happy and live in the moment - and 'living in the moment' is something that games help you to do, by the way.
>> someone in my industry was forward thinking enough to talk about more than just this year's small post office models and wheel kits. Really, I'd be happy to be a part of something with a conscience.
you gotta be kidding me. well, everyone has their opinion but personally, if I am going to a convention that concerns my hobby (and forget if I had to pay to get in), I'm there for that reason, not to be lectured or scared into paying attention to something that has nothing to do with why I'm there. here's a better analogy, you go to a horror movie convention and Freddy Kruger starts on a rant about genocide... it's inappropriate, out of context and what makes this guy the expert on how long we can keep doing anything?
"just accept that bad things happen to good people and try to be happy and live in the moment - and 'living in the moment' is something that games help you to do, by the way."
No argument there. I just think there's no reason to be completely complacent. There are always areas that can be improved upon, like marketing slutty toys to kids, super sizing a big mac meal, or making the goal of a video game getting a bigger gun to kill bigger people.
"...if I am going to a convention that concerns my hobby (and forget if I had to pay to get in), I'm there for that reason, not to be lectured or scared into paying attention to something that has nothing to do with why I'm there."
Don't worry, I do get your analogies. I just can't apply them to myself. I think we can both agree to disagree on that one. I actually attended a graphic design conference once, where one of the keynote speakers spent half of her time on stage speaking about something entirely unrelated to the industry, like her pets or something. If you dug deeper, you could actually find ties, as her actions and type of thinking started to paint a picture of the people in the industry as a whole. I'm making a poor example of it, but it was actually quite refreshing. If I were a game journalist, I'd get bored with going to shows where all people talk about are poly-counts and weapon types. I'm not imposing my view on you; just thought I'd share a similar experience of mine.
By the way, what happened to your previous ID? I hope it wasn't banned. I thought this has been a pretty good discussion to be honest.
yeh, good talking with you too.
I tell ya though, if I went to a games convention to hear about a game I was looking forward to and the speaker talked about his pet half the time? someone would get a very large iced beverage thrown at them :)
anyway, I think you're giving this guy way too much credit - maybe even projecting your sensible opinions into his empty head :)
And that's fair. I don't feel so, but if I am giving him too much credit, at least he isn't Perry. Hahah.
thanks for the heads up!