Inaba: Western devs 'superior' to Japanese devs

I think it's really a matter of opinion. Some Japanese developers far surpass standards time and time again, some Western developers do the same. Some Japanese developers churn out crap time and time again, same with Western developers.

Frankly, I think the west has too many companies like EA, that just produce the same game over and over again.

I wouldn't say that. Sure some western developers are better than some Japanese developers, but overall, there are good developers all over the world.

But I guess it's kind of a uniquely Japanese thing to compare Japan to the rest of the world in art, technology, etc. etc. (and to try to surpass the rest of the world as a collective whole). Japan's pretty tight knit.

can we all agree that MadWorld may just have the most badass boxart of all time?

Careful, it's the "Americans have large penises" trick from the South Park episode Chinpokomon.

Why do we keep reading about this subject. We already know it's true. Seems like there is a similar post about this every 3 months

The rise of Western developers has been tied to the rise of PC gaming as it relates to console gaming. The western developers were working on the indie games that now dominate the download services, and they were doing the high-end games that now dominate the PS360.

Wii is the holdout for Japanese development holding the reins for the high-end titles, but the shifting dynamics of the industry in Wii's favor, it might lead to a slowdown in the breakneck technological advancement on consoles, in turn giving the Japanese a good chance to play catch-up

And he's absolutely right, like most of the other big time japanese developers have also stated. The thing is, it's about time to stop talking about it and start doing something about it. Start with completely reworking everything about the JRPG genre, as it's been pretty much exactly the same for 20 years now.

HELLZ YEA!

WE ROCK! U S A!!!!! U S A!!!!!!!!!

Europe's dev companies are probably the most technically advanced I would say. And also that region is slowly becoming my favorite.

yeaaaaaaaaah! fuck Japan!

wait what? the Western and Japanese markets are two COMPLETELY different animals. as a whole, Westerns prefer FPS while Japanese prefer RPG's. now that's a pretty big generalization (im Western and prefer RPG's) but that's the same kind of statement this guy is making. it has no basis really in my opinion, since the whole thing is simply based on opinion anyway.

European devs tend to go for the high concept games that don't always work, but have good ideas which are picked up by others.

American devs tend to make games with a lack of new ideas, but highly are polished. This is changing however.

With the exception of Nintendo, Japanese devs make games for the Japanese market and nobody but weeaboos give a shit about. IE: loads of JRPGs, all with the same teenage characters saving the bloody world AGAIN with gibberish plots that some fucker here will vote me down for, because I don't "get" this tripe before sticking Pocky up their bum and crying themselves to sleep under their anime bedsheets.

*yawn* we've heard this all before. (japan needs to stop crying already) wake me up when, western developers stop releasing the same old first-person shooter, with the same old young white male marine/space marine, who has the same old bald or shaved head, who wears the same of body armor that's the size of tank, who uses the same modern day military weapons or made up sci-fi ones, who's set in some military world. also, wake me up when, western developers stop releasing the same old music games, but with new and improved fisher-price (shawn elliot's words, not mine, lol) guitars, bass guitars and drum sets. wake me up when, western developers stop releasing the same old sandbox and openworld games with a young white male, who has some form of super powers. wake me up when, western developers stop releasing the same old young white every man male, who happens to have some young white blonde haired and blue eyes female as a side kick. wake me up when, ea finally decides to do something different with the madden series of games. (they've been the same for years) wake me up when, western developers finally start releasing their games with no bugs or glitches. but, then later in the week, they issue a patch for the game, to fix the problems that should have been fix before the game was officially released to the consumers. yes, i know that the japanese have their own problems when it comes to game development this generation. but, western developers aren't that great at what they create and do in the videogame space this generation either. they release the same old shit too.

i didn't spell check this, so, the grammar might be bad. oh well. it's late. i don't care. (lol)

All my fav games come from developers in Japan, Canada, and Sweden it seems. It's been a while since I've really cared about any "Made in America" game. Sorry, my fellow Americans, but you've lost your touch!

Anyone who says the west doesn't have any or as many original games or ideas doesn't know WTF their talking about. There are tons of indie developers out there creating original ideas everyday. While Nintendo has flooded the market with enough shovelware to support the west's argument for decades to come. Point being, there are good qualities and negative qualities to either region. No one is innocent of sequlitis or complacency. And not all sequels are bad. Who isn't looking forward to Dead Rising 2, Uncharted 2, GoW3, FFXIII or CoD4?




I'm not pro- either side. Unlike some people, I don't think everything is black and white, and I can't stand people who love to bash the west every chance they get. While we all know EA is responsible for some of least original ideas ever, this is hardly represenative of the the western gaming industry. It's just another easy target for a weak mind. Some people even try to separate Europe from the US as part of the west because they hate the US so much. And that's really where there opinions come from, which renders them useless and idiotic.

"opportunities hinge on a developer's ability to sell products to a global audience"

That's a terrible conclusion. Cultural identity is one of the last things Japanese games have, to lose that means they'll have nothing (of any significant worth).

Approaching any creative work from a global prospective is good for the balance sheet, but, from an artistic point of view, it renders the project null and void, without worth. Nothing flourishes when you try to appease as many potential customers as possible, nothing whatsoever. What you do get is a mish-mash, bric-a-brac of signs and nonsense which means very little to the targeted market. It's stupefying.

Appeasement to the masses is to enslave yourself to the base serf. No good can come from such an approach, unless you consider dumbed down emptiness as a type of good. And to think Madworld is being approached in this manner. How I sigh.

You find the concept of "the West" to be bizarre?

Pro tip - try cracking open a Western Civ textbook sometime for clues as the what defines "the West".

----SPOILERS BELOW----
Yes, Germany, France, and the US are different countries, but they share underlying historical, religious, cultural, aesthetic, and racial components that make them part of "the West".

"According to Inaba, Japanese developers have to "work hard" to match the standards of western developers."

Maybe if Japanese developers actually released stuff this generation they wouldn't be so far behind. But seriously, other than Capcom, Japan is just sitting around on their hands. Maybe the occasional playing around with DS.

I think this is a little silly. Some of the best games I played last year were Japanese developed. Its all a matter of preference.

Ooooohhhh...so rehashing your old titles again and again and again and again is a bad thing???

Hello.....SQUARE ENIX......no wonder you can only get a new game out worth purchasing every 6+ years...yeesh.