Inafune talks about Capcom split, wants to be 'driving force' in game development

Good for you Inafune.

I like this guy less and less every time I hear about anything he says.
Dude, you drew Rockman characters. That's it. That's all you did. Get your head out of your ass.

I love Capcom now just as much as I always have, and no matter what this pathetic guy says that isn't gonna change anytime soon.

I guess we'll get to see him put his money where his mouth is in the near future. Should be interesting.

Just read the interview and mr. Inafune makes alot of good points.

As long as Legends 3 doesn't suck, I don't care what Inafune or Capcom decides to do. Just don't screw this up! We've waited too damn long.

So now with Inafune gone, is the only veteran at Capcom the street fighter developer?

But on topic: Good for him, haters gonna make more Smurf games.

Im fine with Inafune, it sounds like he has a good reason for the quit, but the BIG IMPORTANT QUESTIONS are "Whats going on with going on with Megaman Universe, and Legends 3", "Are they still being made", and finally "How long do we have to wait to play them?"

You got cojones.

I will buy your first game.

Good points from a great developer, hope he has a great future.

Every time I see this picture I can't help but think how Kate + the other 8 are doing.

You can't be anything but excited for the guy. When you have the creative drive to do something it should be applauded in this industry. I wish the same attitude was happening with square. .

Platinum Games/Inafune game

I swear Platinum just sens emissaries to wait outside of Japanese game companies, chilling by the corner, "Oh.. Shot down that idea again eh? You know.. We'd let you do it."

I like a guy who is passionate about what he does

If Capcom refused to pay for some halfway decent window blinds to put behind me for my photo shoots I'd leave too.

Goddamn do I love Inafune.

Telling it like it is.

Yeah. Capcom is losing its edge (no pun intended) and there developers are defecting. I mean, look at the guy, he's wearing an Ambercrombe shirt. He wants to do things 'The American Way.' The way things are going, American developers are coming out on top and Japanese gaming is becoming a dying breed.

Video gaming used to be all about exclusives and trying to outdo other consoles by working with one, and pushing the thing to its boundaries. It was Sonic and Mario, and then it became Crash Bandicoot. But, those days forced developers to develop to 1up the other. To do something totally new and drive the industry. Now, well.... "Its too hard." Its too expensive. Gaming needs that "umph" back. Develop for the consoles and drive the hardware. I'm assuming that's what he means by salarymen. he could be bitter Capcom isn't giving him his cut. But, if you look at his comrade, who just finished Vanquish, he was just bought up by Bethesda, most likely because he needed to make bigger budget games, he needed a bigger backer. So, nows he's back under the hand of control. "He who has the gold, makes the rules." Inafune, is going to start his own company, and have to be bought up to fund his games and then he'll be right back where he started.

But, if you're going to go your own way, and say you're gonna drive the industry, you gonna have to do better than lack-luster Lost Planet and Resident Evil 5. Pick a console, and develop the HELL OUTTA IT! Push it to its limits! Build something so fun and so amazing looking that others will bow at your feet. But, its not going to go that way for him. He'll buy the Unreal Engine 3 and work off someone else's jolt. I don't think he'll get what he wants.

Whether you agree with the man or not, I'm really happy for Inafune-san. He did what he felt was right and stood up against I'm sure what was almost insurmountable opposition. And that always takes courage (or b4lls if you will, lol).

Is it just me or is this like the 10th time I've seen this guy's picture on joystiq?

Well Megaman and Devil MY Cry/Resident Evil are gone, if Streetfighter leaves..We will witness the fall of a Titan known as Capcom. Dangit I wanted Megaman X9. There goes those dreams, but hey still hope for a Capcom vs Disney! :D

Well, I skimmed the 3 hour interview text and it was pretty interesting. Didn't know that Capcom had a "life long employment" system in place. Inafune says that the Japanese game industry is "like a Communist state" where all the employees are near the same level of compensation, so no one really works hard since there is little incentive to do so.

He also said that low-tier workers in the Western game industry are basically treated like slaves, so everyone is trying to climb to the top to get out of their crappy low-level jobs. This in turn fuels progress, a kind of "do or die" mentality.

Not everything he said about Western game development culture was positive though. He also said that Dead Rising 2, despite being made in Canada, is actually a Japanese game, since he claims to be the real source of that game's ideas. And he also seemed to think that Western game developers, while technically proficient and hard working, were also uncreative when it came to game ideas. He claimed what they needed were leaders like him.

I can easily imagine the critics of Japanese games using bits and pieces of Inafune's remarks to support their beliefs, while leaving the parts they disagree with on the side.

Most interesting to note of that interview is that Dead Rising was made with 10 people... whereas something like Lost Planet was made with anything close to 100.

Wow.

@Guts
My interpretation of the Salarymen snipe was in reference to how everyone has lifetime employment and no incentive to do more than the bare minimum since the paycheque is the same every year regardless.

Keeping in mind that the corporate culture is different in Japan than it is in the west.

I just hate how he generalizes like that. Being passionate about gaming development has nothing to do with his whole "Japan sucks, I want to be Western" thing. Just look at people like Miyamoto, he wants to be developing when he's on his 80s, it's completely unfair to state Japanese developers lack passion just because Capcom is not exactly what he wants it to be.

He could be right and have alot of good points, but in what Video Games respect, I take Japanese games over Western ones all days of the week.

Almost like 90% of the best games I ever played are Jp made.

This is nothing new. Ever since Capcom dismantled clover, you had to know things were going downhill.