Joystiq

DOA5 lead: Japanese view of women in games 'not going to change'

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 21:00:00 EST

The Dead or Alive franchise is notorious for its blatant emphasis on sexy female fighters in tiny, physics-defying outfits - in the western world, at least. In Japan, this form of female representation is "common sense," Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi tells MCV.

"With the representation of female characters in the Dead or Alive franchise, we've always wanted to make the girls look as attractive as possible, and that's something that's not going to change for us at all," Hayashi says. "We are a Japanese developer, and we're making the female characters with our common sense and our creative sense. When you take that to countries outside of Japan, it tends to be very misinterpreted in some cases, people considering it sexist or derogatory, etc."

In February, Hayashi said Team Ninja would attempt to shift focus in Dead or Alive 5 away from sex and violence, heading instead in "a direction that contains emotional experiences that can move players." It's entirely possible that Hayashi was pandering to western sensibilities with that statement, but it's also possible he plans to combine deep, emotional experiences with sex-infused character models. There's nothing immoral in making beautiful things, as Hayashi sees it.

"For us, within our culture, we're showing women like that, and we're trying to make them look attractive," he says. "We can't help if other cultures in other countries around the globe think that it's a bad representation. Within our nationality and within our national borders, we obviously have morals that we create our female characters from, but within our Japanese sensibilities, we've made those characters the way they are and we're not going to stop doing that."

DOA5 lead: Japanese view of women in games 'not going to change' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bringing a Chinese shooter to the west with Mercenary Ops

Mike Schramm — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:00 EST

Mercenary Ops is something of a rarity. While there are quite a few Western-developed games being published in Asia by Chinese and Korean companies, there aren't a lot of Chinese-developed online titles being published by Western companies.

Developed in China by Yingpei Games, which used to be called Epic Games China, the shooter is being distributed by the San Francisco-based outfit Kalends, a group of developers who've decided to try their hand at publishing on their own.

As for the game itself, Kalends has announced that Mercenary Ops will be released as a free-to-play, microtransaction-based title - a business plan that has deep roots in China, but is only just breaking ground stateside.

Gallery: Mercenary Ops

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Bringing a Chinese shooter to the west with Mercenary Ops originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Riot Games confirms Tencent majority buyout

Mike Schramm — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 22:15:00 EST

Riot Games has confirmed that a majority of the company was bought by China's Tencent, putting its stamp of approval on rumors of the deal last week. Brandon Beck, Riot's CEO, is quoted as saying that "Tencent's investment will provide our talented team of designers, developers and community staff with additional resources to focus on innovating around League of Legends and launching new projects that push the boundaries in the gaming space."

Financial Times has a nice analysis of the deal -- it sounds like this agreement will help both sides, as Riot will not only get that nice cash infusion of a rumored $350 million, but also invaluable assistance and insight for what it was already hoping would be a nice overseas adoption. And Tencent, of course, gets to lay claim to League of Legends and any other titles that Riot developers, along with the huge microtransaction-based revenues that go along with them, both here and eventually overseas.

Plus, this is a sign of the growing trend of Eastern publishers picking up Western companies to develop content for the large audiences over there. Chinese publisher The9 recently bought another Blizzard spinoff, Red 5 Studios, for $15 million, and Japanese firm DeNA picked up iOS developer ngmoco for $400 million as well. Western audiences are big, but Eastern audiences are bigger and, as a result, there's high demand for well-developed games in that market.

Riot Games confirms Tencent majority buyout originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Playdom CEO: 'Core gamers are playing this stuff'

Mike Schramm — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:45:00 EST

Social gaming is bigger than ever. Playdom CEO John Pleasants gave an interview on stage at the LA Games Conference today, and said that while the western market for Facebook and social games currently pulls in over $750 million, it's going to balloon to as much as $4 to 5 billion in the next five years or so. His own company is developing at an extremely rapid pace -- it's purchased and acquired enough companies and studios to have ten different teams developing, and they plan to release ten games, "all original ideas," in just the next five months.

So why aren't you "core" gamers playing these games yet? Pleasants says you are. He told Joystiq after the presentation that "If you look at something like Mobsters 2, and you go look at the boards where people are talking about it, they're like, 'Look, I love this game, but I have to go back and play Halo.' Core gamers are playing this stuff." He said that the numbers alone prove that traditional gamers are already on board with social games. "This business is bigger than that business, in terms of reach," he told us. "By definition, those circles overlap."

Pleasants also believes that the core game companies like Sony, EA, and Microsoft already know that -- in the next year or so, he said, almost 20% of the social gaming market will be owned by bigger brands. "This space has gotten enough notice now that people believe it's real."

Playdom CEO: 'Core gamers are playing this stuff' originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands-on: Red Dead Redemption

Kevin Kelly — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:45:00 EST

I love Westerns: Shane, Stagecoach, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, Unforgiven, Open Range. These are the immersive stories that I've always wanted to play in games. There have been some decent efforts, like Dead Man's Hand, Gun, Call of Juarez, and even Red Dead Revolver, but they all confine the player to narrow paths. What happened to the wide-open Wild West? Enter: Red Dead Redemption.

This is the largest world Rockstar has ever created. Can you quantify that? "It's big," a representative assured me.

Gallery: Red Dead Redemption

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Hands-on: Red Dead Redemption originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XIII director comments on linearity, early reviews

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST

If you're an avid follower of pre-release review scores for super anticipated titles, you've probably noticed the scattershot scores garnered by Final Fantasy XIII. Most critics' biggest complaint with the game is its linearity -- a qualm which the game's director, Motomu Toriyama, claims to be a hang-up that's native to Western audiences and reviewers.

During a recent interview with Xbox World 360 magazine (via CVG), Toriyama explained, "we think many reviewers are looking at Final Fantasy XIII from a western point of view." He later added, "when you look at most Western RPGs, they just dump you in a big open world, and let you do whatever you like... it becomes very difficult to tell a compelling story when you're given that much freedom." We'd advise Toriyama to take caution when badmouthing freedom, lest he wants to become the subject of a scathing Toby Keith song.

Final Fantasy XIII director comments on linearity, early reviews originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West previewed, screenshotted

Ben Gilbert — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:30:00 EST

Hang on a sec, are you trying to tell us that you weren't at the Paradox Interactive Convention in Stockholm, Sweden last week when the publisher showed off its upcoming game, Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West? Lucky for you then that Paradox Interactive recently released a mélange of screenshots and a developer interview to help assuage your fear of totally missing out. Developed by Swedish company Fatshark, Lead and Gold is a third-person multiplayer-focused shooter set in the Old West.

As described by executive producer Martin Wahlund in the video after the break, the game features a a variety of different competitive multiplayer modes (variations on the traditional "team deathmatch" and "capture the flag," among others) to be played by the game's four classes. Set for release in "Q2 2010," we have to imagine we'll be getting some face time with the game (and news on which consoles it's coming to) in the not too distant future.

Gallery: Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West

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Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West previewed, screenshotted originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GameStop offers chance to vote on Red Dead Redemption pre-order bonus

JC Fletcher — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:32:00 EST

If you pre-order Red Dead Redemption from GameStop, you'll be able to start redeeming a bit early -- specifically, a code for an exclusive pre-order bonus. The retailer will offer customers the chance to vote on one of three in-game challenges that, when completed, will award players an in-game costume.

The hard-earned costume changes will have some unspecified effect on gameplay: according to Rockstar's announcement, "the outfit will uniquely affect how the surrounding world responds to the game's protagonist, John Marston." We don't know what any of the three choices are, but people would respond differently to a man in one of those inflatable sumo wrestler costumes. Just putting that out there. More information about the challenges and the outfits will be released in January.

Gallery: Red Dead Redemption (11-13-09)

GameStop offers chance to vote on Red Dead Redemption pre-order bonus originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Red Dead Redemption screens showcase the finer things in (cowboy) life

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST

A slow trickle of information and media on upcoming Old West-em-up Red Dead Redemption has been coming from developer Rockstar Games for some time now. And if it weren't for the game's somewhat unique setting - as well as our (admittedly strained) faith in the game's developer - we might not indulge the it with so much attention. Alas, these screens, much like the screens and video that came before them, keep impressing us. Call it a predilection for Western-themed entertainment ... we're not sure. Peep the screens below and decide for yourself if the game is worth your time during the busy second holiday release season.

Gallery: Red Dead Redemption (11-13-09)

New Red Dead Redemption screens showcase the finer things in (cowboy) life originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PAX 2009: Red Dead Redemption lets you kill ... everything

Kevin Kelly — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EST

Red Dead Redemption's promised Wild West sandbox came to life in a build shown off to attendees at PAX over the weekend. One of the first things we noticed is that you can end a life whenever you want. What kind of lives? See a bunny bouncing by? Kablam. Attacked by a wild bear? Kapow. Angry at your horse and want to put him down? Kablang. You can kill literally every living thing in the game and, in some cases, skin them and sell their hides to the furrier in town to make some dough. We doubt he deals in horse skins, however.

There's more beyond the break, just mind you don't get shot.

Gallery: Red Dead Redemption (PAX 2009)

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PAX 2009: Red Dead Redemption lets you kill ... everything originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Resident Evil 5 producer is worried about Western developers

Griffin McElroy — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business

The fine folks at Capcom don't have a whole heck of a lot to be concerned about -- their shares are still selling at fairly epic prices, and they've got a pretty solid release schedule lined up for the first half of 2009. Still, Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi recently said in a Famitsu interview that he's worried about "the movements of Western developers," specifically the movements into Capcom's home turf, Japan.

Takeuchi hopes that 2009 will see an improvement in Japan's domestic games market, stating, "it's not good if Japanese developers are making games that can't be enjoyed by Japanese people." Capcom seems poised to lead that charge -- Takeuchi hinted that Capcom's unannounced plans for this year's releases might just "surprise" their fellow countrymen. We hope they've got Mega Man X9 somewhere up their sleeves. Man, Japan would never see that one coming.

Resident Evil 5 producer is worried about Western developers originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CG cutscenes and gaming culture

Ross Miller — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:55:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

In an interview with Lost Planet Community's Brian Dunn, Cutscene Director Yoshiyuki Tonoe and Director Kenji Oguro discussed the differences between how cutscenes are used in Western and Eastern gaming worlds. Their decision to use real-time cutscenes in Lost Planet stems from their research into how Western developers tended to tell the story within the game engine, whereas Japanese developers typically rely on CG graphics for the cinematic storytelling.

Tonoe dates the Eastern obsession with CG cutscenes to the original Biohazard (released March 1996), though arguably Square Enix had already begun to look into CG before the horror title's release with Final Fantasy VII, whose long development process began in 1995. "The latest CG movies found in games are stunning and really help sell the game," said Tonoe, "but when I think about how they are used to tie the story to the gameplay, I wonder if they are effective at making the games any better."

Pictured are some of the games used as reference material during Lost Planet's development. Tonoe cites The Lord of the Rings games, whose cutscenes were amalgamations of movie footage and in-game footage, as "above what Japanese developers were doing at the time."

Specific to their game, Tonoe remarks that there are 33 cutscenes in Lost Planet, totaling 73 minutes, averaging just under three minutes with the longest cutscene at around six minutes in length. What's your preference -- explosive CG eye candy or more immersive real-time storytelling?

[Via 1UP]

CG cutscenes and gaming culture originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 14:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Gun Showdown trailer

Chris Powell — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Video, Gun

I calls 'em like I sees 'em, and I gotta say, graphically, Gun Showdown, looks less than impressive. Definitely looks more on the PS1 side of things. I'm not trying to be a skepticologist or anything, but while the video shows flashes of decent graphics, there are lots of muddy, low-res textures and blocky characters splattered throughout.

Fortunately, good graphics don't make a game, and the gameplay in Showdown looks pretty interesting. And I guess there's always time for Activision to tighten up the graphics just a bit. But if the game ends up boring you, you can always play the included Texas Hold 'Em (a popular card game for you city folk) mini-game!

New Gun Showdown trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Joystiq interviews Tetsuya Mizuguchi of Q Entertainment

Conrad Quilty-Harper — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Interviews, Business

In our final interview from the Develop Conference, Jen and I had a quick chat with Tetsuya Mizuguchi from Q Entertainment (and Rez fame) about the problems western developers face in trying to tackle the Japanese market, Rez 2 (he regrets never making it) and the issue of games that are critically successful, but don't sell so well (Rez again).

Earlier on in your career you worked on titles like Sega Rally, Channel 5 and Rez. These are all very different genres and styles of game. What's inspired you to create such varied styles in your games?

I don't care about the genre. Somebody once told me that I'm "hopping genres", but I've never really cared about genres. I always think about the human being, the wants that I think people have. Their basic instinct. So my games speak a universal language, so everybody can feel what is fun.

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Joystiq interviews Tetsuya Mizuguchi of Q Entertainment originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acclaim's MMO strategy examined

Jennie Lees — Wed, 24 May 2006 11:59:00 EST

Filed under: MMO, Business

Next Generation brings us the lowdown from Howard Marks -- CEO of the newly-reopened Acclaim -- on Acclaim's MMO strategy. His plan is to bring Eastern games to the West with no subscriber fee, but instead to make money via in-game ads and micropayments.

Next Gen's feature asks if this will work in a market with no real precedent. By dropping the phrase "free game" and instead focusing on games as a service, Marks intends it to. However, his strategy doesn't come across with a lot of confidence in this article. It'll be interesting to see if Acclaim manage to set a good precedent for an East-to-West business model, and more importantly whether others follow suit.

Acclaim's MMO strategy examined originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 24 May 2006 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision shoots out more Gun info

Rafael Espiritu — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 21:15:00 EST

Filed under: News

Die-hard Gun fans with itchy trigger fingers can scratch their worries away now that Activision's revealed more information on the game's release on PSP. The first-person shooter, which should trot into stores this fall, will be developed by Neversoft and UK-based Rebellion Studios and will feature PSP-exclusive features like extra missions, a quick play mode, and multiplayer modes (although we're unsure if GameSpot implied "modes" to mean both Ad-hoc and Infrastructure).

Gun didn't fire off blanks when it debuted last year on all major consoles and PC, but as with all ports, we're still hoping that the retooled control scheme and graphical scale-back don't cripple this pony on the PSP.

Activision shoots out more Gun info originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 10 Apr 2006 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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