JayVe
10-14-2008, 03:26 PM
Gamasutra has an excellent article up in which they speak to industry heads at Capcom, Namco and Square Enix, to discuss their thoughts on the future of the Japanese game industry (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20607).
So what of the future? Where do Japanese companies go from here? Square Enix's Wada praised the technical and creative state of Western titles, suggesting that overall they are "very well made", and that overall, he plays Western games more than Japanese ones.
Capcom's Tsujimoto was blunt on the issues, suggesting: "we are not longer at the top", though Japanese companies' capacity and skills are up there with the best. He pointed out that the survival horror genre was largely birthed and gestated in Japan, for example, as well as Final Fantasy-style epic turn-bsed RPG.
The key, as he saw it, was that the Japanese will need to collaborate with foreign companies or technology, but still have "our own unique ways of making products." He pointedly suggested that this "doesn't mean that we have become weaker, [just that] others have gained the strength".
Namco's Unozawa also analyzed where the Japanese industry is now, arguing that "maybe we had it too easy" at time of PlayStation and the PlayStation 2, when the Japanese game publishing giants could maintain growth in the overseas market.
But in many ways, he believes that Japanese developers somewhat stopped technically at the level of the PlayStation 2, and have been "maybe a bit lax" in going beyond that. Concluding with an oblique Galapagos Islands metaphor, he suggested that open communities were key to strengthening the Japanese industry's hand.
Wada's typically blunt rhetoric concluded the discussion, by noting that, with less and less boundaries and national borders, it's important to resolve major change to take the Japanese industry forward. He quipped: "I will probably never quit smoking unless someone tells me I will die of cancer tomorrow. That's the kind of situation I need" -- and one he seems to think is in progress right now for Japanese game companies.
There's a bit more in the article. Great read.
So what of the future? Where do Japanese companies go from here? Square Enix's Wada praised the technical and creative state of Western titles, suggesting that overall they are "very well made", and that overall, he plays Western games more than Japanese ones.
Capcom's Tsujimoto was blunt on the issues, suggesting: "we are not longer at the top", though Japanese companies' capacity and skills are up there with the best. He pointed out that the survival horror genre was largely birthed and gestated in Japan, for example, as well as Final Fantasy-style epic turn-bsed RPG.
The key, as he saw it, was that the Japanese will need to collaborate with foreign companies or technology, but still have "our own unique ways of making products." He pointedly suggested that this "doesn't mean that we have become weaker, [just that] others have gained the strength".
Namco's Unozawa also analyzed where the Japanese industry is now, arguing that "maybe we had it too easy" at time of PlayStation and the PlayStation 2, when the Japanese game publishing giants could maintain growth in the overseas market.
But in many ways, he believes that Japanese developers somewhat stopped technically at the level of the PlayStation 2, and have been "maybe a bit lax" in going beyond that. Concluding with an oblique Galapagos Islands metaphor, he suggested that open communities were key to strengthening the Japanese industry's hand.
Wada's typically blunt rhetoric concluded the discussion, by noting that, with less and less boundaries and national borders, it's important to resolve major change to take the Japanese industry forward. He quipped: "I will probably never quit smoking unless someone tells me I will die of cancer tomorrow. That's the kind of situation I need" -- and one he seems to think is in progress right now for Japanese game companies.
There's a bit more in the article. Great read.