Line #32 Analysis/AmericansHateTingle


1	A little more information on general trends that might cause AmericansHateTingle. Please note that these are ''general'' trends, and are not absolute.
2
3	A good example of this in action is [[{{Anime}} Japanese animation]]. Anime is, on the whole, a medium with a niche level of popularity. But certain countries and regions have a tendency to reject some character types, genres, or even the medium itself, nearly completely.
4	----
5
6	[[foldercontrol]]
7
8	!! Anime and Japanese Media
9	[[folder:InGeneral]]
10
11	For instance, anime has a low popularity level in the Netherlands, where it is often pejoratively referred to as "manga-movie" (this is a little ironic considering its proximity to Germany and France, places where anime tend to be extremely well-received). While international successes such as ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' or kid-friendly shows such as ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' got more acceptance in that country over time, there exists still a sort of "animephobia" around the medium. Or rather, pure mindless fear towards anime in the way only a phobia would do. [[AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles There's also a sexual angle to this; in the 1990s, people believed most anime consisted entirely of sex and violence.]] It really does not help that it had a rather limited fan base coming at a time when teen slasher movies and live-action shows were really popular. This made anime an easy target for hate and controversy as the intended audience would prefer. Now though anime is starting to get a Dutch audience that tries to break that ideal, with plenty of organizations there to make Japanese pop culture more accessible to the Dutch audience that organize weekly conventions. It is also a good explanation for why in Belgium Japanese media such as anime and manga only started getting popular in the 2000s and The New Tens, since most Belgians were never really able to watch anime before that period came along.
12
13	Ex-USSR countries have issues with anime, probably due to the huge technical & aesthetic differences from the animation they grew accustomed to under the former Soviet regime. While there have been anime booms, mostly with the ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' and ''Franchise/DragonBall'' franchises in the '90s as well as 4kids-licensed anime such as ''Manga/ShamanKing'' on Creator/{{Jetix}} in the 2000s, most anime that aired there was perceived as controversial and was quickly pulled by TV stations. Due to this, most of those networks refuse to air them and prefer to air Live-Action TV or Western Animation. That said, older children's shows, such as the anime adaptations of ''Literature/MayaTheBee'', ''Literature/TheMoomins'' and ''Literature/TheWonderfulAdventuresOfNils'' (all based on European source material) are very popular, but they aren't regarded as anime by most people. Despite this, vocal anime subcultures ''do'' exist there, and fans are very active in their own circles, both online and at conventions. Note that this only applies to Japanese animated media and manga -- most live-action productions, but mostly {{Toku}}, are near universally regarded as Z-grade trash at best, and have no unified fandoms to speak of, no matter how popular they might be among Western geek circles (compare this again to Germany, where {{Kaiju}} films enjoyed brief success back in the day, and have a small cult following). This includes franchises that otherwise became big pop-cultural sensations, like [[Franchise/UltraSeries Ultraman]] or Franchise/{{Godzilla}} -- Toku in general is niche across the globe, but Japan's superheroes and monsters fared extremely poorly in the Eastern Block and the Soviet Union, to the point where they remain barely known to this day and entice incredibly harsh knee-jerk reactions from people. Anime on the other hand (and to a degree {{Dorama}}), though lacking mainstream acceptance and having next to no market, managed to establish a dedicated and interactive viewer base.
14	[[/folder]]
15	[[folder:Character Types]]
16	In Japan, dark and angsty young guys (especially [[{{Bishonen}} pretty ones]]) tend to be well-liked by audiences, often per their perceived mysterious and [[TrueArtIsAngsty deep]] characteristics. Elsewhere, especially in North America, such traits tend to be associated with the {{Emo}} trend outside of FilmNoir genres, mostly because it's the antithesis of the hyper-confident ManlyMan which is highly valued in the West (but not so much in Japan, since it also often becomes stereotyped as a 'Hard Gay' character if not StockShonenHero or MrFanservice, [[ManlyGay sometimes sympathetic and respectful]], sometimes more open to be PlayedForComedy), hence the backlash that characters like [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Sasuke Uchiha]] and [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Shinji Ikari]] cause in the States.
17
18	Male characters that look pretty instead of manly and have hair that makes them look even prettier tend to be extremely popular in Japan, but are usually loathed in the West due to the different cultural values over how a man should look. For example, Raiden from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' has long bleached hair and a somewhat feminine/boyish looking face while Kratos from the ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series is hugely muscular and has a goatee. This is more pronounced among the male part of the fandom, especially when it comes to view point characters or characters you are meant to relate to and ''especially'' when it comes to characters you are meant to play as. The Raiden example mentioned above was intensely disliked by American fans that enjoyed playing as the older and less “pretty” Snake and who did not want to take the role of what they saw as a significantly less macho player character. These characters can still have an intense female fandom in the west, although there are subtle differences in how they are perceived. Compare PrettyBoy to {{Bishonen}} for more information.
19
20	As stated above, Japan seems to take the pretty boys as the epitome of self-assurement that one doesn't really care what others have to say about their looks, so they can dress up like whatever the hell they want to as long as they can keep their confidence, which is often times [[ValuesDissonance their definition of a]] ManlyMan. Other Asian countries like China and South Korea tend to also have similar views for pretty boys. This usually contrasts with the Westerners who values the muscular, macho types for ManlyMan. Though they're open for brooding characteristics for the depths of the ManlyMan in question, their macho and muscular looks tends to be the better first impression points for what it means to be a ManlyMan. The aforementioned StockShonenHero and MrFanservice characters tend to be the exceptions as there exists in both sides that enjoy designing pretty boys with muscular images.
21
22	Cold, logical, [[LawfulGood by-the-book characters]] tend to fare much better in Japan then they do in America, Toshiro Hitsuguya of Manga/{{Bleach}} being a great example. This is probably due to East Asian culture of obsessive obedience to established authority versus American and European tradition of being the exact opposite of that. This might be why ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' is so controversial with the Western fanbase; Adam and Samus' relationship is nothing more than acknowledged obedience, authority, and order for Japanese players, nothing noteworthy. But here we see it as dysfuctional, with Samus being weak willed, submissive, and/or has some deep sexual/parental issues with Adam. In contrast, a CowboyCop would be less liked in Japan, to the point they seldom appear outside of their more-serious FilmNoir and {{Dorama}} stories.
23
24	{{Yamato Nadeshiko}}s and other "traditional" {{moe}} character types are the DistaffCounterpart version of the above, being liked in Japan (though still not as much as {{tsundere}}s) but not so much in the West; Westerners tend to find them (and their Western counterparts ProperLady) boring and, in some cases, sexist for promoting women being submissive and obedient. The {{Moe}} criticism from the West gets worse when the TokenMiniMoe trope is applied on females (due to pseudo-{{lolicon\|AndShotacon}} and pedophilia implications). [[GermansLoveDavidHasselHoff Inversely]], {{tomboy}}ish female characters are valued in a greater extent in the West and most other parts of the world (the latter where both types are equally liked in moderation), but doesn't generate any greater values when presented in Japan with the exception of {{tsundere}} female characters.
25
26	The {{Moe}} criticism from the West gets worse when the TokenMiniMoe trope is applied on females (due to pseudo-{{lolicon\|AndShotacon}} and pedophilia implications). Because of this, {{Moe}} anime or any anime with {{loli\|conAndShotacon}}s are [[NoDubForYou less likely to get dubs]].
27
28	{{Loli\|conAndShotacon}}s are widely hated in the western fanbase, mainly because of implications of pedophilia and sexism, and the fact that a large majority of loli characters are there to be eye candy. It also doesn't happen to note that a large majority of works that have lolis as the main character are often seen as bland LittleSisterHeroine NiceGirl characters. Hence, this is why many anime with lolis as part of the main cast such as ''Literature/BlackBullet'', ''Anime/KanColle'', and many ''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara'' titles have received negative receptions and are often widely hated among the fanbase.
29
30	The {{Tsundere}} character type is polarizing and not very well-liked in the West (American men prefer women to have a ''reason'' for snapping at a guy she secretly likes; otherwise, it looks as if the girl has a mental disorder, like bipolar or manic-depressive schizophrenia), although not as severe as the negative reaction to the {{Moe}} archetype.
31
32	Westerners generally celebrate varying species within characters, including those that are non-humanoid. For Easterners, but especially the Chinese with their very strict censorship system that doesn't allow the display of skeletal parts of human bodies, the non-humanoid characters tend to be not too popular, the non-human characters tend to be limited to either elves or dwarves or just LittleBitBeastly, as long as the humanoid parts are still in prominent display. Completely non-humanoid characters on other cases are more reserved for bad guys such as MonsterOfTheWeek or EldritchAbomination. This is why 'anime pandering' (such as giving humanoid features into non-human characters) in certain media (usually video games) is usually met with disgust with Westerners, but for the Easterners or companies that want to reap profit there, giving an all-humanoid cast is one way to get popular and bring profit.
33
34	Japan generally has greater appreciation to whimsical characters, especially if it portrays cuteness and lightheartedness. On the other hand, Americans has greater appreciation to seriousness and hardcore stuffs, with little patience of cuteness or childishness, seemingly adhering greatly to the trope IWantToBeARealMan. This is why AmericanKirbyIsHardcore is a thing, and why [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Tingle]] is the TropeNamer: What the Japanese sees as a harmless, whimsical and funny character is interpreted as an annoying {{Manchild}} that ruins whatever intensity the series had, not to mention [[MemeticMolester other nasty implications.]]
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Genre Issues]]
38
39	The ''imouto'' (translation: "little sister") genre of anime/manga/light novels, etc. is well liked in Japan, but in the West it's seen as the low point of otaku pandering, being that even if they are not related by blood (stepsiblings or adopted sibilings), it is seen as distasteful for two siblings to be in love and admitting you're a fan is considered among some segments of the fandom as equivalent to calling yourself a creep.
40
41	Sports anime, which are popular in Japan and extremely popular in Latin America, have historically sold ''very'' poorly in North America; sports ''manga'' does only slightly better. There have been a number of reasons proposed for why this happens: First and foremost is that anime fans in North America carry the stereotype of being young nerds (no shock considering many of the early adopters and originators of the fandom started as fans of Science Fiction), which, due to the highly stratified social ladder extant among youth of the region, means that the two interests are often violently incompatible. Also, sports in North America (''especially'' the United States) is much more organized and professionalized, even at the middle school level, than in Japan; as a result, the bar for even being accepted onto a team is much higher, and thus fewer North American kids can identify with the experience (plus the Japanese system comes off as hilariously quaint). Finally, the minority of anime fans who ''do'' enjoy sports have expressed a preference for watching the real thing. Every once in awhile, though, a sports show can make it out of the doldrums. TheNewTens has seen titles like ''Anime/{{Free}}'' and ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}'' achieve some degree of popularity, mostly due to its CastFullOfPrettyBoys appealing to the increasingly-important female segment of the fandom. Also, sports shows revolving around swords, like ''Manga/BambooBlade'', are exempt from this trope because they have [[EverythingsBetterWithSamurai that "samurai" feel]] that North Americans tend to love.
42
43	SliceOfLife anime, while popular in Japan, usually don't sell that well in the western anime fanbase (especially North America).[[note]]It has gotten to the point that most Slice of Life works are often released [[NoDubForYou sub-only]] and it's more lucrative to dub any sports anime than any slice of life work.[[/note]] This is because many SliceOfLife works use the same SchoolgirlSeries tropes and cliche over and over again with each of them using a different theme (for example, there isn't much difference between the two Magazine/MangaTimeKirara titles ''Manga/IsTheOrderARabbit'' and ''Manga/KiniroMosaic'' when it comes to tropes being used). It also doesn't help to note that most SliceOfLife anime also have a heavy use of {{moe}} and an occasional TokenMiniMoe when it comes to their female characters. That being said, some slice of life works, particularly ones made by Creator/KyotoAnimation such as ''Manga/LuckyStar'', ''Manga/{{KOn}}'', ''Literature/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'', ''Anime/{{Free}}'', ''Anime/TamakoMarket'', and ''Literature/BeyondTheBoundary'', has gotten some degree of popularity in the west. ''Manga/WithTheLight'' manga also seems to be exceptionally popular among American fans due to the "Autism and Special Needs" theme throughout the series.
44
45	In the mid-[[TheNewTens 2010s]] to early [[TheNewTwenties 2020s]], a new popular trope emerged: the HerosSlaveHarem. In short, the story involves a HeroProtagonist (or sometimes an AntiHero or VillainProtagonist, but still ALighterShadeOfBlack) who acquires one or more female companions who are slaves or otherwise obligated to obey him. While this is already problematic to Western audiences due to the aforementioned issues with sexism and authoritarianism, for Westerners (and Americans in particular) this trope ''especially'' stings due to RealLife slavery being considered a worldwide cultural black-eye. As stated, Americans in particular take offense to this trope, because slavery ended so recently there that as of the 2010s, much of the country's Black population still had ''great-grandparents'' that were born as slaves. The average Japanese person has very little knowledge or experience about the histories or cultural mores of non-Asian countries other than "they happened" (and sometimes not even that much), and thus are unaware just ''how'' offensive a positive portrayal of slave-ownership is in America.
46	[[/folder]]
47	[[folder:Adaptations]]
48
49	Pretty much anything with a Dutch dub also tends to fare very poorly in Belgium. This can be partially be attributed to the fact that despite the fact that Dutch is spoken in both Flanders and the Netherlands, the dialects between the two are radically different, to the point that several media in both countries tend to lampshade that phenomenon. This has grown to such an extent that in media whose dubs are mainly handled in the Netherlands (such as Anime), English is by far the most preferred option by Belgians, to the point that they are repulsed by anyone that enjoys media in a different language than it (or the language the original was released in). However, some companies such as Disney have [[AuthorsSavingThrow realized the differences between the Dutch spoken in these countries]], and have released Flemish dubs of animated movies and TV series.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	!!Video Games
53	[[folder:In General]]
54
55	First-person shooters also tend to do poorly in Japan, mainly because many of the popular first-person shooter games tend to be too violent for the Japanese audiences and the fact that the genre itself is often associated with the Xbox and PC gaming platform (which also weren't that popular in Japan, until recently). Japan having basically no firearms culture (due to a near-total ban on guns in the country, in face even most of the ''police'' in Japan don't have a gun) also doesn't help.
56
57	Pachinko in general is ''absolutely reviled'' in the West (even moreso than gacha mechanics), but in Japan, it's generally treated more neutrally, more on the equal levels of 'Slot Machines' found in casino areas even in the USA (Las Vegas), even if in the end it all boils down to 'gambling'. This is because of a combination of NoExportForYou and the fact that Japan is usually free to put in other media's titles as the decoration and main theme of the machine, which can be used to tell an original story which gives extra incentives for Japanese gamblers to see what happens next, and either anime or video games are fair game for this. For the Westerners, however, it's considered like 'locking the next page of the book with gambling incentives' and the fact that it used an anime/video game story (slot machines in Las Vegas casinos usually do not use such themes) means that it might expose the usually 'innocent' gamers to gambling (this is the same reason they dislike mobile gaming with gacha mechanics as seen above, Japan's law towards gambling is more lax and tolerant than the West). Surprisingly, beforehand, Westerners had no problems with pachinko existing in Japan and left it alone. It's only after a debacle caused by video game developer Creator/{{Konami}} making an exodus to pachinko while burning bridges to video game development, in addition of causing several controversies at the cost of their employees, certain beloved [=IPs=], and its superstar developer Creator/HideoKojima (especially beloved in the West) that the Westerners practically declared ''absolute war'' against pachinko (swearing eternal hatred while they're at it too) regardless of the publisher, viciously decrying any video game franchise that got a pachinko spinoff as "dead" or a FranchiseZombie (a claim that is not necessarily true, and ignores that video games have been getting pachinko spinoffs for decades). To a certain extent, since Konami also included mobile platforms as their other exodus place, this causes Westerners to be extra livid towards mobile games (for more general information about this, see the PC/Console vs. Mobile section below).
58
59	[[RomanceGame Otome games]] are popular in Japan, but many of these games are widely loathed in the West. The main reasons are mainly because: 1) many otome games features the female protagonist having a submissive personality resembling the YamatoNadeshiko character, which is seen as incredibly sexist among Western audiences since Western audiences prefer female protagonists with [[PluckyGirl strong, assertive personalities]]; 2) the male love interests in otome games happen to have cold, selfish personalities, and some even resort to physical abuse towards the female protagonist, which leads to UnfortunateImplications of [[RomanticizedAbuse glorifying domestic abuse]]; 3) many of the otome games attract the EightDeadlyWords, as many of the characters are either too unsympathetic to relate with or TooDumbToLive. The negative reaction of the anime adaptations of ''VisualNovel/DiabolikLovers'' and ''VisualNovel/AmnesiaMemories'' reinforces this point, and a Japanese manga writer [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2017-11-28/japanese-translator-explains-why-otome-games-fail-in-u.s/.124565 explains in detail on why otome games aren't that successful in the west]].
60	[[/folder]]
61	[[folder:Video Games: PC/Console vs. Mobile]]
62
63	What would be just another phase of a console/platform war ends up having this trope hounding it due to sharp differences in opinions between the two regions.
64
65	Western mobile games tend to perform poorly in Eastern countries. Even massive franchises such as ''VideoGame/ClashOfClans'', ''VideoGame/AngryBirds'', and ''VideoGame/CandyCrushSaga'' have received a relatively cold reception over there, with localization efforts, in-game event mechanics, and advertising treated as afterthoughts. Conversely, Eastern mobile games like ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' and ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'' that are popular there tend to go ignored in the West, even among OccidentalOtaku gamers who might otherwise seek out niche Japanese games. Additionally, due to many of these Eastern mobile games usually using more anime-inspired (or Chinese/Korean animation) art styles and storytelling tropes, the Westerners also get more livid, accusing them of "spending money for just a PNG." (The above analysis about character type and styles can explain better how some Eastern styles don't fit well with Westerners.)
66
67	Lifestyle differences account for a lot of the ValuesDissonance between East and West on the subject. In much of Asia, the mobile format is generally favored due to the smaller size of residences, which can make it a hassle to put up big devices like a TV for a console or a PC without the place getting cramped. What's more, people spend more of their time commuting in public transportation like trains or buses, where the mobile format can be more accessible. This is not the case in the West. Homes tend to be big enough to not only contain such devices but in some cases have separate rooms dedicated to them, and most working adults make enough money to afford a new television, computer, and game console, a lifestyle that is considered a luxury in many developing nations like those of South and Southeast Asia (which opens up Western critics of mobile gaming to accusations of elitism). People also have less leisure time in Asian countries, with adults working unpaid overtime into the evenings, and kids having school club activities and cram school to occupy their time. Most adults, especially in North America and Australia, also rely on cars as their primary transport, which leaves them few opportunities to touch their mobile devices when commuting or traveling, as doing so is considered a road hazard and is illegal in many jurisdictions. Western kids and adults generally have more free time in the evenings to play PC and console games.
68
69	As a result of these lifestyle differences, successful Western mobile franchises such as the aforementioned are generally lighthearted, non-serious {{Casual Video Game}}s that can be easily picked up for a few minutes at a time (such as during a bathroom break or when standing in line) and then just as easily put down. The lone exceptions are games geared towards a demographic that often has a lot of free time where they're away from their home console or computer: namely, children, who may find themselves bored in the school cafeteria or the backseat of their parents' car for lengthy periods of time. Here, too, the emphasis, as in children's media in general, is on simple games that can be easily picked up and played without requiring a deep commitment of time and money, even if playtimes may be longer than just a few minutes (such as with a round of ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' or ''VideoGame/AmongUs'' that may last up to half an hour). Between the simplicity that the Western market favors for mobile games and [[AnimationAgeGhetto the stereotypes of children's media in general]], Western gamers, critics, and developers alike generally treat mobile gaming in general as frivolous and filled with UsefulNotes/{{shovelware}} rather than "real games".
70
71	In Eastern countries, by contrast, anything goes. Far more people use their phones as their main computers rather than complements to such, and use them the way Westerners do computers, including being willing to sit at them for hours at a time. The only limits on how long they'd be willing to play are the phone's battery life and whether or not they have a charger lying around. As a result, companies making games of any kind have a strong incentive to target the mobile market, including with genres like [[RolePlayingGame RPGs]], [[FirstPersonShooter FPS]] games, and competitive {{Fighting Game}}s that are mainstays of console/computer gaming in the West.
72
73	In China especially, there is an added incentive in the form of the nation's technology policy. The Chinese government, for much of its post-UsefulNotes/WorldWarII history, has long been suspicious of foreign technological and cultural influence, especially from Japan (the historic center of the video game industry that has [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar a long history of bad blood]] with China) and the United States (China's main strategic and ideological [[TheRival rival]] on the world stage). For many years, console and computer games have faced stiff headwinds in the Chinese market, from high tariffs to restrictions on youth gaming to outright bans. China, however, is a world leader in mobile phone technology through companies like Xiaomi and Huawei, which made them more keen on experimenting with advanced mobile games thanks to the feedback they received from the countless mobile users in the country. Mobile gaming in China not only has the aforementioned lifestyle factors going for it, it also has state support over the console gaming space.
74
75	Because Westerners generally favor home consoles and computers over mobile devices, they usually put a greater value on the technical power available to consoles and computers, allowing for superior graphics and larger game worlds. Despite mobile platforms' steady advances in technology, the basic laws of physics mean that a computer that can fit into a mobile phone or a tablet will inevitably have fewer capabilities than a full-sized desktop computer or even a laptop, sacrificing power in exchange for portability.
76
77	There's also the fact that Western mobile gaming has a major problem with VeryFalseAdvertising that has tarnished its image, especially when paired with spyware incidents like what happened with the browser game ''VideoGame/{{Evony}}''. Inversely, Eastern mobile games rarely ever needed to depend on such, and even when they do, the reaction of the audience tend to leer to 'Oh that's cute, but we ain't fooled.'.
78
79	What's more, there is major ValuesDissonance between East and West about views towards gambling. While both sides agree that gambling generally isn't ''good'', the Eastern side is a lot more lenient towards it, often merely minimizing the locations of casinos. In the West, by contrast, it is seen as a major social ill that leads people into [[TheGamblingAddict addiction]] and needs to be combated with government regulation where possible, and the expansion of casinos and sports betting is extremely controversial. Since {{gacha\|Games}} mechanics are considered a form of gambling, they are often roundly condemned by Westerners as a way to turn games into glorified casinos, especially because, as mentioned above, children are among the chief demographics of mobile games in the West, leading to added Joe Camel-esque concerns about getting children hooked on gambling. Creator/ElectronicArts got themselves into a lot of trouble (including ''legal'' trouble in some countries) when they incorporated a similar system with LootBoxes in [[VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefrontII2017 one of their games]].
80
81	Finally, even filtering out games with gambling elements, there's the debate on video game pricing models. Westerners prefer purchasing complete games with lots of content right out of the box, expecting to pay around $30-70 for a game and not having to spend money on it again (although there are certainly a lot of games that, despite costing that much for the base game, still have their share of paid DownloadableContent). Many mobile games on the scale of major console games are compartmentalized instead, with the game often being free to a limited extent with additional chapters sold in piecemeal packs. Many Westerners feel that this dilutes the value of the game and incentivizes the publisher pumping out more content packs to make more money at the expense of quality, often to the point of making the game, in the long run, ''more'' expensive than a similar Western title.
82
83	However, in Eastern countries, most notably developing Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and the Philippines where the money for consoles and their games is harder to come by, breaking a game down into smaller purchases is more palatable than having to put down the equivalent of 60 USD for a game they might end up disliking, unless the game has a demo (which not all games have). For the same reason, they, even those who disagree with gacha mechanics, are very big on the {{Freemium}} and {{Freeware Game\|s}} models where a game is designed to have some measure of playable content available without spending money, and in which players who ''are'' willing to spend money can pick and choose they content they're interested in (which will vary between players). All the player needs is a compatible smartphone, which they probably have already if they're over a certain age, and the necessary storage space for the game. By contrast, they see the all-in-one Western model of "complete" games as an expensive luxury.
84
85	All in all, cultural differences mean that Western gamers stereotype mobile games as LowestCommonDenominator frivolities filled with loot boxes, {{microtransactions}}, and gacha systems that are gambling in disguise, and therefore not worth their time. Eastern gamers, meanwhile, see Western console/PC loyalists as HolierThanThou elitist bullies.
86
87	Another big point against mobile games by Westerners, particularly older Western gamers, is that mobile games lack preservability, something that is championed by many retro gamers in the West who take pride in owning games on cartridges and discs. Almost no mobile game has a physical-copy release, instead being distributed through digital channels, meaning that once they get delisted from their respective storefronts, [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes the only way to obtain these games legally is to buy a secondhand device that has the game installed]]... and that's if the game ''can'' be played offline, because a growing number of games, especially GachaGames, [[EverythingIsOnline mandate a connection to a central server]], even if the game has a single-player component (or ''only'' has single-player gameplay); you can't play these games if you don't have an internet connection at the moment (e.g. cannot afford one for the home or one's personal device, traveling someplace where cellular signal and Wi-Fi hotspots are scarce, traveling to a foreign country and not willing to pay for a local SIM card, personal hotspot, or cellular roaming fees) and [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames once that server goes down, that's it, even if you don't uninstall the game]]. On top of that, because of the rapidly-changing nature of smartphone platforms, games that have not been updated in roughly five or so years may not work correctly (or worse, at all) on devices running current versions of smartphone operating systems; conversely if you're attached to an old smart-device and won't or can't upgrade, it may not be able to receive the OS updates needed to run newer games or routinely-updated games, or be incompatible with those games for other reasons (such as insufficient hardware power). This in contrast to, say, an old Platform/{{Super N\|intendoEntertainmentSystem}}ES or Platform/{{P\|layStation2}}S2 which never need updates and their respective libraries of games will always work on them whether now or 50 years later as long as the console and cartridges/discs are kept clean. Many Asian players aren't as concerned about preservability, especially in Southeast Asia where many older gamers may not have been able to afford genuine (non-pirated) physical media growing up and younger gamers from that region may not have any experience with consoles at all (which, as stated above, can be prohibitively expensive in developing countries), and therefore may not understand why Western video game enthusiasts are proponents of physical media, while Western gamers their age will likely be well-acquainted with physicals.
88
89	The reverse can be said true for online subscription services started by recent generations of console gaming as a requirement for their online gaming services, which some Western players wouldn't mind paying some bucks on as long as they're not similar to aforementioned mobile game formats. Gamers from Asia, as well as PC gamers from [[EnemyMine both sides of the world]] (both who prefer free online play without mandatory subscription, a common business model amongst South Korean and other Asian online-based games), see this as predatory cash grabs forcing them to pay every month even just for one online game. Console gamers (and few PC gamers) from the West, on other hand, see this as a ''good'' business model to justify their online needs in access to large libraries of games. While many Asian mobile games have similar subscription services, they're reserved for special member rewards instead of being a requirement for online play, thus negating the extraordinarily high barrier seen in online console gaming.
90
91	But, despite this vocal, vitriolic FandomRivalry, it should be noted that [[TakeAThirdOption there is a third camp from both sides of the world who equally enjoys both PC/Console and mobile games together]], understanding both of their strengths, embracing their weaknesses, and not bothering with whatever cultural moral dilemma that comes from both sides. [[SilentMajority They just choose to enjoy the game in silence rather than being so vocal about it.]]
92
93	Creator/{{Nintendo}}, incidentally, found a way to square this circle with the [[Platform/NintendoSwitch Switch]] by making a handheld console that's far larger than a phone, or their old Platform/GameBoy and [[Platform/Nintendo3DS 3DS]] handhelds, but still small enough to carry in a backpack and play on the go. As such, while it still makes compromises for its portability, it lacks the stigma that mobile devices otherwise have with Western gamers and is generally treated as a proper home console, especially with Nintendo's pedigree behind it, while also being a major player in the Japanese game market thanks to the fact that it can be played on a train or a bus just as easily as at home even if you can't carry it in your pocket. However, it still carries the stigma the home console gaming has in many (particularly Southeast) Asian countries due to ludicrously high price tags of their online services (itself a mandatory for online play in contrast to mobile phones) and games, let alone the console.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	!! Also:
97
98	In general, an import will fare poorly if it's [[FollowTheLeader too similar to anything done domestically]].

Context Analysis / AmericansHateTingle