CyberConnect2 says Games Must avoid Making the Same Mistakes Anime Has

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/10/18/cyberconnect-2-ceo-says-games-must-avoid-making-the-mistakes-anime-has/

Found this Relevant to gaming as well despite mostly talking about Anime pitfalls, So I made the topic here, too.

edited 26th Oct '11 11:10:01 AM by Demongodofchaos2

Not sure I understand his point.

Is he claiming that anime isn't mainstream enough?

He's saying that it Caters to too many Niche Genres and Shut in tastes.

He wants Japanese Games to avoid most of those mistakes, while still being their own thing.

Well Japan is a very niche society.

I can...kind of see his point, but I fear such a mindset leads to the recent trend of Capcom going "Fuck Japanese games, lets make shitty western wannabe games!"

Hah, not to be taken seriously my ass.

No Trolling please, I want real opnions on this thread, thank you very much.

Dude, just stop. If you don't have anything to say about this, don't say anything at all I'm, being serious here.

Guy has a point, really. I know that hardcore nerds are a nice, reliable source of income that will buy anything tailored just for them, but this strategy doesn't promote much growth.

I'd say the best thing developers could do would be creating a mainstream game first, and add all kinds of nerdcandy later.

everythingthatswrongwiththisforum.txt

And I agree with the need to get out of niche. Sure, you have a loyal fanbase, but you're not going to be expanding much if you keep going to them and no one else.

I at least think they should stay over the top in their presentaion, but Good Gameplay is always what matters most, East or West when it comes to video games.

Well Good Gameplay has different meanings in the west and east

True, that is true. One thing though, is that accepting the Different Gameplay Japan tends to have is a first step into resolving a lot of Issues that this divide has, IMHO.

Not really. The immense popularity of Mario or Pokemon pretty much proves that.

edited 26th Oct '11 11:35:27 AM by Kayeka

Gaming isn't just Mario and Pokemon though.

It also isn't just Zelda or Metroid or anything Nintendo, really.

Final Fantasy? Megaman? Street Fighter?

I can name billions more, and the point would remain the same: Incredibly popular series, both domestically and abroad.

I'd argue Final Fantasy is losing its steam.

And Megaman...well...Capcom seems to hate it now.

That wont sell in the West. I wish it would, but it's not about to. Anime is a niche market over here already, so an anime game already makes it niche. Piano music, Award-Bait Song, and cute central characters limit the interest further.

If Japanese games want to make a dent in the Western market then they're got to start releasing Western style games or just get lucky and strike gold. Established brands will do fine, but anything new will struggle due to latent xenophobia, ageism (Animation Age Ghetto) and, in that case, sexism. Plus, people don't like unknown qualities. It's going to take time to acclimatise.

Holy shit if the music isn't awesome though. Going looking for that soundtrack right now. And the art is more than a little reminiscent of Howls Moving Castle. I like.

edited 26th Oct '11 11:42:28 AM by Nicknacks

He said that the best thing to do ISN'T to try and make stuff Overly western, though, as there needs to be a better balance between the two. Metal Gear is a prime example popular both Overseas and In Japan.

A lesson Capcom has failed to learn.

Except what they do is try and Make a New Game every 2-3 years to see if they are the next Monster Hunter or Sengoku Basara.

Ironic, As this guys company works with Capcom now on Cyber Connect 2's new game, but he thinks the exact opposite most of the higher ups think.

edited 26th Oct '11 11:46:14 AM by Demongodofchaos2

Metal Gear is strongly western, though. It deals with a grizzled, male protagonist, much like a lot of Western games. It uses a lot of existent American history for its back story, and treads a lot of similar ground to many other Western games — a great many games reference the Cold War in some shape or form (Bioshock, Call Of Duty, Fallout) — so it's emulating the cultural Zeitgeist which informed those games.

It features an American protagonist, who works for the American government (most of the time) with his American allies protecting American interests against the evil Russiansm who turn up in a villainous capacity in nearly every single game. Sure it expresses some degree of scepticism towards the American government, but that's a pastiche touch, referencing the war noire style — an American style. It's Americo-centric.

Sure it reference Japanese ideas — the nuclear bomb, WW 2, Otaku tangentially, and ninjas — and the pin-ups are always of Asian women but these are things that America shares with the Japanese (outside the latter two, and the former's minor, while the latter's something that America's adopted with a great amount of glee.)

What I mean is, be able to balance those two out, something that of a lot of Japanese Developers are having a hard time doing.

Can you give any examples?

And are you talking mechanics, or storytelling?