http://kotaku.com/5368490/capcoms-inafune-declares-japan-game-industry-finished
Personally when I looked around [at] all the different games at the TGS floor, I said "Man, Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished." - Keiji Inafune
I believe that his comments stem from what his cohort Jun Takeuchi recently said about the Japanese game industry. I discuss that after the jump.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3176056
1UP: What do you see as the best and worst trends currently in the Japanese game industry?
Jun Takeuchi: The worst trend that I see is really the technological inability of Japanese developers to develop games for next generation platforms and games that will be appreciated by users in the West. The technological ability of Japanese developers used to be so much more respected than it is now.
With that in mind, let's quickly look at what *Japanese developers* are doing on the PS3/360:
Bayonetta, Yakuza 4, End of Eternity, Lost Planet 2, Ninety Nine Nights II, Quantum Theory, FF13, GT5, NieR, etc.
Now let's examine the PSP/DS:
MOST EVERY OTHER GAME!
What could be considered at "fault" here that led to the Handheld Invasion? I believe it is two-fold:
Sony. The price of the hardware killed any interest that consumers and developers had for the hardware. Even with the price cuts, many devs were not going to (and were not prepared to) develop for a console that requires a hefty budget and a ton of technical knowledge (as relatively opposed to the 360). Therefore, consumers went and found entertainment elsewhere, and the developers (for the most part) followed where the consumers went.
Consumers themselves. While everyone is entitled to their own tastes, the inability for many Japanese consumers to broaden their horizons has led to an on-going disinterest in the 360. I am not saying that the 360 is a beacon of light, but it certainly has its fair share of unappreciated variety.
(As an aside, and as a bit of a joke, one could make the argument that it is Capcom's fault for pushing folks toward handhelds by creating the digital crack known as Monster Hunter.
Now everyone wants a piece of that pie - Namco Bandai [co-op Dynasty Warriors something or other, Tales of RM], Konami [MGS: Peace Walker], Sega [Phantasy Star Portable], etc.)
This is not even pointing out the most obvious factor of all -- top-tier titles require a lot of money to make on the PS3/360, and not everyone has access to Capcom-sized coffers of cash.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3176056
1UP: What do you see as the best and worst trends currently in the Japanese game industry?
Jun Takeuchi: The worst trend that I see is really the technological inability of Japanese developers to develop games for next generation platforms and games that will be appreciated by users in the West. The technological ability of Japanese developers used to be so much more respected than it is now.
With that in mind, let's quickly look at what *Japanese developers* are doing on the PS3/360:
Bayonetta, Yakuza 4, End of Eternity, Lost Planet 2, Ninety Nine Nights II, Quantum Theory, FF13, GT5, NieR, etc.
Now let's examine the PSP/DS:
MOST EVERY OTHER GAME!
What could be considered at "fault" here that led to the Handheld Invasion? I believe it is two-fold:
Sony. The price of the hardware killed any interest that consumers and developers had for the hardware. Even with the price cuts, many devs were not going to (and were not prepared to) develop for a console that requires a hefty budget and a ton of technical knowledge (as relatively opposed to the 360). Therefore, consumers went and found entertainment elsewhere, and the developers (for the most part) followed where the consumers went.
Consumers themselves. While everyone is entitled to their own tastes, the inability for many Japanese consumers to broaden their horizons has led to an on-going disinterest in the 360. I am not saying that the 360 is a beacon of light, but it certainly has its fair share of unappreciated variety.
(As an aside, and as a bit of a joke, one could make the argument that it is Capcom's fault for pushing folks toward handhelds by creating the digital crack known as Monster Hunter.
Now everyone wants a piece of that pie - Namco Bandai [co-op Dynasty Warriors something or other, Tales of RM], Konami [MGS: Peace Walker], Sega [Phantasy Star Portable], etc.)
This is not even pointing out the most obvious factor of all -- top-tier titles require a lot of money to make on the PS3/360, and not everyone has access to Capcom-sized coffers of cash.
