Capcom On Japan's Industry: "We Can't Rely On Our Own Skill"
Final Fantasy XIIIIt's a very dark - albeit common - theme in the Japanese gaming press as of late: the Japanese side of the business seems to be slipping away.
And Capcom's Keiji Inafune has proven to be one of the more paranoid, typically predicting doom and gloom if things continue as they are. In speaking to VideoGamer at E3 last week, the Mega Man and Dead Rising creator said the Japanese gaming industry will "disappear totally." He says that every year he comes to E3, the Japanese contingent gets smaller, and that "if you look at the major titles, they're now primarily Western." Furthermore, looking down the road, "a lot of the key announcements are also Western titles." This echoes Inafune's comments after last year's Tokyo Game Show, where he said quite simply, "Man, Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished." During E3, he added:
"I think to myself sometimes, if we keep on this course, the Japanese gaming market will disappear totally. That is one of the valid concerns that I have, which is why as a Japanese publisher, as Capcom, we really want to fight the good fight, and try and make our games work within this more primarily Western market."
Still, Inafune wants to keep kicking, as Capcom plans to collaborate with the Western side with titles such as Dead Rising 2, which is in development at Canadian studio Blue Castle Games. Said Inafune:
"We can't just rely on our own skill, our own Japanese developer skill and know-how, to steer us through this dark time. It's going to have to come through collaborative efforts and co-operation. It's our US staff, our European staff, working closely with them. Of course we are working with a lot of different Western developers as well."
Capcom is hardly the only company to take this business line. Square-Enix has been well-known for catering to an entirely new audience this generation; they've picked up Eidos, opened a studio in LA, and even put their flagship franchise on the Xbox 360. And that's hardly the only example of a Japanese developer desperately trying to appeal to the Western crowd...we're just wondering why they have to do it while alienating their long-time fans in and out of Japan. They must honestly believe all those fans are gone...
Tags: game industry, western, japanese
6/22/2010 10:35:21 AM Ben Dutka
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Comments (52 posts)
frostface
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 10:58:49 AM
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1 up, 0 down
godsman
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 11:45:45 AM
Now imagine companies or departments in Capcom that are smaller. Japanese companies that are at the edge of profit in the PS2 age, now moving onto PS3. Companies couldn't afford to rack up AAA titles every year. It also doesn't help to get hit by such economy, and the hardcore market split in half between PS3 and Xbox.
4 up, 0 down
Highlander
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 10:26:58 PM
1 up, 0 down
coverton341
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 10:59:59 AM
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Sure gaming has become more mainstream, meaning that there is going to be a larger and more diverse crowd of gamers, but that does not mean that the original gamers and fans are gone. It simply means that there are more people playing more types of games.
Just because your percentage becomes smaller does not mean that your sector of the industry is not wanted or even needed, because it is; it is very much wanted by the original fans and it is very much needed by the industry as a whole. If all publishers decided to start making "Western" games then we lose an entire sector which will in turn, turn some gamers off. I know I personally am just a little bit irritated at being catered to by a sector that I used to look to for a wholly different experience than I could receive from Western developers. Now from the Japanese developers it seems like I get the same old same that I can get from any other dev.
That is what is going to kill the Japanese market if anything does; the thought that they have to emulate the west.
WE HAVE A WESTERN MARKET. Time and time again I and many others on this site have stated it. We have western developers, we still need and want Japanese developers.
Sigh and end rant.
9 up, 0 down
shadowscorpio
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 11:43:17 AM
Atlus and Level 5, keep doing what you're doing. I think these power house devs need to study their past, understand where they went astray and become grounded toward what it was that made them so beloved in the first place.
Namco Bandai , Square enix. Stop signing stupid exclusitivity contracts with MS and instead do it with Sony and SEE what happens.
-fin
4 up, 0 down
godsman
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 11:53:49 AM
I think Namco's Tales group is still losing money. That's probably why they initially signed the Tales of Vesperia exclusivity deal with Xbox, then rack up the remainder from PS3. As a PS3 owner, I hate this, but I start to understand that it was the best business deal considering the company is losing money.
As for Square Enix, they are just an @$$. End of story.
2 up, 0 down
shadowpal2
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 4:33:09 PM
Listen, games don't need intense graphics and try to have the best graphics of all time. Games don't really need an unbelievable shocking amazing storyline like what Kojima san or Nagoshi san constantly gives out.
Although it would be nice with those kinds of factors to it - gamers care about one thing...and one thing only. IS IT FUN TO PLAY!?!?!
I can get my story from reading a book...I can get my beautiful graphics in CGI films! I can get all of that kind of stuff in movies. The gaming industry and especially the Japanese gaming industry just needs to keep pumping out one thing and one thing only: A DAMN FUN GAME!
Many of us love Japanese games and will continue to love Japanese games.
Nearly 90% of all of us love:
Metal Gear Solid
Yakuza
Final Fantasy
Kingdom Hearts
Resident Evil
Devil May Cry
But let's be honest...we don't love them nearly as much as we did during the last generation of console gaming (SAVE FOR MGS, YAKUZA, & KINGDOM HEARTS).
So what does this mean? Well let's see...didn't the games DMC 4, RE 5, and FFXIII not do as well/and were not as classic as their predecessor? So STOP TRYING TO WESTERNIZE GAMES!! Stick to your culture...stick to what still sells!!!
I love the Ar Tonelico series, I love the Fatal Frame series, I love the Persona series, I love the MGS series, and I love the Ryu ga Gotoku series - PLEASE DON'T CHANGE THEM! Stick with your original DNA.
Consumers need variety in the market...NOT fully western games! I don't want another Killzone, I don't want another Mass Effect, I want Kingdom Hearts to be Kingdom Hearts...I want Final Fantasy to be Final Fantasy and I WANT MY BELOVED JAPANESE GAMES to 4EVER BE JAPANESE GAMES.
On a side note...I am actually a bit disappointed by Yakuza since it eliminated the hostess clubs! -_- But I'm glad since SEGA listened and put them back in Yakuza 4. There we go - that's some improvement!
2 up, 0 down
Scarecrow
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 11:25:38 AM
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It was made by an European dev on your behalf and look at how it failed
Quality > Eastern/Western
6 up, 0 down
Oxvial
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 11:28:00 AM
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pfft they should start releasing japanese games only in the console that has a userbase that gives a fu** about those games , just look at namco they are in deep sh** for favoriting the 360 with tales of vesperia.
Last edited by Oxvial on 6/22/2010 11:31:38 AM
7 up, 0 down
godsman
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 12:05:12 PM
Dead Rising: make the main character a white guy.
Quamtum Theory: Big guy with guns and gore.
But anyway I was looking at vgchartz for Namco's Tales sales. None really broke 1 million sales, which sounds about right. Tales of Vesperia, they managed to rack up 0.8 million Xbox/PS3. They have yet to release in US, so it should break 1 million. Their series did the best in sales they could. So I don't think they are in deep sh** for favoring 360.
0 up, 0 down
shadowscorpio
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 11:35:08 AM
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This guy says the need to "compete" with the Western market but has it all wrong. Why does it seem like these Japanese game developers don't have any belief in their own cultural style anymore, when showing it to us lovers of the Japanese style?
DAMMIT!! If you want to compete, then compete with JAPANESE STYLE GAMES! And for heaven's, God's, Gamer's and YOUR sake LOCALIZE and ADVERTISE!
p.s. Seems like a little tricklet of the rumor that Namco Bandai may still localize Tales of Vesperia for PS3.
4 up, 0 down
DeathOfChaos
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 12:34:14 PM
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4 up, 0 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 12:41:15 PM
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9 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 1:19:17 PM
<<<<<If I were a Japanese gamer, I'd feel entirely betrayed by the entire industry.>>>>
And I don't think that SE owns any mirrors, just because SE should feel the most betrayed, every single time it looks in one of it's own.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 6/22/2010 1:21:23 PM
1 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 1:23:51 PM
I called it when Capcom announced their "western partnership" with MS. I said their games would start to suck and well.....
6 up, 1 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 2:48:24 PM
7 up, 0 down
Nlayer
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 9:32:03 PM
0 up, 0 down
kraygen
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 12:44:48 PM
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I want real japanese games, not imitations of western games. I don't like half the western games that come out anyway, so imitating them is only going to mean that I have less games to buy, imitation is never as good as the real thing, see where that leaves me.
5 up, 0 down
enjoi
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 12:49:22 PM
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3 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 12:56:18 PM
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3 up, 0 down
ro kurorai
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 1:09:49 PM
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Now the first thing a major Japanese publisher/dev sees is how well western games on 360 sell.
They wanna have a slice of the pie and sign some stupid exclusivity contract with MS and westernize their games to appeal to the 360 crowd.
That way they're alienating us, the loyal fans who love(d) their games because they are (were) Japanese and not western.
As the Japanese market is comparatively small they don't care about appealing to them anymore but rather focus on Western gamers.
The results are mediocre games without any identity that sell in moderation. Then the Japanese publishers/devs bi*** about a plummeting "Japanese game market" whereas their games ain't Japanese no more.
A shame those guys never read comments on community pages or they simply don't wanna understand.
I just hope the Japanese game market will recover and start making games with a true Japanese identity, the ones fans loved because they were Japanese.
Still not losing hope that last Guardian and FFvXII can demonstrate that Japanese games can appeal to both Japanese gamers and westerners alike for what they are and not for what they wanna imitate.
1 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 1:13:57 PM
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Their best games this gen are completely Japanese. TvC and SSFIV. Bionic Comando, Dark Void and Lost Planet are garbage.
With people like this guy and Wada in charge, no wonder top tier Japanese developers like Capcom and Square are becoming irrelevant. All they do is whine and pander to the Western shooter nuts.
Kojima still makes great games and complains less. Maybe they should take some advice from him.
5 up, 1 down
Scarecrow
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 1:25:23 PM
You're right 'bout Bionic Commando and Dark Void (such a HORRIBLE game)
Last edited by Scarecrow on 6/22/2010 1:26:37 PM
0 up, 2 down
Jawknee
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 1:32:35 PM
Square and Capcoms's Doomsday will be of their own making. Ever since they ventured out on this Western Crusade, their games have becoming less interesting and bland.
Last edited by Jawknee on 6/22/2010 1:33:58 PM
3 up, 1 down
sticklife
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 3:55:05 PM
1 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 1:44:01 PM
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For example: if there were 1 million people playing games in 1999 and 200,000 purchased FFVII, while 30million are playing today and 200,0000 purchase FFXIII, it should still be considered a success. Just because the overall userbase has grown does not mean that changing the formula will attract more consumer to your series. I know that I'm probably waay off base here and most will disagree with me, but that's the way I see it.
Peace.
0 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 2:40:16 PM
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2 up, 0 down
Alienange
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 2:40:39 PM
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The Tales series took a serious downturn as did Star Ocean and it's cruddy combat system. Complaining about Western gamers isn't going to get you any money. Good games will get you not only money, but loyal fans who will be back to support you every time.
0 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 2:44:59 PM
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They just need to go no further than to talk to Atlus for one, in regards to their very own salvation.
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 2:55:07 PM
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SE threw TOWNS out of a Final Fantasy because they couldn't make them gorgeus in HD. WKC did it just fine with decent graphics, but no, apparently we are all only superficial.
3 up, 0 down
JackC8
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 3:41:25 PM
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2 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 4:21:39 PM
0 up, 0 down
sticklife
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 3:50:45 PM
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1 up, 0 down
A2K78
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 4:19:41 PM
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This I cleary agree with
2 up, 0 down
Naztycuts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 5:06:52 PM
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2 up, 0 down
just2skillf00l
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 5:36:56 PM
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1 up, 0 down
Snaaaake
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 5:45:21 PM
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After 2 years in a row, a western game has set record for entertainment launch, of course the greed in some of the Japanese will boil......
2 up, 0 down
Wissam
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 6:07:21 PM
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1 up, 0 down
bridgera
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 6:18:23 PM
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So rather than make good products, they are fearful that they will be annihilated by their competition.
Well, let's take Capcom and the Mega Man X series.
Mega Man X 1-3, good games, setup some story. X4, ok-ish. X5, hit and miss.
X6 & X7, universally reguarded as utter garbage. That's really the problem, releasing poorly translated trash that doesn't play well. It's no wonder why that series stopped.
Word to the wise Capcom, make crap games, and yes, your competition will annihilate you.
To Square Enix, pull your head out of your *ss and just listen to the fanbase you DO have, rather then have these "FPS elements" crap that you intend to have in FFXV.
2 up, 0 down
Snaaaake
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 7:45:03 PM
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I should be relieved that we still have Atlus and NIS.
These 2 are still making tons of PS3 exclusive and I believe they're making more than the likes of Namco, Capcom etc.
I know for sure I'll be supporting NIS a lot this gen, they got me as a fan the moment they released Disgaea last gen and this gen, I'm so looking forward to the likes of Trinity Universe and Atelier Rorona.
Last edited by Snaaaake on 6/22/2010 7:45:56 PM
1 up, 0 down
fstop
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 9:22:41 PM
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The only thing I have to add is Team ICO (or SCE Japan Studio) is a Japanese studio that has great ideas and sees them through...properly. They don't alienate their fans by looking at why Halo sells so much and then tries to implement what that dev team did. Their games don't sell as well as GTA or even Resistance but the fan following is immeasurable when it comes to ICO, SotC and now The Last Guardian.
There is a game out there for everyone Japanese or Western developed. People will buy them in droves.
As Naztycuts said; "Just stick to the formulas of the games that were successful and add new ideas that you couldn't put in due to hardware limitations before."
Well said, my friend. Well said.
3 up, 0 down
___________
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 @ 4:11:40 AM
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see this is what is destroying the industry today all publishers have just turned into greedy fucks!
i mean look at $E for example FXIII did not sell enough for them?
your kidding right!?
if i wanted a western styled game, i would buy a western styled game not a Japanese styled one!
what is it with developers these days and shooting for audiences they can not get?
if i want Chinese food ill go to a Chinese place.
if i want Italian food ill go to a Italian place.
so why do we have Asians trying to create western games?
i dunno if anyones tried a Chinese made pizza but they taste like sh*t!
1 up, 0 down
ZettaiSeigi
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 @ 4:32:19 AM
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To my very pleasant surprise, there's a news there that Level 5 is also making a PS3 version of the game where they are collaborating with Studio Ghibli. I only said "OMG!" after reading the news. I haven't really read everything about the game yet, but I am amazed at how much Level-5 is becoming the antithesis of Square-Enix nowadays. All hope is not yet lost!
Now Sony, please grab Level-5. I think they'll be worth every penny!
1 up, 0 down
DemonNeno
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 @ 8:21:12 PM
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Ghost & Ghouls, Breath of Fire, Mega Man, Final Fight and D&D.
You have absolute CLASSICS in your arsenal and all you've always cared about was SF. That's not my fault! That's not the consumers' fault, either. You pick your faith. You rode out SF through EVERY console I could think of EXCEPT the TurboGrafx (what was it called? "CD"? 3D? i can't remember) and tossed in typically 4 of them out there. Then, Puzzle Fighter.
GROW UP! You aren't even Japanese anymore, to me. You're STREET FIGHTER! Breath of Fire was a GREAT JRPG. Ghosts & Ghouls was dreadfully difficult, extremely different (from the levels to the liquid-like movement of your character who kept momentum to a stop when you left off your d-pad for realism) and VERY addictive! Where's that at? Where's my Final Fight? Why can't you make fighting game that involves a intriguing story? Like an actual storyline, not your pieced together, but acceptable, SF stuff. You know, where you play for the STORYLINE, not just to kick someones' ass.
Where are YOU at?! Smokin' a bunk-weed doob with S-E??!! I'm still willing to buy Japanese gaming. Bens' still willing to buy Jap games. I'm sure A LOT of people will buy them! You just have to make one worth a damn and truly CARE for it.
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Kevin555
Thursday, June 24, 2010 @ 4:10:22 AM
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stop crying in the shadows & make me another Onimusha title. The lack of Onimusha love is disturbing & please lord ditch that thing you call a game, Lost Planet. That series with its horrid sequel won't rake you in $$$ or any respect that the few loyal Capcom fans have left for you.
Last edited by Kevin555 on 6/24/2010 4:11:01 AM
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CHAOS THEORY X
Reply
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 10:57:40 AM