Are japanese Game Developers "Losing their touch"?

[Bardoon]

So I read an article that brought up an interesting debate about how the former strong Japanese game developing market has been dwindling. It brought up several points to this:

-Lack of "innovative" new titles
-Constant repeats and redo's of known and "proven" series games (i.e. Final Fantasy and multiple sequels, Monster Hunter, Dynasty Warriors, etc.)
-Games clearly "aimed" at Western Audiences (Dead Rising, Metal Gear Solid, etc.)
-Dropping sales on certain franchises while those series/games do extremely well in the West.
-Nintendo "behind" in third party development and console development
-Japanese game publishers handing their franchises to Western developers for a chance at renewed success (i.e. Castlevania

I remember at one point no one could touch Final Fantasy in terms of depth and epic RPG scope, but clearly a lot of developers have caught up since then, especially Western ones with the likes of Mass Effect, the Elder Scrolls, etc.

So thoughts? Opinions? Just thought it'd be an interesting topic.

 

[plasmid303]

I think it has more to do with the change in taste of western gamers than anything else. Also, bringing up the subject of innovation is tricky. Few games on either sides of development are truly innovative, as many gameplay mechanics are iterative of things that have come before. Is it really safe to say that western game development is more innovative than Japan's?

 

[snappahead]

I'm sure it depends on who you ask. I'd imagine Japanese gamers are still content with the games. There's always been a cultural gulf between western and eastern gamers. It does seem that the western markets interest in jrpgs has dried a bit. I'm not sure if any western game has ever found a lot of success in the east.

 

[darthviper107]

I think the biggest problem at the moment is that there's so many good games to get. Used to be that there weren't so many high quality games, but since the console cycle is longer it has become easier for developers to really learn how to get the most out of their systems and produce good games. That means it's hard for Japanese games to go up against so many AAA games.

 

[Drakul]

I'd say it's the whole industry changing.
US developers made Abe and Earthworm Jim and Crash Bandicoot.. and where are those games now?
Colorful mascot games have been going the way of the dodo lately, as have space shooters like Colony Wars and Starlancer.

But there are still great Japanese (in feel) games to be found. Muramasa, Okami, Yakuza, Valkyria Chronicles.........
And the PSP is a treasure for Japanese RPGs. Ys, Legend of Heroes, Lunar, Tactics Ogre.....
Basically all the games that don't sell in the US because we're now a mass market and mass buys Grey/brown FPS and Wii Carnival.

 

[automaton]

the game industry is very much becoming what the music industry has... publishers don't want to nurture titles and grow franchises over long periods. the real money is spent advertising these titles now that the masses are on board...

 

[ZombieRepublican]

All of my favorite Japanese games had always been aimed at a westernized audience i suppose.

I guess typically Japanese games are RPGs which ive always hated. Other than those there are still awesome Japanese games like Asura's Wrath, Vanquish, FF 13 versus, The Last Guardian and Metal Gear Solid titles.

The problem is the West keep making incredible block buster titles

 

[Theokan]

My thought is that lots of Japanese game companies never really jumped on board with the current gen systems (PS3, Xbox 360) It's like most of them never went through that transition well. Only Japanese PS3/Xbox360 titles seem to be from big time Japanese companies like Capcom, Square/Enix, SEGA, etc.. where they can easily get the resource they need to make current gen games. The smaller Japanese companies never really went beyond making PS2 era graphics, and then found a niche in current gen handheld systems which happens to have PS2 similar graphics which is perfect for them. So now basically PS3 and Xbox 360 games are mostly from the US, and handheld games are mostly from Japan. At first I also thought Japan game companies sort of died out, but then when I looked at the handheld game library, I kind realized where they all went..

The thing is that now games are closer and closer to movie quality, US have Hollywood to learn from where as Japan doesn't really have anywhere to look.. The same schools that are breeding movie fx guys for Hollywood are the same schools breeding US game artists. In Japan, the best they've got are the ones making FX for Japanese movies which are decent, but still a long way to go compared to stuff like Legacy Studio, ILM, etc. I think that's why Japan's smaller game companies don't have the resource and know-how to efficiently make current gen games, it may take a few more years for them to catch up.

Personally though, I don't care too much about graphics in games, there are many Japanese titles that I would buy for the PS3 even if they end up looking like PS2 games.

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[ZombieRepublican]

While you are right there is a company very well known for having the best CG producer. Square Enix.

At the same time, like you said, PS3 level games take a much longer time to develop due to the extra detail in them which makes them alot more expensive. Unfortunately the Japanese games companies cant afford this, which is why when there are big Japanese games they come quite far apart.

I wonder what it'll be like even for American games when PS4 rolls along