Yup, we need some more COD clones. Make all the games have a colour palette of black, brown and grey. Sell loads of copies. In theory it seems like it could work, but in a market that is already saturated to the brim with such games, I honestly don't know how much success they will find. They might be better off staying "niche" in the western market and going big in their own market than alienating their own market and failing in the best due to saturation.
I think what Japanese devs need to do is to keep going back to their roots of trying new things. It's a true joy to play a game like Persona for the first time where the premise is so unique it's amazing. Or Catherine which just completely introduces almost a new genre or style of play. Or Ni No Kuni, which takes all that we loved from the past and just polishing it up so much that it has a new feel. Stop making RPGs with the same mechanics, story and art style over and over again. Give me some tale I have never heard of before, give me new gameplay mechanics that completely hooks me in, give me an art style that makes me stare at the screen in awe. These are all things I would trust Japanese devs with, but they have been doing so less in this gen. I hope they can get back to those "expect the unexpected roots" once again.
I've recently been playing Dust: An Elysian Tale, a western indie game that is clearly inspired by the east. And the game just made me realise how epic it was to play Japanese games. An intriguing story, beautiful music, eye-popping hand drawn visuals/animations and gameplay that makes you keep coming back. And this was produced by a one guy mostly. So come on Japan. Get your game on next gen.
If there is one thing you learn from the west, then learn that cloning games is a bad idea.
