It is my perception that American adults are, on the whole, relatively more lenient on the depiction of violence in video game than Japanese are. Of course, this is not to say that Japanese gamers hate violence (e.g. see some violent anime). But I highly doubt that violent games like manhut2 will have the same level of support/appeal in Japan as it has in the US.
What is interesting to me is that American parents are generally very strict about sexual contents while Japanese counterparts don't care that much. Put a few nipples in a game then American parents often go berserk. A cultural difference, I suppose.
I do see that core games have become more violent these days. If American game developers want to succeed in the Japanese market, they might want to trim down the level of violence and instead to put some cute character designs to appease them.
No, it's not going to stop 'Til you wise up
No, it's not going to stop So just ... give up
- Aimee Mann
