Whats wrong with japanese game development? answered

[FinalEvangelion]

Riachu said:

badgenome said:

JPSandhu said:
you wanna no the problem, all their male characters look like chicks

That's right! The problem with Japanese developers is that they confuse my pants!

 

Do you guys even know why those male character are androgynous? It's to appeal to Japanese gamers(especially girls). It's as simple as that.

Also, the problem is that they are still using dated development methods and control schemes, even though MGS4 took the step in the right direction. BTW, the best Japanese games can hold their own against the best Western games. Look at Super Mario Galaxy, Metal Gear Solid 4 and many of the other current gen Japanese developed games that have excellent reviews. You shouldn't say that ALL Japanese games are lesser than Westen games. It's not like Western developers have their problems. They sometimes listen too much to what gamers in their native countries want. Taking risks in game development is what kept the game industry from getting stale yet many Western developers are just as venerable in making by-the-books First and Third person shooters as the Japanese are in making by-the-books JRPGs.

 

 

This is the nail on the head.  Sometimes, I think there should just be DLC that replaces the adrogynous characters in jRPGs with Bald Space Marines - for all the Western gamers that have problems.

Living in Japan, I've asked several gamers what they think about FPS.  Most of them have the same complaint that Americans have about jRPGs - cliched and not very unique from each other.  Many think that the genre hasn't changed too much from Goldeneye 64 - Stories are simple and protagonsists are always big tough Bald Space Marines with tons of blood and gore.

At the same time, other American exchange students at my University don't know any jRPGs other than Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts.  I ask them about Dragon Quest, Tales, Star Ocean - and they are completely in the dark.

There has also been a big shift in the gaming media's views.  Go to G4, Halo and Gears are considered the pinnacles of gaming, while Japanese games tend to be looked at as "second class."  Whether or not patriotism is a big factor, I don't know. 

Lastly, animation in the West is viewed much more as being targeted for children because of Disney and Looney Toons shaping that industry, while the Japanese have accepted it as being for both children and adults.