All society philosophers gather

[Onyxmeth]

c0rd said:

Onyxmeth, you've asked, "why [does] every other region seems to be completely open to offerings that are not directly made by their particular country, except Japan." In reality, I doubt many people (if any) can tell the difference between a game made in the US, UK, or Canada. Most people in America probably think GTA was made here. Our cultures are too similar. Japan, on the other hand, is entirely different, and it's usually easy to point out if a game is from Japan or not. Obviously, this means its easy to see for the Japanese if a game is made outside Japan, and for them that probably often means something less desiriable.

I bring this up for one reason, to point out that it's really differences in culture that's the issue. One needs to look at the history of the industry to realize why things are they way they are now. I mean, Japan has been a dominant force in video games since the arcades - at times (NES era), video games were synonymous with Japan. On the other hand, the west has never attempted to make its presence in Japan known, likely because it isn't worth the effort. There have been plenty of westernized Japanese games, but do you ever see Japan-ized (oh yeah) western games?

I suggest taking a look at industries other than the game industry. Look at the movie industry. Hollywood is huge just about everywhere in the world. However, the U.S. shows very little interest in foreign films. A quick google search shows people complaining about the lack of interest in foreign films, looking very much like the complaints about western games in Japan. I believe the music industry in the US has similar problems. Also, note that western media (movies / music) are very popular in Japan, which contradicts with your conclusion.

As for the western games that are similar to Japanese games being ignored, there are a couple reasons. One, hardly anyone knows about the western games (Fifa, Forza) because Japan already has their own iterations / franchises, and the differences in media coverage / advertisement are likely enormous. Also, it only makes sense that a Japanese developed game would be more in touch with the Japanese audience - the games may look similar, but there are some nuances that they prefer (I linked the RR6 intro earlier as an example). It's sort of like how countries do their own remakes on popular foreign movies, as a domestic film is more accessible.

I know little about the details of the industries I mentioned above, but I suspect you're in the same boat when it comes to Japanese culture (correct me if I'm wrong). I think the most convincing piece that should really have you questioning your opinion is the fact that many western products are popular in Japan. Just ask yourself why the US has very little interest in foreign movies / foreign music - the answer to that question is probably not far off from the reason Japan sticks to their own games.

It works both ways though. An American or European audience may not be able to tell about a UK, CAN or US developed game, but they can obviously tell about a game made in Japan, and yet that doesn't stop them from buying.

Regarding the comparison to foreign movies and music, I always chalked that up to a few things. One, a foreign movie typically has subtitles, no known actors and a smaller budget. Look at the types of movies that rake in at the box office every year. How many of them were small budget films regardless of where they came from? Also Americans are very open to foreign actors since many of our most popular ones aren't even from here, and also foreign directors and films being shot in foreign locations. Regarding music, most foreign music isn't in english. It's understandable why it might not be popular. Even so, in segments of america where there are typically two dominant languages, like areas heavily populated by hispanics, you'll see foreign music to be very popular.

Is this what you were trying to get at in your statements? I don't yet see how that fits into the gaming landscape. Maybe nationalistic pride was going a bit too far, but there definitely is some sort of feeling in the gaming world that Japan is very closed off from purchasing foreign titles. If it's a media problem, as was earlier mentioned, then that in itself would be nationalistic on the media's part to box out gamer's ability to gather knowledge of foreign titles.