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Legend11 on 31 January 2010
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c0rd said:
Legend11 said:
I didn't bother to read the original article because the writing is terrible but I'm going to comment on the thread's topic. I'm not so sure that Japanese game development has a rosy future. I think it will face the same problems that the Japanese film industry faces compared to its U.S. counterpart.

It will eventually get to the point where the price of making major games will be beyond what most Japanese developers will be able to afford (it has already started with the HD generation). As video games become even more mainstream and video games evolve (the immersive experience will be well beyond what we have today) it will require budgets that dwarf anything we have now.

I also think the areas of Japanese game development that will be decimated by this will involve games that rely heavily on Japan for sales (JRPGs for example) or play primarily to Japanese pop culture. It doesn't help that Japan's population growth is basically at a standstill which will make the problem even worse.

Some will point to Nintendo and say that a Wii like philosophy will save Japanese game development but I doubt that. Even cheaper experiences eventually will become very expensive in comparison to what we have today and all it will take is Nintendo slipping for even a generation to spell major trouble for Japanese developers relying on this strategy.

Please note that I'm not saying that Japanese game development is completely doomed but that it will become to video games what Japanese movies are to the World. It will still be relevant in Japan but not so much on the World stage.

How is the west exempt from this? It's not as if they're doing great this gen, in fact, they're doing worse than current Japanese companies, especially when you have Nintendo in the mix. It seems like you feel the future is in massive games like GTA4, Modern Warfare 2, and other high budget stuff that the Japanese can't directly compete with. Except, Nintendo has proven that they can. Visuals are no longer as important as they were once considered, the Wii has proven this. I see no reason why "even cheaper experiences" would rise to such huge costs. Take another look at Nintendo's best selling titles, between the DS and Wii.

Why do you say Nintendo "slipping" for a gen spells doom? They have a ton of money they have at their disposal, and even without it, I have a hard time seeing a day when they are not relevant. Even at their worst, they dominated the handheld market, and at their best, they dominate everything. They've been the main source of innovation on the hardware for a long time, and we have yet to see any western companies to step up to the plate.

I can't see them not being a major power for at least another 10 years. Anytime after this mark is too far beyond for us to know where gaming will even look like.

 

OT: Not a single mention of Nintendo. Well, he did mention he thinks they suck.

Now, I'm not saying everyone must love Nintendo, but how can you just ignore the beast when talking about Japanese development not dying? It makes zero sense how he just zeroes in on HD development, as if the success of the Wii isn't the one pointing in the right direction (hint, not every game needs tons of money put into stellar graphics).

Then he goes on to put hopes down on a knock-off of Zelda, of all things. Really? The reason he excludes the Wii is because they're last gen games, while this one is a next-gen title that wouldn't exist without the HD consoles?

It's nonsense.

Also, OP. You didn't put a link to the article, you should put one up at the beginning or end, at least.
http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/Mitsugeta/the-future-japanese-development-isn-t-dying-its-sick-there-is-a-cure--160741.phtml 


Ever heard of ROK Pictures?  They were one of the big 5 studios during the Golden Age of Hollywood.  It's not unheard of for companies that were major players or even dominated in their respective industries to lose their place because of changes in it.

I can name "beasts" as you call them in many different industries that are now either long gone or nothing like their former selves.  I'm not talking about next generation, I'm talking about generations from now where things will be much different than they are now.