Kojima: 'Japan's curse is its focus on Japan'

[Mr Khan]

Slimebeast said:
I agree with Kojima. When the Japanese take influence of the West (but keep some of their unique stuff) miracles happen. Miracles such as Dark Souls, Dragon's Dogma and Vanquish, who all are East meets West games and masterpieces.

Rather than thinking of the two groups as distinct, one has to think transculturally. The issue for western developers is that Japan is a small enough market as to be negligible, whereas Japan needs Western sales, but the best-remembered Japanese games, past and present, are not identifiably "Japanese" and that includes many JRPGs. What's happening in j-development is a stagnation of ideas that has little to do with culture problems, because the West is going through this too (how many blockbusters don't involve Colonel Steroids shooting up terrorists or zombies in some sort of gritty urban center or wasteland or something?)