He's made comments like this in the past. He's right though. It's not just what a game looks like either. It's everything. I'll give a concrete example. A few months ago, I remember seeing in-store displays at a Walmart for the latest Battlefield game. I remember looking at it and thinking to myself that if they were to remove the Battlefield title, people could easily mistake it for Call of Duty or a lot of other games on the market. It isn't as simple as realistic vs. cartoon graphics. It seems like the majority of the games today have characters that look the same, the same overall art style, the same type of marketing. So if you're like Minamoto and you're from Japan where these types of games aren't as popular, everything is going to look the same.
I know I've pointed this out before but it's still relevant more than ever. The gaming industry has been taken over by marketing executives which is why everything looks the same and sounds the same. Compare this to 20-25 years ago. Sega did create Sonic the Hedgehog to compare with Mario but tried to make a completely different character in a completely different game. Even the Sega Genesis and SNES competed with each other based on their differences, not on their likenesses. Sega tried to sell us hardware add-ons whereas Nintendo gambled on the FX chip and ACM technology. A lot of Sega's games tended to be more action-driven and tried to tap into the player's emotions whereas Nintendo's games required you to use your brain and imagination a little more. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat are also perfect examples of this. Those two games looked completely different, played very differently, but both still competed with each other for the most quarters.
That is what's missing in the industry today; competition based on differences rather than likenesses.
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