People are going to say that he's wrong, or that Inafune is wrong, but I think it's more of a situation where both of them are right relative to their own perspective. People have different experiences that color their opinions.

What Japan really needs, I think, are more creative outlets than just working with Capcom or Sega and watching your IP end up in the waste bin. That's what I think Inafune was really talking about.

Edit:  Mr. Basil, your poll options suxor.

It's funny to see a Japanese developer arguing that Japan is boned and a western developer arguing that it's not.

I really hope Amaro is right that there's a revival just around the corner and that the Japanese are going to respond to technology and an increasingly global market better next generation than they have this one, but I have my doubts. The temptation to keep turning inward and focusing on cheap to make social and moe garbage games for an easy to understand market is a strong one.

"A lot of them have become recipes, where a spreadsheet game design is bluntly applied to the environment with little consideration to the actual experience, removing any sense of discovery and magic," he added.

I'll be damned if that doesn't ring true, though.

"Contrary to what many may think, not everything in western productions is good, productive, or even adaptable to a Japanese work environment."

I'd be curious to see this point expanded on in terms of differing working environments.

It does for me. There is hard formula for every major title, and the mold does not get broken.