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Forums - Gaming - Japan going 'back to roots,' avoiding 'westernization' of games

forevercloud3000 on 21 January 2013

http://www.shacknews.com/article/77465/tales-producer-japan-going-back-to-roots-avoiding-westernization-of

 

 

Tales producer: Japan going 'back to roots,' avoiding 'westernization' of games

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Andrew Yoon, Jan 21, 2013 10:00am PST

Related Topics – Tales of Xillia, PlayStation 3, Namco Bandai, Tales of Series

Japanese games are slowly making a resurgence. Games like Dark Souls and Persona 4 have recaptured our attention, after many developers struggled to make hits that resonated with the American audience. Games like Quantum Theory, which poorly emulated Gears of War, proved to be duds--something that has Japanese developers going back to the drawing board.

Hideo Baba, producer of Namco Bandai's Tales series, said that Japanese designers are returning to what made their games so appealing in the first place. "I feel like a lot of Japanese developers, especially ourselves, we've really taken an effort to go back to our roots," he told us. "We look at what we started with and what we're good at, and we really tried to make an effort to strengthen what our foundations are."

 

Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino recently echoed those sentiments, saying Ni no Kuni attempts to recreate "the good old days" of JRPGs.

The upcoming Tales of Xillia marks the franchise's 15th US anniversary, and with its big-eyed anime characters, it's clear that this is a game meant for Japanese tastes. "With regards to the Tales franchise, we've never made an effort to 'westernize' it," Baba said. Staying true to its identity is what helps the franchise stay so endearing to its fans. "We feel that Western developers are good at certain things, while Japanese developers are good at other things. Rather than us trying to copy Western developers, we really try to look within ourselves and try to improve ourselves. The Tales franchise has been a personal struggle to better ourselves and the franchise."



      

      

      

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Otakumegane on 21 January 2013

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/profile/92109/nintendopie/ Nintendopie  Was obviously right and I was obviously wrong. I will forever be a lesser being than them. (6/16/13)

Wander_ on 21 January 2013

I don't think so, Even the biggest publishers Capcom & Square Enix are now focusing more on western games.



Otakumegane on 21 January 2013



http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/profile/92109/nintendopie/ Nintendopie  Was obviously right and I was obviously wrong. I will forever be a lesser being than them. (6/16/13)

forevercloud3000 on 21 January 2013

All I can say is....ABOUT FREAKING TIME!!!!!
How stupid was it for all the famous Japanese Developers to be grasping at what makes Western Games so well liked and completely forgot that many of their franchises were like BECAUSE of there Japanesey ways. So many horrid fuck ups this gen in a vain attempt to appeal to US/EU audience
-Tales of Vesperia 360 exclusive in US
-FFXIII.......enough said.
-Pretty much the miss management and allocation of JRPG platforms for this entire gen.



      

      

      

Greatness Awaits

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Boutros on 21 January 2013

Tell that to Capcom.



Otakumegane on 21 January 2013
Boutros said:
Tell that to Capcom.


At least they didn't screw up monster hunter yet. 



http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/profile/92109/nintendopie/ Nintendopie  Was obviously right and I was obviously wrong. I will forever be a lesser being than them. (6/16/13)

Wagram on 21 January 2013

Thank god, it is finally getting through, Let the West be the west, and let Japan be Japan.



kain_kusanagi on 21 January 2013

If you only publish games that appeal to a tiny island then you will only sell games to the people that fit on that tiny island. This is only good if you are Japanese or a part of the niche that loves Japanese gameplay. The rest of the world would love to play games with that Japanese style, but they want the gameplay that the West polished. That means RPGs with action and shooting instead of random battles and turned based fighting. The rest of the world likes spiky haired teenagers saving the world from crystal wielding clowns as much as the Japanese, but unlike the Japanese the rest of the world doesn't want to grind for hours and days and weeks. The times have changed and the Japanese gameplay has competition that it didn't have during the rise of Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior. The limitation of those early systems didn't allow for anything better, but now they are tropes and cliches and we deserve better.

Japanese developers should most definitely give their games the style that makes them Japanese, but they need to learn how to make complex gameplay without relying on the 30+ year old turn based combat system.



Otakumegane on 21 January 2013
BasilZero said:
Otakumegane said:
Boutros said:
Tell that to Capcom.


At least they didn't screw up monster hunter yet. 


They dont need to - they've done enough to traumatize fans with Mega man this whole gen ;p.

To be honest he does need a redesign. I dislike the monochrome style. Zero seems much cooler. Heck even the new guy (Idk what he is but he has spiky hair.) Looks better than the blue/yellow mega man. If they're to revive this guy they need something like Metroid Prime.



http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/profile/92109/nintendopie/ Nintendopie  Was obviously right and I was obviously wrong. I will forever be a lesser being than them. (6/16/13)