That's because the devs weren't paid nearly as much as in Japan, Western Europe or the US.

I guess everywhere else it would've had the same budget as other AA(A) titles (Uncharted and Gears ~$20m).

So am i the only one wondering what 30 millions dollar would do for a japanese eroge game? .. Just checking...

If he is speaking from experience at Capcom, where they make 50 versions of Megaman and 125 versions of Street Fighter, then yeah Western developers who release the same game every year with slight upgrades might seem like more risky business.

On the other hand, he is completely incorrect in regards to the majority of non-Capcom Japanese developers. The American industry is dominated by developing new updated versions of existing games on an annual basis. Even when they are new IP's, they are generalltore skinned versions that play almost identically to already existing games.

The Japanese industry is much more about making completely who generally make new games. Even when a game is in the same franchise, it might be vastly different from the previous edition. This is true for most companies, but there are always exceptions, and Capcom is that exception.

outlawauron said: I think have smaller, sound budgets would be seen a positive note for Japanese developers and publishers.

Right. The ones with financial problems seem to be the ones trying to play these big blockbusters to western audiences (the red on Capcom's balance sheet comes to mind).

Obviously you shouldn't get too conservative, and some Japanese companies doubtlessly are, but western publishers are gripped with an insanity of their own on the other side of the coin.

Mr Khan said: outlawauron said: I think have smaller, sound budgets would be seen a positive note for Japanese developers and publishers. Right. The ones with financial problems seem to be the ones trying to play these big blockbusters to western audiences (the red on Capcom's balance sheet comes to mind). Obviously you shouldn't get too conservative, and some Japanese companies doubtlessly are, but western publishers are gripped with an insanity of their own on the other side of the coin.

It really is a balancing act. I do agree that Japanese publishers need to branch out more and be more accepting of new ideas (like adopting western tech as mentioned in the article), but they also do way better budgeting for their games. It'd also be nice if they didn't maintain such an archaic mindset about releasing their games in the West.

Mikami is full of crap. The top selling Western games of 2012:

1. Call of Duty Black Ops 2
2. Halo 4
3. Fifa Soccer 13
4. Just Dance 4
5 Assassin's Creed 3
6. Mass Effect 3
7. Madden NFL 13
8. Borderlands 2
9. NBA 2K 13
10. Far Cry 3

The best way to describe the majority of games on this list is: a list of upgrades to last year's games. This is not risky, this is maintaining the status quo.