Kojima likes western games over Japanese these days

[jdnation]

I'm sure he was just making a slight joke at the Japanese expense, anyway, for the full context...

"This generation has seen the Japanese gaming industry fall further behind the North American and European gaming industries. This is typified with the likes of Pro Evolution Soccer being beaten annually in terms of sales and quality by FIFA, should Japanese developers start to worry?

It doesn’t stop there. Most of the best major RPG’s, once a Japanese developers speciality, are now made either in Europe or North America. Oblivion, Fable, Fallout, Dragon Age and Mass Effect all now take a huge portion of the RPG market. In terms of raw power, again, Japanese developers are losing their grip. Uncharted, Gears of War and Killzone produce the best graphics on console and they are all made by Western developers. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Gran Turismo 5 are really the only games that can compete.

The problem is that Japanese developers struggle to make games for the modern Western gamer. Final Fantasy XIII was adapted to appeal to the western audience, but was met by lacklustre reviews. Even the attempt at a Gears of War clone that was Quantum Theory ended up being diabolical. Gran Turismo 5, although sold well, failed to move with the times. Its aged menus and GT mode coupled with a poor executed online mode meant that Forza overtook it before Polyphony realised what hit them. Capcom have even let Ninja Theory make their latest Devil May Cry in an attempt to kick-start the series and appeal more to the west.

In an interview with PSM3, Hideo Kojima had this to say when asked about the Japanese gaming industry. “One thing about Japan – and this isn’t just games – is that things that are made in Japan are very much targeted at Japan, whether it’s games, movies or novels. It’s the curse of Japan. My generation is now being exposed to a wide range of influences, that’s why what I want to make is a little bit more in tune with what the people in the west would like”. He went on to say, “I really like the things that are being made in the west. When I come to shows like E3 and see the announcements and go to Comic-Con, I love all the presentations, so really I’ve been thinking maybe I was born in the wrong country!”

Recently at GDC, Phil Fish (indie developer, Polytron) openly stated that all Japanese games suck. In another interview with PSM3, Shinji Mikami was asked about this comment. “I hadn’t heard about that! To be told that Japanese games suck is a bit harsh, but personally, 80% of the games I play at the moment are not Japanese. Skyrim, Batman… games like that are more interesting to me right now. Japan need to make more good games to make people think otherwise”.

Two people that have played major roles in the Japanese gaming industry acknowledge that Japan needs to adapt. They need to make their games more suited for the West to avoid being overshadowed by Western gaming developers. Next gen is around the corner and probably the best time to start a turn around."

http://www.gamingcapacity.com/kojima-and-mikami-speak-out-about-the-japanese-gaming-industry/

So all in all, nothing new and a re-thread of things Kojima's observed and said earlier. You may continue the debate now... Do you think Japan has learnt the lessons from this gen and getting ready to fix it for the next? Are bigger boobs and dudebros the answer? Is hiring actresses like Ellen Page the American equivalent of Japanese moe? I toss these garnishing questions into the soup...

[tension]

yeah but his games are a complete insult to american game design