Keiji Inafune gives thoughts on Japanese gaming industry
In recent years, there has been concern about the Japanese gaming industry. Quite a few developers have admitted that technology in the west has outpaced the east, and there are some who have been very vocal about Japan’s impact overall.
You may remember a quote from Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune back in 2009: “Japan is over. We’re done. Our game industry is finished.” As of now, Inafune looks upon things less harshly, though he’s only slightly more optimistic.
Inafune told IGN:
“I hope Japanese game developers are breaking through the stagnation. However, the reality isn’t as good as I want it to be. I see they’re starting to be aware of the problem and that they have to do something. They know they have to learn more from western games and create games that’ll sell more in the western market. However, they don’t know what to do or how to do it. Even worse, their pride gets in the way, preventing them from learning from overseas developers. As a result, they end up staying in the domestic market rather than going global.”
Inafune later noted that overseas journalists consistently ask about the state of the Japanese gaming industry, which he appreciates. But in the end, Japanese devs who say that everything is absolutely fine need to help in proving that they’re still relevant.
“Overseas media have been asking the same question for a long time; is Japan’s game industry okay? Are Japanese brand games dead? The fact they’ve been asking these questions for a while is because they care and they’re worried about it. So we much appreciate the fact that the world is concerned, however, [Japanese developers] still don’t really get it. Some developers are saying [the] Japanese game industry is still doing fine, but that’s wishful thinking. Words are not enough, we must act and prove it. Unless at least a few titles from Japan make it to the top 10 games of the year worldwide, we won’t prove it.”
