Captivate 2010, Part 4: Keiji Inafune on Japanese vs. Western Development
matt chandronaitKeiji Inafune has been around for a very, very long time. I could list all of his accomplishments here, but you’d be better served by perusing his Wikipedia entry.
Perhaps that’s why he feels free enough to give one of the most candid interviews I’ve ever been a part of. He calls out Japanese game development failings and even implicates his own company for its complicit habits. But Capcom’s message at this year’s Captivate was entirely about how they’re changing the way they do things. Inafune-san is more than just a front-man for that change; he’s the force of nature pushing it through. As the new head of Capcom worldwide R&D, Inafune-san is at the forefront of the company’s initiative to revitalize not just their core properties, but the very idea of East vs. West game design. His stated goal within his “Global Initiative” for Capcom is to emphasize aspects of Western game design that make it excel on the world market and marry them with the best principles of Japanese game design. This is more controversial than you might imagine. He’s even experienced resistance to this way of thinking from within his own company.
Watch our interview and then share your thoughts. Is Japanese game design floundering? There is no doubt its market is shrinking, but can Western design philosophies positively impact products that appeal to such a different audience? What can Western and Eastern game designers learn from one another?
Personally, I find many of the sacred cows in Japanese games to be at best tiring and at worst frustrating. There are many companies and individuals that do incredible, innovative work operating in Japan and perhaps they are just being overshadowed by the same-y, sequel-driven, larger entities that are simply too comfortable to change. Even Capcom seems to be holding on to some awkward, legacy design choices with Dead Rising 2 — our next and final Captivate piece.
The other members of AREA 5 and I recently watched Vanguard’s Japan: Robot Nation episode on Current. I can’t help but wonder if what we’re seeing from the Japanese game market isn’t just a symptom of the larger issue of Japan’s rapidly-aging society. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a question I’d thought to ask Inafune-san, but I’d be very curious to hear what he’d have to say about that phenomenon.
Also, I love that he references Heavy Rain :).
Reader Comments (14)
Thanks for posting this guys...area 5 is doing a great job of keeping the site fresh and exciting with these well done bite sized clips. Keep up the good work...can't wait to see what you guys are cooking up with EGM.
This Captivate series has been great. I hope we can look forward to similar treatment of this year's E3. I will be attending the expo this year, and I would love to drop in and say hello/give thanks.
I know you probably aren't in a position to disclose info about EGMi, but have you heard of any upcoming subscription plans for EGMi only, instead of having to subscribe to the print mag to get the exclusive iPass? I ask for 2 reasons: 1) I really want to check out Area 5's work in EGMi without receiving a print mag, and 2) I don't have the time or desire to read another gaming mag every month, even though EGM used to be my go-to.
Interestingly many Asian countries such as Japan and China have constantly struggled with abandoning traditional ways and embracing radical new Western ideas throughout their history. At the turn of the 20th century traditional values were stubbornly held onto by Asians who were afraid to change to be more like the hated imperialistic West. This resistance ultimately weakened them as they tried to pick and choose which aspects of Western culture to adapt and which traditional Asian views to keep without fully supporting any idea or understanding the new ones.
I think this idea of harmonizing the two different cultures/development styles in the video game world, led by Inafune-san at Capcom, holds many parallels to this transition and, like anything in history, it can teach us how to not make the same mistakes. Japanese developers NEED to consult with their Western counterparts/other developers to learn how to use the Western techniques in the best ways possible and also entirely commit to certain ideas in order to be successful. This will keep things from being weakened by too many ideas trying to exist in a finite space.
I do look forward to seeing the results of Inafune-san's efforts though and I'm happy to see he seems to realize the difficulties that await him.
As always, thanks for stirring some inner monologues and great job Area5!
Man I thought I recognized that translator, of course it is mr. Ben Judd producer of BC:R and Bionic Commando! Loved their Bionic Commando podcast, they should bring that back, same team, other (better) game!
VERY GLAD he said Mega Man Legends 3! Please make that game now! I have waited for that game for soooo long!
Also mad props to you guys, I love how your new coverage has worked so far!
@Jonathan Hunt ... Honestly, we have no idea, sorry man :/. I would THINK that something like that would be on the agenda, but I really can't say for sure. You know as much as we do at this point :). Thanks for the compliments. It's been fun doing this Captivate stuff and it is endemic of how we want our site to be updated going forward.
@john shab ... Like you implied, I think every time those radical Western ways have been introduced it's been at the barrel of a gun. I totally agree with you about the idea of harmonizing east and west game design. Through diversity are the best discoveries made and the best ideas brought to fruition.
@Coheno ... Yeah, Ben Judd's been around! He's great at what he does and a fantastic translator to boot! Also, thank you, as well, for the kind words. Glad this sorta-new way of doing things seems to be resonating with our audience (or at least the ones that post in the comments ;) ).
anyone else like subtitles better for this kind of interview? his voice kind of gets drowned out with the dubbing...i dont know about others, but in an interview i like to hear the person talk...
other then that very slight annoyance great job again guys!
@ I can't help but wonder if what we're seeing from the Japanese game market isn't just a symptom of the larger issue of Japan's rapidly-aging society.
If you look around on the internet you can find some really fun arcade style Japanese indie games, I think they're pretty awesome but yeah id say the constant y-sequal in Japan is a massive problem with their gaming industry.
If you think the Japanese are declining in the marketplace, then you should see the reviews for lost planet 2........:(
@ john shab
I disagree with your point of view.
Interestingly many Asian countries such as Japan and China have constantly struggled with abandoning traditional ways and embracing radical new Western ideas throughout their history.
This sentence is masquerading the fact that the Japanese games industry have been driving game development in more fronts than western's did, namely arcade and console market which at some point between the 80'' and 90'' were very tied.
I also disagree with this:
I think this idea of harmonizing the two different cultures/development styles in the video game world, led by Inafune-san at Capcom, holds many parallels to this transition and, like anything in history, it can teach us how to not make the same mistakes. Japanese developers NEED to consult with their Western counterparts/other developers to learn how to use the Western techniques in the best ways possible and also entirely commit to certain ideas in order to be successful.
What your purposing is a culture homogenization, which is counter productive to culture itself as it will make everything generic. I, for one, am in favor of multiple different techniques and methodologies as this is what will enable the gaming culture to have multiple "flavors". Today there are many game genres that have lost their mainstream moment but that's not to say that they lost their place in the gaming culture, it's quite the opposite in fact. It's wrong to think that all games should appeal to everyone. These genres are now targeted at enthusiast and have been following a specialization path which seems awkward to most outsiders (or non initiated if that makes sense). I'm talking about the type of games that you'd see at arcades.
The decline of Japanese gaming market is a myth, at most it's an assertion that less games are being done. Things like Brain Training may have fooled people once but clearly don't fall under the games category, although this is just my opinion here.
As for Inafune, his first attempt (Dark Void) to prove his point was a failure. I'm still waiting for something else other than just that.
To me, capcom as a company has always epitomized both the best and worst of Japanese game design. Extremely tight game play systems, nice art, memorable characters and music, but also the tendency to run a series into the ground with iteration after iteration. I would like to see Japanese developers get the money and freedom that Western developers have, because I think that's what has been holding them back this generation. At the same time, I don't want to see them loose what makes Japanese games great and start pumping out FPS or cover based shooters. Lord knows we have enough of those.
seems like this is the only other place to ask you guys a question but I really liked the stuff you did at the 1up show and CO-OP. I really want to keep watching your stuff on EGMi, but atlas I am a broke fool and can't afford the money to subscribe to EGMi yet. Is there going to be a way where I can watch your videos without a subscription? I would really love to watch you guys again.
@Feralsapien
My comments about the struggle to abandon traditional ways and embrace new Western ideas were mainly about early 20th century events such as the reluctance to accept Capitalism and things such as the May 4th movement and the Cultural Revolution in China. I was trying to draw some parallels between Japanese/Chinese history as a whole and its video game industry history. While you make a great point that the Japanese gaming industry drove the entire gaming industry in the 80s and 90s, the Japanese and Chinese economies were very strong in the 1800s as well, but after the turn of the 20th century their respective governments had a hard to time adapting to new, more successful Western ideas and became much weaker. I think this is a great parallel to the state of the gaming industry today in Japan. (I realize Japan and China are very different countries and both have had different reactions to accepting Western ideas, but I think lessons can be learned from both reactions and both histories apply here.)
You also make a great point about fearing cultural homogenization because then we will all end up the same and boring. Yes that is something that needs to be prevented but I don’t necessarily think that accepting just some more progressive Western design philosophies will completely homogenize the industry. Japanese games, I hope, will always have that distinct Japanese flair, but that doesn’t mean they can’t accept ideas on how to do things better from the West while still keeping things unique. An example that has come up a lot recently has been the save system in Dead Rising 2. They have retained a very Japanese design choice that will turn off a lot of Western gamers (myself included) from an otherwise very fun game. When Capcom’s goal is to survive in a global market, stubbornness in game design choices such as this directly hurts the profitability of a game intended to sell millions. Personally I’m okay with homogenizing when a system works better somewhere else and the designers can’t think of something better (hence my comments on how to this homogenization correctly). You paint a scary future of sameness that proves all creativity should not be stifled (I love Noby Noby Boy as much as the next guy), but unfortunately the Japanese gaming industry needs to do some homogenization to stay alive. If they make the choice to do so, my point was, and I think Inafune-san agrees with me, history can teach us how to do it in the best ways possible and not half-assed.
Thanks Feralsapien for making me question my views and sorry if I rambled a bit, hopefully it all made sense.
Oh my god, Mega Man Legends 3! They need to spearhead that project. Legends 1 was definitely my favorite Mega Man game.
I do look forward to seeing the results of Inafune-san's efforts though and I'm happy to see he seems to realize the difficulties that await him.