I recently watched Anthony's rant about grinding and while I considered his argument a little too excessively antagonistic, there was a lot I agree with. I don't really agree with the concept of grinding as a whole considering that the peak of grinding is when you can waste enemies(of a particular area) that were previously hard quite easily over time, then having to do it all over again in a new location. I don't recall having to grind hours on end in any game really. And in a lot of games I've played, the real strategy comes when you fight bosses. This was especially true for me when I figured out how to play Xenogears correctly. Of course, strategy guides generally bypass all the reasons to play rpgs, but at the same time, offer the only hints to get certain items... Well, I digress.

Anyway, my hypothesis is that it has something to do with culture, especially regarding academics. School takes up a huge portion of our lives, and I find that when I was younger and more academically competitive, I found games like final fantasy to be quite entertaining, and would keep on truckin' through hundreds of battles just to beat the game. Now, however, grinding generally puts me off and really keeps me from beating many games. And Asian education systems, are notoriously difficult! This past summer when I visited India I looked at my little cousin's homework and she was doing like pre-calculus level math. SHE'S IN EIGHTH GRADE. Think of those boss encounters as equivalent to exams.

Sure you may think this is all bollocks, and I can't blame you, it sounds like a weak connection. Yet, if you have ever gone anywhere with tourists about (I noticed this a lot in India), you will notice that Germans, Americans, and Japanese are sometimes around, taking pictures. I forgot where I read it, but apparently it's because of their commitment to their jobs, school, etc. that they feel they must do so much work(by means of photographing everything), even on vacation. Now I am not saying it's the standard but it seems plausible.