I'm not saying that America and Britain are perfect when it comes to gender - of course they're not. Nobody's perfect right now. The thing is, we're heading in the right direction, and Japan, as advanced as it is, should be joining us. The reason why I'm juding Japan harshly right now is because they should be BETTER than Saudi Arabia and all the countries that revel in how ass-backwards they are.

And that's not giving a free pass to all the fucked up medieval countries out there. As I've said, I have no love for Arabian culture at all. But I think Japan as a modern country should really adopt a less introverted, more progressive culture by now.

My point is, Stripe, is it somehow not possible to care about clitoral circumcision and brutality agains women and STILL give a shit about Japan's sexist culture? You seem to imply that you can only exclusively care about either one, and that's not the case at all. I feel very strongly about the fucked up shit that goes on in the Middle East toward women, it disgusts me thoroughly. I'm just saying, Japan's culture is quite backwardly sexist. That's all I'm saying.

Also, I'm not racist, whoever said Brits were racist regarding Japanese because they love America. I actually am very fond of America and want to live out there, so that's not my reason for being critical of Japanese culture. So yeah.

Am I... am I allowed to comment on this? My bias should be obvious enough.

I'm not exactly sure how we got on the subject of sexism and fucked up porn... but the levels of sexual repression in Japanese society have never been argued. However, repression doesn't intrinsically equal sexism. Repression inheritly creates a breeding ground where sexual expression becomes extreme and subliminal.

For perspective, ever hear of the Victorian Era? Coming off of the Restoration's high sexuality, the Victorian era was a period of prudery. The focus on morality and religion didn't keep them from being sexual, it just meant they figured out other ways of expressing it... like writing dirty letters.

I'm not talking penthouse forum, I'm mean letters so base and perverse they'd make grown men blush.

@FatBologna: Haha, yeah, sexism in kitchens is great. Most of it came from the women too. Ass grabbing, half serious invitations to go home with them. It would have been great if they'd been under 40 or at least monetarily endowed.

But on the topic. Japanese gamers just play different games. I don't think Gears/Halo/DeadRising/LostPlanet do well over there because it isn't a game type they have been cultured to play. Doesn't make them any better or worse, but inversely they might be wondering why Dragon Quest 8 didn't sell hard Stateside.

I'm now curious to look up numbers on a lot of our "big hits."

jp apologizes and sends these to all over the world as a new form of equal rights for men and women.

And they're absolutely wrong about Dead Rising. It's the best Zombie movie since the original Dawn of the Dead. (even though it's a game.)

This is why Destructoid rules. You just don't get societal debate at 1UP.com.

"Japan is an inherently sexist, as well as racist, culture, moreso than western counterparts." Sounds sort of racist in itself, no?

You just can't go around saying stuff like that. It's how rumors get started.

Japanese culture has a lot of screwed up stuff in it, but they also freaking love Hayao Miyazaki movies, which are generally speaking the least sexist, racist, anything-ist movies there are. They censor games there like RE4 that we permit to be totally over violent and gross (and awesome).

My point is, you can't judge the whole culture by it's worst bits. It is safe to say that Japanese culture encourages repression more than the liberal west. When ever a culture is more repressed, it's dark side is darker.

Jim Sterling. Yesterday it was the Australians, today it's the Japanese, and Tomorrow it's going to be the English? You will be receiving a stern reprimand from my lawyer.

Don't even ask me why Schmups are still so huge there, because I Have seizures playing THOSE fuckin' things.

@Crunshii

I think we realize that, we aren't fucking stupid. But there is a differnce between what is made and comes from japan and what they actually do in japan. The good stuff that comes out of Japan seems to be way more popular in other countries than there(except pokemon). And don't tell me that you don't think they are even a little arrogant. I mean shit, America and Europe and other countries buy their games and anime by the boat load yet when we release something there they don't go near it like it's diseased. The 360 is a good console yet they don't seem to buy it because it was made in America.

I haven't read most of these posts so I don't know if someone has already mentioned it has anyone checked the percentages? 90k or so of a game sold to Japanese 360 owners is probably like 97% of the total 360 owners, that way it is a success.

p.s. I'm too lazy to look up actual figures and do math.

*seconds brainderailment, then goes to play dead rising since all of this talk has increased his desire to play the dust collecting disc*