It’s that time again, folks! Yep, it’s time to listen to another Japanese developer tell us that Japanese games are terrible. Capcom’s Keiji Inafune, a long-term critic of his country’s industry, has stated that this year’s Tokyo Game Show was dismal, with his fellow countrymen creating “awful” games.
“I look around Tokyo Games Show, and everyone’s making awful games,” says Inafune. “Japan is at least five years behind.”
Inafune also believes that Capcom is “barely keeping up” with Western rivals, and even wants to start gearing his games to the roundeye market: “I want to study how Westerners live, and make games that appeal to them.”
I want to defend the Japanese market, but I’m finding that the country’s games are appealing to me less and less, and this is someone who was once a big JRPG nut. Nearly every JRPG that comes out now just makes me feel slightly sick, and that’s no way to be.
Aside from a handful of games like Vanquish and Kirby’s Epic Yarn, nearly every game I’m excited for this quarter is Western. It’s pretty sad, and I really hope Japan manages to find a spark soon.
Japanese Playing a New Video Game: Catch-Up [New York Times]
