Japanese Game Development a "Communist State"

[Felix]

http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.com/story/8261 ... ist-state/

Describing Japanese game development in general, Inafune said, “In short, it’s like a communist state. Working as hard as you can is your own loss. Not working hard becomes more advantageous. But doesn’t that get in the way of making games? You can’t make good games by just taking it easy.”

After he left Crapcom.

 

[Xor]

That actually meshes with what Sean Maelstorm has been saying about Japanese developers lately, claiming that they're making games they want to make rather than what players want to play, mostly because the games they want to make are easier to do. He says they know the games won't sell, but they don't care. I thought it was an interesting analysis, and it certainly explains how we ended up with crap like Other M and some of the recent Zelda games.

The article isn't loading for me, so I can't read it, but I don't generally trust anything that comes off vgchartz since I found out they basically fabricate all their sales data. Is there another source for the article?

 

[Felix]

http://www.destructoid.com/4gamer-inter ... -ginormous

here.

 

[Raghar]

Overworked developers are uncreative. Uncreative people are making shitty games.

I wonder what is his problem. Is he saying people in his company are protected by overly restrictive laws, or is he saying he didn't cherry picked people who want to have large freedom in work and make games? Some developers are working in companies because they want to accomplish something, and theirs salary is just a nice bonus.

 

[treave]

I thought he was saying that developers don't really care what they're doing with their games, they just half-ass it and call it a day because they know regardless of how it goes they'll still get their paycheck.

 

[Lesifoere]

I thought he was saying that developers don't really care what they're doing with their games, they just half-ass it and call it a day because they know regardless of how it goes they'll still get their paycheck.

How does this differ from the western game industry, though? Or western work ethics in general.

 

[treave]

I thought he was saying that developers don't really care what they're doing with their games, they just half-ass it and call it a day because they know regardless of how it goes they'll still get their paycheck.

How does this differ from the western game industry, though? Or western work ethics in general.

According to Inafune, Western developers are more driven to succeed because:

For them (independent developers), the goal is to make a hit, grow the company, sell it or do an IPO, and make lots of money. It’s the American Dream.

Granted, that does make it sound like all Western devs are only in it for making lots and lots of money, but hey, he's Japanese, can't blame him for stereotyping all Americans as greedy capitalists.

edit: To put his quote in context...

KI: Saying this will make publishers angry with me, but publishers themselves are forcing developers into becoming subcontractors. "For this amount of money, finishing by this deadline," and so on, and even more than quality, "Aim for this number of sales," is what's being pushed.

Of course, that's not to say that publishers aren't having developers make all sorts of things that they like, but I can't deny that even creators with strong brands and skills have to submit to subcontracts.

4G: It seems like that situation is a bit better overseas.

KI: Yeah, it seems so. There are of course publishers who keep developers "like pets," but overseas there are more independent developers. For them, the goal is to make a hit, grow the company, sell it or do an IPO, and make lots of money. It's the American Dream.

4G: And in Japan?

KI: If you succeed, you don't get credit, and if you fail, it's your fault. Nothing can be done about it. The game industry isn't at a level where it can value creators and raise them up. It's the same at Capcom.

Maybe he's referring to indies publishing through Steam and the like, I guess? I can't see any of the major Western publishers being any less sales-focused than their Japanese counterparts.

 

[DraQ]

Wait. Japanese not working as hard as they can?

How this even?

 

[Raghar]

Even heard term workaholic?

 

[Luzur]

Granted, that does make it sound like all Western devs are only in it for making lots and lots of money, but hey, he's Japanese, can't blame him for stereotyping all Americans as greedy capitalists.

makes it sounds like they are? dude, its what it is all about these days, the greens.

although back in the day devs would make fun games from their bedrooms that they thought people would like to play, but all that died when gaming went mainstream.