Japanese devs to be even less successful/influential next gen?

[speedlolita]

I think you are right about game mechanics. Just look at the likes of Mortal Kombat compared to the likes of BlazBlue and SF4. No contest. Hack and slash games too.

I usually base my purchases on core gameplay as that is what makes playing a game enjoyable.

[nakamura]

That's why Capcom did the combat for DmC themselves. Ninja Theory make stylish games but they never play that well.

[Family Fry]

Shinji Mikami says western developers "working harder"

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-06-28-western-devs-working-harder-taking-more-risks-mikami

[Shozuki]

Western games have a larger audience and that's that. Games are just simply a bigger medium then they used to be...

All that said, I'd like to see the Japanese stick to what their good at, rather then trying to ape western games for the sales - those games just don't work for any audience... (Here's looking at you Capcom!!). Personally I agree that in terms of gameplay the Japanese still do it best, so like I said I want them to stick at what their good at...

Nintendo on the other hand, I'm truly bored of just about everything they do, no doubt their games are mechanically sound, but at this point thier just Activision churning out the same stuff over and over. Capcom are honestly guilty of the same - they need to innovate, make new games and the whole industry will be better for it.

[nakamura]

I would love to see more western and Japanese developers working together. As amazing as Last of Us was overall, with a guiding hand from someone like Mikami, the combat could have been deeper and more refined for example.

[Shozuki]

I would love to see more western and Japanese developers working together. As amazing as Last of Us was overall, with a guiding hand from someone like Mikami, the combat could have been deeper and more refined for example.

That is probably best game ever material!! Would love that too!!

[J0e Musashi]

Demon's Souls...

[Team Andromeda]

The trouble is too many Japanese developers have focused on Japan and the handheld market and that has come at the cost of the teams next gen pipe lines and online features . Sure there's been some great Japanese games but Western developers have just moved forward far more and overall made the better games

[Profit]

There is still a tendency for many Japanese devs to never even consider exporting in the 1st place and all projections are for the product to make a profit in the home territory. Even with big devs like Square and Namco still do localisation for export after the development has finished, by which time the market becomes unsuitable for export release e.g. Tales Of. Capcom was one of the 1st and biggest Japanese developers to do parallel localization and development and got their games released in all regions at around the same time, but then many fans complained that outsourcing their work lead to poorer quality games.

[sj33]

To an extent, Japanese developers are responding to the demands of the domestic audience. A quick glance at the weekly hardware sales figures should tell you all you need to know, with handheld sales dominating the sales of home console. This is also reflected in the amount of shelf-space devoted to handhelds in stores. It's very much the inverse situation to the west, where the handheld is seen to be a dying breed.

I was in the hospital waiting room the other week, and there were people of all ages and genders playing either a 3DS or a PSP (curiously, relatively few Vitas), from 40 year old women to 14 year old boys. And you see a similar sight on buses and trains. People in Japan increasingly value mobile gaming more, and it's understandable that Japanese developers respond to this.