Is the Japanese game industry "finished"?

[Linnaete]

I know this comment was made practically a month ago, but I stumbled upon it recently ago. It was made by Keiji Inafune during the Tokyo Games Show. He explained how disenchanted he was about the Japanese gaming industry at the present after looking around at the various shown games on offer. He said:

"Personally when I looked around [at] all the different games at the TGS floor, I said 'Man, Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished.'"

You can see the article here.

So what do you guys think about this? Is the state of the Japanese game industry really declining this badly? I personally see the fact that Japan is more conservative when it comes to games. Unlike the west, Japan doesn't take large risks when it comes to development. So (mostly) their JRPGs remain traditional, which may be why western RPGs are better received.

 

[Abstract Debauchery]

To be honest, I beleve the answer to that question to be yes. While myself, along with others my still like the traditional JRPG, most people are getting a little tired of it. With Western RPG developments skyrocketing in the past couple of years, gamers are finding RPGs more fast paced and more immerse than ever.

After most gamers played Oblvion and Fallout 3, most were asking themselves why they would want to sit through a "sit and wait" combat scheme when they can hack and slash something, and still have to use strategy.

Sadly I believe that this may soon lead to the downfall of good RPG's as we know it. Everyone seems to want to play a FPS now, or a game with FPS qualities. Most games that are played online are FPS's and such.

Square is having to implement a massive facelift to FF with FFXIII's battle system. They're even taking it a step further by making it a little more casual than before.

FFX was the first step. It was casual, simple, and easy. And in my honest opinion has a terrible, simple, and at times idiotic story.
FFXII practically played itself once you learned how to use gambits.
Star Ocean: The Last Hope took out personal events and multiple endings.

In my honest opinion that just goes to show that the Japanese gaming industry is declining, along with good RPGS. Hopefully, Bethesda can keep making epic games (Elder Scrolls series anyone?) to replace my lost love for what Final Fantasy could have been, but never was thanks to FFX.

 

[Aerius Sygale]

^ I agree on pretty much everything, except about FFX having a terrible story...it wasn't great, but I wouldn't call it terrible. :/

And yeah, even though the only The Elder Scrolls game I've played is IV: Oblivion, I enjoyed it greatly, and played it a ton, got so my character can run incredibly fast, which that alone can be fun, racing through vast landscapes. XD

It's too bad there isn't as many games as good as that nowadays though, but I take what I can get, I still play any new Non-MMORPG roman numeral FF games (don't bother with the Crystal ones...).

 

[Exire]

Hm...I think certain western RPG's like Oblivion are slightly overrated actually. Perhaps I've become very accustomed to JRPG's. I liked Oblivion. It was exciting, fast paced but with some strategy, lots of options, and kept the challenge with enemies leveling up with you. However, the story was so-so at best, and no real character interaction to speak of. I prefer playing as a character and seeing how they deal with the story and other characters as things develop. Oblivion just had you make your own personal avatar and go dungeon crawling.

I personally would choose Final Fantasy, Shadow Hearts, Star Ocean, Disgaea, etc., over a WRPG such as Oblivion any day. I find those other JRPG series infinitely more interesting. There have been very successful and innovative WRPG's, but sometimes people make it sound like they're the end all-be all of RPG's as we know it. It's similar to hearing nothing but psychotic love across the board for every single GTA to come out since Liberty City, like its the Second Coming in video game form.

As for the apparent collapse of the Japanese gaming industry, there's nothing I can say on it. Those sorts of comments are completely new to me, I had no clue there was any remote issue.

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

It's getting that way yes, I think even Kojima and Square Enix stated it as well, the two most respected companies in Japan. We've hit a gaming period where people want Western RPGs such as Fallout 3 and Oblivion or First Person Shooters/Sports titles. You can see a lot of western ideas introduced into Japanese companies nowadays, I think FFXIII is a perfect example, whilst it's still an RPG the whole battle system and such like has definitely had western influences to it, because Japanese companies know how much western gaming has expanded and pretty much relies on them now.

 

[Aselia]

I do not think the Japanese gaming industry is dead AT ALL. The Fanbases for JRPGs are much too strong for that to happen. I honestly think Western RPGs and shooters don't hold a candle to a good old JRPG such as Final Fantasy or the Tales Series. As long as JRPGs are made, I believe the fanbases will support them. I cannot deny the act that the shooters and WRPGS are popular, but I personally have never been able to get into an American or western-made game nearly as much as a Japanese made game. The stories always seem to be lacking for me. Maybe I just prefer spikey-haired heroes waving about an abnormally large sword. Either way, as long as the Japanese industry is around, and I believe that will be for a long long time, I will be in for the long haul.

 

[Sir Kenneth]

The Japanese gaming industry is doing just fine. Franchises like Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Tekken, Soul Calibur, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil continue to perform very well in western as well as eastern markets. Even if sales when it comes to certain genres (JRPGs) is declining in the west, the Japanese market is still big enough to sustain the development of these titles. Just look at the Japanese sales of the Dragon Quest franchise. Western gamers might not be that big on overtly conservative JRPGs, but the Japanese public is still lapping it up.

 

[Sun And Steel]

I find it interesting Inafune would make these comments when he's one of the one's responsible for almost running Rockman into the ground over so many sequels with little to no progress between for a lot of it. Sure, if it ain't broke don't fix it applies to maybe 2 or 3 games, but by the time we're on Rockman 6 and there's still not much happening then there's something wrong.

It should be noted that some of the more unique games of the last few years have come out of Japan; Katamari, Shadow Of The Colossus, Okami, Noby Noby Boi.

JRPG's are becoming exceptionally hackneyed though from where I'm sitting. Ever since FFXII and the last Shadow Hearts I haven't really found any of them appealing. Trusty Bell, Enchant Arms, Star Ocean 4, Tales Of Vesperia, Blue Dragon, Mana Kheima etc. Not one of them as really appealed to me. Last Remnant was probably the last one I can think of but it runs like ass on my pc so I haven't bothered to pick it up.