A Left 4 Dead addicted Hideo Kojima confessed that perhaps he should “quit being Japanese” in a recent interview with Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu.  In this interview Kojima criticizes the Japanese gaming industry and compares it to those of the US and Europe

"The US and European marketplace are far better balanced. There are games everyone can play -- maybe calling them 'kids' games' would be inappropriate -- but there's also a deep base of core titles made with movie-industry people that explore the depths of hi-def. I'm addicted to Left 4 Dead right now, but people say to me that that game would never work in Japan.”

     When asked why Japanese games have trouble competing with the other markets Kojima became even more critical of Japan:

"Japan makes all their own books and movies and music. You can't export entertainment made by Japanese people in the Japanese language, so it's all made with the sort of budgets that guarantee profit within the Japanese marketplace only. Meanwhile, the English-speaking world is a global one. The scariest scenario I see is people overseas taking the ideas from Japanese games, running the Hollywood business merchandising machine on them, and taking all the revenue. If that happens, then there won't be any new Japanese creators.

It was like a card game; there were lots of things that weren't possible and had to be cut. With hi-def, the more real it gets, the less instruction you need to give, so preoccupying yourself with making rules seems silly. Western developers have realized this, but Japanese ones are still preoccupied with making these rules. "


Must...appeal...to everyone...  

     Kojima even noted Spike’s Video Game Award show, which was surprising to me.  Of all people I didn’t think Kojima would concern himself with an award ceremony that the US audience doesn’t even take seriously.

"Maybe I should quit being Japanese.  And speaking of which, there were hardly any Japanese games nominated in Spike TV's Video Game Awards this year. It's sad to see that Japan's games failed to even register in America last year."

     Kojima presents a problem with the Japanese gaming industry, which at one point dominated.  The US and European industries have always been growing but most recently have been gaining dominance.  Names like EA, Valve, Epic, and Blizzard are being recognized not only as the best US publishers/developers, but the best publishers/developers worldwide.  Japanese companies will always be a force in the industry but will have to get used to sharing the limelight or shift focus to the western market like some companies already have.

     As for quitting being Japanese well…that’s an issue Kojima will have to resolve himself.

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