For years, the games industry was dominated by Japan. Many of the top selling games, such as Metal Gear and Final Fantasy, originated from the east. However, in 2014, it’s become somewhat trendy to claim that you are done with these these types of games, with many people calling them immature and accusing them of being “sexist”. Lots of modern journalists tend to look down their noses on any Japanese game not called Dark Souls. What has happened to create a rift between games based on the Japanese culture and games based on the western one?
Many of the criticisms of eastern-influenced games seem to originate from the way they portray characters. People find Japanese characters to be written in a stereotypical way, with many only having one personalty trait e.g determined hero, sensitive princess, grizzled veteran. In a world where people are trying to get games recognized as an art form, shallow writing is seen as damaging to how games are perceived by the public. Another argument used against Japan is the focus on gameplay over story. Take Platinum Games for instance, they made some of the most complex and detailed games of the last generation, but they were largely over-looked due to the lack of a mature, gritty story. American writers deal with more relevant themes, such as gay marriage and feminism, whereas Japanese are happier writing about more timeless themes, like world saving and gaining inner-confidence. In a internet climate where politics is a hot topic right now, Japan can seem behind the times when compared to the more relevant themes western games deal with. Personally, I like the way Japanese games are written and don’t want social and political trends to dictate what kind of games I can play.
Their is a counter-argument to this discussion. Many fans on the internet still love the way traditional games (such as Dragon’s Crown and Pokemon) are made. There are a lot of people on internet forums who still have a passion for games like Sonic and Dynasty Warriors, and these people get frustrated when they see their favorite videos games mocked for not including the newest political trend. Gaming press don’t always help the matter either, frequently referring to Japanese games as “sexist” and attempting to use peer-pressure to force developers to change. Certain members of gaming journalism take it too far in my opinion, saying that Japan is a perverted culture and doesn’t know how to treat women.
I think that having multiple cultural influences makes gaming better. I would hate to see the Japanese culture slowly removed from games, and replaced entirely by an American-dominated industry. Having multiple perspectives on social, artistic and political issues gives gamers more choices when picking games that suit them. What do you think about the matter?