Quick Jump Daily Digest
Thank you for your interest in the Quick Jump Daily Digest. Get notified of all new content on QJ in our free Daily Digest. To subscribe, enter your email address below and click the subscribe button.
Gaming in Japan: an American insider's look |
Listed in: PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS Tags: Game Informer, Japan
Ó
It may not concern us as much, but have you ever wondered how it probably feels for Americans who are working with the Japanese in Japan's gaming industry? Sure, there's the language barrier, the culture differences, and the clash of decisions, but we wonder: who gets to decide which games get shipped to the U.S., which screenshots will be released, and which magazines the ads will be placed in? From the point of view of the American employees working under a Japanese parent company, it's a tough case of bureaucracy.
According to Game Informer, the Japanese developers dominate the management as far as most American subsidiaries are concerned. Communication, or the difficulty of communication, does make it a bit hard for everyone to get their messages across. Compared to French or Swedish companies however, the Japanese have made their mark on the universal market that it has become easier to create deals with them, but one has to take note that the Japanese developers are keen on following layers of management. Also, according to their American counterparts, once they made the decision, it is very hard to change their minds.
When it comes to the corporate philosophies that they follow, American gaming executives also admit that difficulty and conflict isn't always the case, as some Japanese companies are easy to work with. Different Japanese gaming companies possess their own corporate philosophies but there seems to be one thing in common: they focus on their product more than their market. Also, their strategies are not as effective as their American counterparts' when it comes to selling their games to the American market, since their corporate philosophies only work too well in Japan.
On the other hand, Mike Fischer, GM of Marketing for Xbox and Games for Windows, tells us that bureaucracy is universal and that it's more of a problem of getting through to the developer than getting through a "Japanese" developer. Sure, you can't go home before your boss does, but as a whole, Americans working with the Japanese find the experience enlightening. He says "Everyone in Japan just wants to make the best game possible. All these guys have a real passion for what they do. Everything they do they want to do right. I understand and respect that.”
Passion over effectiveness? A stunning game over a brilliant international marketing plan? I suppose that as with any form of relationship, corporate or otherwise, one just has to learn to take the good with the bad and learn to cooperate with eachother.
Via Game Informer
| This story sucks? This story rocks! |
|
|
Comments
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Such signage is not uncommon. And even when it isn't blatantly posted on doors and windows the cultural bias is palatable. In Japan, the biggest hurdle that foreigners face (as individuals or as companies) is a fierce sense of nationalism. ;)
Reply
These places tend to be the pressure release valve for a whole generation of Japanese men tempted by daily images of beutiful women but locked into a life of cultural-over-work.
Japan has been slower to adapt to multi-culturalism than many countries as the foreign population of Japan is around 1%.
In general, the Japanese people, today, are the kindest most polite people you would ever meet. Even when turning me (as a foreigner) away from a hostess bar that I am not allowed into, they do so with a smile and a 'dame'.
I am a guest inside one of the last 'pure' countries on Earth. You cannot blame the Japanese for trying in some places to keep their own identity, of having some places just for themselves.
They let me live here, and I am happy for that. Every day in Japan is a gift.
Incidently, the 360 failed for one simple reason - no Square/Enix support. Just as the Dreamcast failed, and to a lesser degree, just as the Gamecube failed. Japan is dominated (in the non-handheld arena) by the anticipation of the next big Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy title and 20 lesser RPGs inbetween.
Japan loves foreign consumer items in general. IPods are massive, foreign brand clothes are massive. Japanese do not discriminate on items that they want. Its simply that Microsoft launched their console without any sort of RPG momentum in Japan. They screwed up. They would have been more successful to wait a year, launch at the same time as the PS3 with several RPG titles to tempt the faithful.
Reply
Take two of these posts and call me in the morning. ;)
http://tokyopia.com/tk/forum/index.php?topic=2589.0
Reply