Last year, Capcom R&D chief Keiji Inafune declared that the Japanese gaming industry is done, finished. While he’s had a year to reflect on what he’s said, he doesn’t think anything has improved.
“I said that comment hoping that the Japanese creators were going to wake up,” explained Inafune. “However, there has been no change whatsoever to the situation since last year, so I’m still very pessimistic.”
“I feel that many people in the industry are still living the glory of the ’80s and ’90s, so they don’t admit that there is a problem to start with, he continued. However, looking at the domestic market, it’s shrunk. Therefore it’s really important that we realize that we’re behind the Western market now, get humble and start learning what’s going on. Otherwise the Japanese market is going to disappear completely, sadly.
“There are some publishers who are starting to buy up Western developers, he said, referencing Square Enix’s purchase of Eidos. However, unless they start working with them properly, rather than just commissioning a game and then putting their name on the final product, it’s just not going to work.”
Source: VideoGamer.com
