Jeg vil slå et slag for Brians Ashcrafts ganske interessante artikel på Kotaku i dag. Det er ingen hemmelighed at den japanske spilindustry er gået i stå og selv de anerkendte japanske spilproducenter henter vestlig hjælp til deres spil i dag. Ashcrafts vinkel på sagen er dog lidt anderledes og han giver japanernes næsten udelukkende konsol-fokus en del af skylden for problemerne. De japanske gamere et blevet stopfodret med en række spiltyper, som mest af alt har budt på flotte cutscenes, altimens resten af verden har valgt vejen med stadig mere og mere realistiske spiloplevelser.
It’s no accident that Western game development tech has surged ahead of Japan’s. Western game development as we know it also has a strong a background in PC game development.
That doesn’t mean all Western game developers make computer games. Many of them have spent their entire professional careers making strictly console games, and many of them, like Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski, grew up loving Japanese games. But Bleszinski got his start in computer games. These developers are able to speak both languages: computer and console. But so much of their DNA (and that of their companies) is in computer games, with their emphasis on tech. It’s in the water and air they breathe.
Japan, on the other hand, has a strong background in arcade games and console games. This is why Japanese games are traditionally polished. You can’t have popout and patches for offline cabinet games. Don’t get me wrong, Japan holds two of the three platforms, one of which, the PS3, is incredibly powerful. But the PC, especially since the advent of graphics cards, has often pulled ahead. And unlike consoles, which don’t become more powerful until the new generation starts, computers continue to become more and more powerful, keeping developers on their toes

























