From Kotaku:
“The Japanese public seems to be disinterested in next-gen and high definition gaming,” he said, pointing to the 360 and its apparent uphill battle in Japan as proof of that. “There is a stigma still attached to western technology there.”
Oh, great, another one of these ‘360-fails-in-Japan-because-Japanese-hate-Western-products’ excuses. Apple products sell just fine in Japan. Just because 360 doesn’t sell there doesn’t mean Japan hates Western technology.
PS3 also is not doing too well there. And Sony is a Japanese company.
And yet the DS, with it’s relatively dated technology, continues to sell well in Japan.
“It’s not about the tech in Japan, it’s about the games, it’s about nostalgia.”
But it isn’t about the tech anywhere. Video games are in the entertainment business, not technology business. Note how this developer is blaming the Japanese customers. Blaming customers when your product doesn’t meet expectations is not just bad taste, it blinds you to the real cause of why the product didn’t meet expectations.
“It’s apparent, everyone knows it in Japan,” he said. “The developers here feel the pressure. They’re starting to develop more with the West in mind and the tech is in the west now. I’m surprised at how many titles have been produced on the Unreal 3 Engine.”
These developers he is referring to are those who think just like him. He means those who develop for technology rather than making fun games. It is those who believe video games are all about technology rather than entertainment.
As for Payton, his future is still up in the air. He wants to stay in the industry and has been receiving lots of interest, but he still hasn’t decided exactly where he wants to land. Though it sounds like he’d prefer to work on an original IP rather than an established one.
“When I’m traveling I’m always thinking about ideas,” he said. “They all come from an original IP or original universe. Their are existing franchises that haven’t been beaten to death and are still open that I wouldn’t mind working on too.”
Translated: “Boy, I am a genius. I am soooooooooooooooooo creative. I am an overflowing fountain of ideas. Naturally, only an original IP would do.” When will developers realize customers don’t care about ideas. They want new experiences, not necessarily new ideas. A new FPS with guns that shoot giant worms against an enemy that are headless ostriches might be a new IP, but it is not a new experience. Video games are not in the ‘idea business’.
“I’ll go wherever we can make a big massive game.”
To sum up Payton’s thoughts: I want to make the type of game I want to make. He probably thinks the customers can just go to Hell. People no longer want big massive games anymore, at least, not a large enough number of them. His response? Blame the customer and go elseware to make what he wants. Too bad Japan is a forerunner for the rest of the markets.
If a developer happens to be reading this and wonders why I am saying all this, it is to point out that please think of the customer.
I know every business can get caught in its own circle, but have you really considered the customer? Most people have jobs where they can’t do what they want. A truck driver doesn’t have any say about where he has to go. A construction worker doesn’t get to say where he gets to construct. Most people have to obey their boss or obey the customers. Why do some video game developers think they are above the process that affects every other business and job?
I keep sensing this aura coming from some developers of “I am Great Artist! I am the Genius! I am overflowing with creativity! Let me do what I want and my genius shall overwhelm you!” The surest way to kill artistic genius is to allow it to do what it wants. Not even Michelangelo got to paint or sculpt ‘what he wanted’. He had to do what he was commissioned to do. For some reason, developers keep viewing constraints as an enemy rather than a friend to creativity. (In the Iwata Asks series, Miyamoto and other Nintendo developers point out that constrains such as limited time and resources helped them make better games.)
Instead of viewing DS and Wii for what it offers, as well as computers sold without 3d cards, they see it only in its constraints (graphic and processor wise). Instead of seeing customers voting with their money for a different experience in gaming, they see customers choosing low tech products which must mean they are stupid. If anything this cycle has shown, there is a big divide between the customers and the developers.
It is a bad idea to fight what the customers want. It is customers who define the business you are in, not the business themselves.
It isn’t that the customers are always right, but it is never their fault when products fail. It isn’t the Japanese people’s fault the 360 failed there.