Industry legend Keiji Inafune has become a bit infamous for his harsh criticisms of the Japanese game business, and in Gamasutra's latest feature interview, the Capcom veteran and Mega Man creator explained that many Japanese companies suffer because they don’t operate under a single "creative vision."
"A lot of companies, if you look at them today, they'll be like, 'Oh, Okay. How do we monetize? Where's the money to be made? What are we giving the consumers that they want?' They don't really have a creative vision for what to build a game around," he said.
At his own studios, Comcept and Intercept, Inafune hopes to avoid this problem by establishing a clear creative goal for his teams, which will help ensure that all development efforts go towards realizing that vision.
"We have this creative concept, and that's what we're going to build our IP around. We're not going to focus it necessarily on the money... We're not going to focus it necessarily on what exactly the people want. This is going to be our vision and what we're going to stick to it."
The real trick, he says, is to establish a sense of leadership -- otherwise, a development team won't have anyone to keep their projects focused and on track.
"If you look at other companies, they may have a president, they may have producers and directors, but these guys sometimes don't really understand. In the end, you can't say whose game it was that they made. They're not really unified as a company under a single person's vision."
"All the people that work for me understand how to follow and how to iterate and execute on that concept. So, we're just a unified team moving forward versus some people being political, some people pretending to be a producer and not really having a true skill to do it, and not really having a vision, or whatever. We are a unified single unit."
The full interview, in which Inafune details his plans for improving the state of Japanese game development, is live now on Gamasutra.
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"If you look at other companies, they may have a president, they may have producers and directors, but these guys sometimes don't really understand. In the end, you can't say whose game it was that they made. They're not really unified as a company under a single person's vision."
Iwata use to work with the Pokemon Division, and now he is the president. You can tell he understand game design, and development. Japan please follow Nintendo's lead.
I think Keiji Inafune is spot on, but this problem isn't just confined to specifically games development. I think it's become increasingly obvious over the years that Sony of Japan suffers from this lack of unified goal with it's hardware development.
To show how this is why they need to follow Nintendo. This generation with the Wii, and DS Nintendo was able to create totally new experience. While at the same time still give their consumers base what they want. Making them the most successful gaming company this generation.
You say they could have done a much better job, but when you consider that virtually all analysts, retailers, industry journalists, non-industry journalists, forum go-ers, third parties and competitors accused them of being wrong about everything ever and considered them dead on the spot, and then they single handedly produced and supported the fastest selling and most profitable systems in the history of systems (off the back of less than 5000 employees), I'd consider that nothing short of an economic miracle. How pray tell could they have done better?
It is the other companies that never understood it...
Nintendo was ALWAYS about "magical" childlike games. From their first arcade game, to the newest Wii and 3DS title.
The thing is: To reach their vision, they needed to push a lot the power of the videogame... Other companies though that "power was better" and went for it.
When we had enough power to do "magical" games, Nintendo went for innovation in controls, to keep the exploration and wonder of experience.
Microsoft and Sony still went for "power"...
So, what about the "nintendo hates core gamers?"
It is the core gamers that changed, not Nintendo... As the old Nintendo fans grew up, they wanted more "mature" games, they wanted more violence, more blood, whatnot... The powerfull consoles, supported that easily.
But the Nintendo games, never changed, they still focus on the same audience... Thus as their audience "outgrow" nintendo, they become haters that claim nintendo hates them instead.