14 DAY TRIAL // We recently reported on the cultural differences between the Japanese market and those from other countries, more specifically, on how the customers have their own set of preconceptions and ideas about what games should look like and how they should be in order to appeal to them. Titles that are a huge hit in Japan sometimes won't even get off the store shelves in other countries, because of the story or the gameplay that fails to attract that demographic of gamers.
The gaming industry in Japan hasn't been doing very great, because of the not so impressive sales and given that the market is becoming more and more saturated with RPGs (Role Playing Games), which, most of the time, tackle the classic script of saving the world or killing an evil warlord with the help of your friends. In order to get some money into the development of fresh and more innovative titles, the companies need to work together. This is also the idea of Yoichi Wada, the president of the big Japanese gaming company Square Enix, the publisher of the long line of Final Fantasy games.
“Therefore, we should consider some sort of 'Japan Alliance.' Individuality is important. It's not forcing everything into a single corporate brand. The ideal is a holding company under which several companies and brands can hang,” said Wada in an interview with Japanese business magazine Nikkei, after the Tokyo Game Show ended.
He also hinted that the recent merger process between Koei and Tecmo was an example many small and medium-sized Japanese developers should be following. The two companies, which specialized in very different types of games, fighting and RPGs, have now joined forces, and bank accounts, to create new and innovative titles to appeal a demographic of gamers as wider as possible, thus guaranteeing a decent profit for the development of other titles.
This is definitely a good idea, as it is in the best interest of the Japanese gaming industry. Over the years, it has provided us with great titles, like Devil May Cry or Street Fighter, and it would be a shame if the developers were forced to shut down because of low domestic sales.