cosmicblizzard
Banned
B-Genius said:When I read articles like this, I worry less about the industry and more about my gaming life in Japan.
When I read the resulting comments, I worry more about the industry.
It's not only the misunderstanding of 'moe' and other Japanese references; those have been discussed at length before (and yes there are people who research it, because it makes for an interesting psychological study - not just within the world of games).
It's also the fact that we as gamers and fans and enthusiasts over-react and over-exaggerate at every possible opportunity. In this day and age of information and opinion spreading like wildfire, it's no wonder that companies (Western and Japanese alike) try to create products that appeal to a wider audience, many ending up as rough middle-tier games that no one enjoy.
When there's a surge of 'moe' games in Japan, people get upset. When there's a surge of war games in the West, other people get upset. It's just absurd. Some people act like this is all that will be left of games, and that we will all be stuck with a single genre or cultural trend forever.
People simply need to wake up and realise that the video games industry, as a whole, is still very, very young. Considering most of us writing on this message board now grew up with older games, it's much easier to see the changes taking place, but whatever happens, it almost goes without saying:
In 10 years time, if you are still playing games, you will be playing the games that you enjoy, regardless of where they were developed/published.
If right now, you think that your games are getting pervaded by a certain cultural factor (again, East or West), then you are simply playing the wrong games. Step a little outside your comfort zone, and explore what this medium has to offer, because a lot of people posting replies like "I like both JRPGs and Dudebro shooters. Go figure" - while not being too elaborate - are absolutely bang-on the money.
Quoting for new page because it needs to be said.