'Super Smash Bros.' Director Masahiro Sakurai Recommends Japanese Developers Pursue "Things That Japanese People Like"
Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of the Super Smash Bros. and Kirby series and the founder of Sora Ltd. recently shared his opinion that Japanese developers and creators should pursue “things that Japanese people like.”
In an interview with Entax, which has subsequently been translated by Automaton, Sakurai was asked about the rise of the Chinese video game market and what Japanese developers can do to keep pace with it, he said, “It’s not really my own idea, but as an industry trend, I think Japanese people should keep pursuing the things that Japanese people like.”
He explained that many Japanese developers found success in the U.S. market and began making “Americanized works” and “that there was a culture of following de factor standards” that arose from that success.
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Despite the success and a number of Japanese developers adopting these standards, Sakurai shared that even non-Japanese audiences “seek the uniqueness and fun of Japanese games.”
When asked to give general advice for up-and-coming developers he said, “I think that the ideal would be to make games the way you like, as those who agree with you will enjoy them.”
He then added that developers should be allowed to “do things freely.”
What do you make of his comments?
He is right (obviously), but I think he might have made it a bit confusing where it really is very simple:
1) This problem concerns Western developers, not players. And even there it's just a rotten group of Western devs, not all.
2) It's not what Japanese people like - it's what people in general like. They'll develop their games to their own tastes and common sense and they will find success pretty much anywhere in the world.
Does anyone remember Capcom during the late 2000s and early 2010s with the company's push toward more collaboration and western style development? I remember Bionic Commando: Rearmed which was amazing because it was a modern remake of the original NES classic and Bionic Commando (2009) being fun, but with a bizarre and messed up ending. Won't spoil it here, but one of the links I will post will contain it if anyone doesn't care.
https://www.pressthebuttons.com/2011/09/bizarre-bionic-commando-plot-twist-explained-at-last.html
https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/captivate-2010-capcom-s-inafune-talks-true-western-originating-capcom-games
Lastly this article does a better job than I can at how Capcom under Keiji Inafune, a game dev who was a lead contributor to some of my favorite games ever including Mega Man X, steered Capcom into being more like the West to cater to a bigger international audience, the company stumbling, Inafune leaving, and the modern day Renaissance of Capcom returning to its Japanese style game roots even if they're simply remaking Resident Evil/Biohazard games primarily.
https://www.gamerbraves.com/how-capcom-went-from-crapcom-to-capgod/
I like Japanese games for being... Japanese games. There's a distinct vibe with the Japanese culture with my favorite moments from the Ganbare Goeman games for the SNES, in particular "The Legend of the Mystical Ninja" which was Japanese AF!