"It would not be a stretch to say that Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky is the equivalent of Baldur's Gate for Japanese gamers. Incredibly popular, absolutely massive, and truly trendsetting. And thus, it's only fair to call Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter the Baldur's Gate II of jRPGs." -GOG
(I missed the news 4 days ago because I was holed up in a cabin in the woods on vacation.)
marurun wrote:The Japanese companies are really hurting in the international games market right now. It makes me wonder what it will take to turn that around. They can't afford to wait for gaming tastes to swing back to their wheelhouse. They really need to be proactive on this.
I am trying to imagine what a proactive Japanese developer would look like. The problem is that all the money and affluence in Japanese game development is entirely controlled by an older generation that is absolutely terrified to try anything new or so out of touch that they don't realize the approach they took during the late 90's doesn't work anymore.
Younger Japanese creators really do have ideas but they have no influence on what projects get funded.
Maybe now Nintendo will acknowledge Metroid has a fanbase?
Oddly, Nintendo is one of Japan's most experimental game firms. Despite their stubborn grip on their existing franchises, the Wii and the WiiU are definitely innovative console designs. Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort were highly experimental in many ways. Then again, the Wii is a console that's now many years old. The message most Japanese devs take away from the WiiU is likely "don't make waves"...
marurun wrote:Oddly, Nintendo is one of Japan's most experimental game firms. Despite their stubborn grip on their existing franchises, the Wii and the WiiU are definitely innovative console designs. Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort were highly experimental in many ways. Then again, the Wii is a console that's now many years old. The message most Japanese devs take away from the WiiU is likely "don't make waves"...
But even then, Nintendo is only experimental when they let themselves be. Splatoon is, in my opinion, one of the best games to come out in 2015. But if you read up on the development of the title, it was entirely pushed by younger talent at Nintendo and leadership attempted to kill it on more than one occasion before they finally realized how great the concept is.
Maybe now Nintendo will acknowledge Metroid has a fanbase?
Flake wrote:Splatoon is, in my opinion, one of the best games to come out in 2015.
I don't mean this in a dickish way, but is it safe to say that the only 2015 games you've played have been on Nintendo hardware?
It's pretty possible - the only other 2015 game I can think of off the top of my head would be Metal Gear Solid 5 but for the sake of my love of the earlier titles in that series, I am trying to forget that game. But yeah, my exposure to 2015's releases has been pretty limited so I am careful not to project my opinion on the rest of the gaming populace.
One of the big reasons my gaming tastes are so narrow minded is simply that I don't have the time to game anymore. So I tend to gravitate towards Nintendo since further consumption of their IP does not require me to invest any time or effort and I am relatively certain that I'll be happy with how my time is spent.
Maybe now Nintendo will acknowledge Metroid has a fanbase?
