Are differences between East and West gamers an illusion?

[J T]

There has been more talk in the past several years about Eastern and Western gamers than I ever remember there being when I was younger.

Takeshi Yamanaka from Arc Systems Works (Guilty Gear, Blaz Blue) recently said ""Personally, I don’t view users according to their nationality, but rather as gamers... I make games for people who like them...If there are people who like fighting games with Japanese-animation-style motions and a fantasy setting, I’m making the game for them."

I find this view refreshing. As the world gets smaller, I don't think anyone is a stranger to Japan, even some of the weirder aspects of Japan. In fact, I like things with a "Japanese" style. I like "Western" things too. They just have different flavors. In fact, East/West are not even what predominantly make them stand out to me. I think to label something as Japanese or American is kind of a misnomer that doesn't say much about it at all and only serves to reinforce an artificial divide between the cultures that is unnecessary and actually to our detriment as developers fear bringing games over seas.

[Bradtemple87]

There has been more talk in the past several years about Eastern and Western gamers than I ever remember there being when I was younger.

Takeshi Yamanaka from Arc Systems Works (Guilty Gear, Blaz Blue) recently said ""Personally, I don’t view users according to their nationality, but rather as gamers... I make games for people who like them...If there are people who like fighting games with Japanese-animation-style motions and a fantasy setting, I’m making the game for them."

I find this view refreshing. As the world gets smaller, I don't think anyone is a stranger to Japan, even some of the weirder aspects of Japan. In fact, I like things with a "Japanese" style. I like "Western" things too. They just have different flavors. In fact, East/West are not even what predominantly make them stand out to me. I think to label something as Japanese or American is kind of a misnomer that doesn't say much about it at all and only serves to reinforce an artificial divide between the cultures that is unnecessary and actually to our detriment as developers fear bringing games over seas.

This is refreshing. I really enjoy the games he puts his creative mind behind. I'm hoping the us sees more quality imports. I can never have enough shmups

[Gamerforlife]

I don't know. Japanese and American communicate a lot to me as a gamer and even a fan of animation. Japanese rpgs are not like western ones. Japanese animation differs from a lot of Western cartoons. Japanese game design is general is often more confusing than non-japanese games. The majority of my trips to gamefaqs over the years has been for japanese games

Also, when you hear japanese game you automatically think console. I don't think they have much of a PC gaming market aside from some free, fan created stuff

I do love things from all cultures, but there are key differences between all nationalities and cultures though and I know certain types of games typically don't do well in Japan as oppossed to America and vice-versa

[Flake]

This is all assuming universal traits to be shared by all Eastern Gamers in contrast to a starkly different set of universal traits to be shared by all Western Gamers.

This very website, a tiny island of the 80's and 90's in a roaring ocean of modern gaming refutes the very notion that the two entities being compared even exist. I highly doubt every single gamer in Japan or Korea is the same as the one next door.

[Breetai]

I think to label something as Japanese or American is kind of a misnomer that doesn't say much about it at all and only serves to reinforce an artificial divide between the cultures that is unnecessary and actually to our detriment as developers fear bringing games over seas.

I don't think that cultural divide is so artificial. There is a real difference in cultures.

[Flake]

I don't think that cultural divide is so artificial. There is a real difference in cultures.

But the cultures are scarcely unified within either demographic.

For instance, I've been to Southern, Central, and Northern parts of Japan. The people were all quite different from one another. People in Central Japan were more likely to be rude to me for no reason. Folk in Southern Japan seemed to be more liberal even as their way of life hearkened back to the traditional ways. Women in Northern Japan tended to have larger boobs. These kinds of differences.

And let's not even get into the difference between Japanese on Okinawa and Japanese on the 'main land'. All the islander Japanese scarcely consider themselves Japanese at all.

So while there is a divide between 'Western' and 'Eastern', the labels are largely arbitrary and completely ignore the cultural subgroups within. Having already made so many compromises just to have these two labels, is there any real pertinent information to be gleamed from comparison?

[gradualmeltdown]

I believe the differences are real in specific gamplay example's. For instance, the competitive Street Fighter scene is very different between Japanese and American players. The shortest explanation is population density and arcade availability. Japanese players have access to local peer groups and lots of multi tiered competitions throughout Japan. If a game can be played they can find a challenge and become better at it.

Through this experience they create a community that is strong, learns, and shares technique during competition and casual play alike. Compare this to the spread out American Street Fighter scene with only several major player hubs such as New York and California. Online play is changing all of this but the point remains the Japanese and American cultural differences can create different playing fields.

However to separate "east" from "west" is not possible in Street Fighter specifically. Korea and the UK for example both have unique Street Fighter competitive scenes that are completely different.

[Breetai]

I don't think that cultural divide is so artificial. There is a real difference in cultures.

But the cultures are scarcely unified within either demographic.

For instance, I've been to Southern, Central, and Northern parts of Japan. The people were all quite different from one another. People in Central Japan were more likely to be rude to me for no reason. Folk in Southern Japan seemed to be more liberal even as their way of life hearkened back to the traditional ways. Women in Northern Japan tended to have larger boobs. These kinds of differences.

And let's not even get into the difference between Japanese on Okinawa and Japanese on the 'main land'. All the islander Japanese scarcely consider themselves Japanese at all.

So while there is a divide between 'Western' and 'Eastern', the labels are largely arbitrary and completely ignore the cultural subgroups within. Having already made so many compromises just to have these two labels, is there any real pertinent information to be gleamed from comparison?

From my experience, I agree with you... although I'm not sure on the boobs thing. Didn't you just prove my point about cultural differences being real? I wasn't just talking about eastern vs. western, although I do still think that exists overall! It goes deeper beyond what you just said about the different regions of Japan.

How long did you spend there, anyway?

[the7k]

Stereotypical Eastern and Western Gamers are very different. An Eastern gamer hears 'Shooter' and thinks Touhou while a Western gamer thinks Halo. An Eastern gamer hears 'Fighter' and thinks Street Fighter while a Western gamer thinks Fight Night. There's clearly a difference between the 'common' gamer in this regard.

However, this attitude of not trying to appeal directly to one group and simply trying to make a respectable product is admirable. It's what separates Quantum Theory from Vanquish.

[Flake]

@Breetai

Off and on, a few months. Most of my deployments left me spending some time in random parts of the country.