pepharytheworm wrote:
But he is somewhat right on the lack of risk taking for AAA and physical media games. But at least there are other options. I do find most of the time my taste do more align with eastern developers. Part of the reason I like WiiU is its more Japanese flavor then the counterparts.
Yes triple AAA titles do not take many risks, because there are millions and millions of dollars pumped into them. They want to make sure they get back on their investment, which isn't a horrible concept. The more money you put in, the more you want to insure you get more back.
And yes, you are totally right, there is a definite difference in style between East and West games that can be attributed to a lot of things, including cultural influences. I very much enjoy games from all different regions, because there is a definitive style attached to that.
Heck, there are game development competitions that give developers a theme or overall idea and what gets created from each is drastically different, even if they come from the same region.
The thing is, people game for many different reasons. Some enjoy the diversion of rapid-fire competitive play, while others look for intellectual and thought provoking ideas. Here on this site, you can see people who place a high priority on high-score based games, while others look for story driven narratives.
I really wanted to just stress that the discussion in this thread was really turning into a black and white argument, which is shame. Numerous factors lead into what people do and why they do it and it can not be attributed to any one particular concept. Some people like safe things and others don't. Why is up to the individual person. Consumers vote with their money and they are speaking right now and the market shows what is and is not successful, not because they are being coerced into it, but because the majority wants that. Will that change? Of course it will. The market is always changing.