Why Are Japanese-Developed Games Less Popular?

Thanks to GameSpy for their 'Sole Food' editorial discussing the decline of the Japanese-developed videogame in the U.S. console charts. The article doesn't deny there are still big Japanese-developed hits in the West, but suggests: "It's not uncommon for there to be only two or three Japanese games among the top 20 sellers each month; this would have been unheard of less than ten years ago." As for explanations, it's argued that "Western developers are doing a better job of servicing core genres that are popular in the U.S.", but a "financial and creative slump" in the Japanese games industry is also blamed - "A quick glance through the games shown at last weekend's Tokyo Game Show reveals little that is truly new."

Comments

the look

[phantomlord]

a lot of it, for me at least, is the look of japanese games. Seems like every time I check one out, they look very cartoony/anime looking (especially on the GC). It's not that I value graphics over gameplay, it's just that certain styles of graphics turn me off enough that I don't care if it's a fun game to play because I simply hate looking at it.

unless, of course, you own a gamecube

[fireduck]

in which case almost all of the top selling games are by a japanese developer (namely Nintendo themselves). Here's an interesting chart listing the gamecube's best selling games.

Re:Hmmm...

[GreenHell]

However, blaming it on a lack of variation in Japanese games seems a little unfounded... New and groundbreaking concepts are pretty damn rare in both markets.

It would seem someone else remembers all the C&C & Warcraft clones from back in the mid 90s. (Along with all the Quake wannabes that plagued the industry at the same time.) And before that there were all the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat clones that we put up with for years in the arcades.
Hell, if you want to go all way bacl the beginning then look at all the Pong clones that appeared shortly after its release.

Or, for those who don't remember/care about those, how about all the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater clones and variations that we had a few years ago?

"Nothing-new-here" is the way that many video game companies make money, by riding along on the success of someone else who took risks with a new concept. Saying that the Japanese game market is less innovative than the N.American/European game market shows a profound disregard for the history and habits of the latter.