Note to Japan: You’re Japanese

It’s pretty apparent by now that Japan has lost some footing in the world of gaming. There never were popular American-made consoles, and games made by Americans used to be few and far between. Now, America is the focus of the gaming market, thanks to its large number of gamers, and Japanese designers must figure out a way to grab their attention. Tecmo seems to be making an unusual leap.  They are releasing a Western-style third-person shooter, Quantum Theory. You can smell the desperation.

It’s a terrible dilemma. Games cost money to make, so why take a chance to make something truly original and risk losing boatloads of cash? But if this was college, Tecmo would be kicked out for cheating. The entire game looks like it could be Gears of War 3… complete with hulking characters and alien-type enemies carrying large guns. The only thing that seems Japanese is the story—a living tower that has to be conquered from the inside.

Why would these Japanese developers adopt such a Western style of gaming? They are like a kid on the playground: he sees the cool kid with a leather jacket and cigarettes getting all the chicks, and he’s like, “I’ll do the same thing.” But then that little boy ends up with cancer and no chicks. Moral of the story: you can’t force cool. Tecmo is taking a chance. But while they’re doing the unfamiliar, who is going to fill the hole of Ninja Gaiden or DOA?

See, everyone has their style. If people begin to rip off the currently successful ideas, the cool, unique, and crazy concepts fall by the wayside. So please Japan, don’t go copying American games. Remember how we’re fat and dumb? You don’t want that. Stick with your sushi, crazy eating sticks, hate of chairs, and wacky games.