Business, Gamer Culture, MMORPGs, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360
Yoichi Wada’s “Japan Alliance”: Great Game Potential or Corporate Greed?
Japan has been known as a leader in several areas of technology, especially in the video game industry. But Western game developers are showing an increased level of success, enough to make Yoichi Wada, head of Square Enix, worry about the future of the Japanese video game industry. Calling for an alliance between Japanese game companies at the Tokyo Game Show, could Wada be looking to protect his country and its industry, or is it just plain greed?
I’m shocked that any of Japan’s game developers, especially Square Enix, see Western game developers as competition to worry about. I suppose as the world economy becomes more globalized, Japan may indeed have something to worry about. Now, I don’t know Yoichi Wada personally, but the facts have me pondering whether his motives are the concern of his country and its industry or for his own personal gain.
As news from the Tokyo Game Show 2008 keeps pouring in from across the Pacific, one might feel a bit overwhelmed. There are so many titles that it is tough to sift through all of the information out there to find the golden nuggets. That’s okay, though. I’m here to help you out. Never mind the fact that I’m not on the showroom floor, I’ve been gobbling up all information coming our way, from articles to podcasts to trailers. We’ll have more in depth coverage of the highlights, but for now, here are my awards for the show thus far. Caution: Video embeds abound.