Why are western reviewers xenophobic?

I always found it odd some of the game journalist attitudes but the three worst aspects are their sanctimony, weird blowhard attitudes towards big western developers and their xenophobia directed at japanese games. Every so often, we read articles as if japanese can't make games. They discuss how certain japanese developers struggle with management (which also represents some western developers), dand how their games aren't directed toward western audience (this one is by far the worst since it is narcissistic world revolves me type argument). Why do gamespot/ign/destructoid/1up/other sites write such idiotic articles and opinion pieces. We had people defending what phil fish said. This is outrageous that a community could have an opinion that is so far off on what reality is. There is a reason why people believe video gamers are immature socially akward idiots when you act in that manner

My main problem though is this cycle persists on forums. People actually believe this nonsense. People actually don't understand that these comments are stupid. I've seen this all the time on every board yet, when people talk about underrated games they immediatly announce japanese games. Gravity Rush, Binary Domain, and Dragon Dogma. 3 japanese games.

I think it has more to do with cultural differences than actual xenophobia. Japan loves their Monster Hunter and Dinasty Warrior and they always get really good scores from famitsu but the truth is that to me those 2 series are below average at best... Another thing is the Mass Effect 3 vs FFXIII-2 debate where Famitsu gave a perfect score to FFXIII-2 and deducted points from Mass Effec 3 for only god knows why even though Mass Effect 3 is a superior game to FFXIII-2 in absolutely every way you can think of. At the end Famitsu gave that perfect to FFXIII-2 because it catter more to their tastebut here in the west that game got panned by the media and with good reasons.

I'm a weeaboo and everything but I was born in the west after all, so I tend to agree with the western scores much more. And beside, Gravity Rush has an average of 84/100 on Metacritic which is an amazing rating!

I don't think they are it's just that Japanese games cater to a very different audience than western games. Most western gamers aren't going to enjoy the vast majority of eastern games. Honestly I find most of the very weird personally. Sure there are some real gems to be found, but the vast majority flat out suck imo.FPSfan1985

I think it has more to do with cultural differences than actual xenophobia. Japan loves their Monster Hunter and Dinasty Warrior and they always get really good scores from famitsu but the truth is that to me those 2 series are below average at best... Another thing is the Mass Effect 3 vs FFXIII-2 debate where Famitsu gave a perfect score to FFXIII-2 and deducted points from Mass Effec 3 for only god knows why even though Mass Effect 3 is a superior game to FFXIII-2 in absolutely every way you can think of. At the end Famitsu gave that perfect to FFXIII-2 because it catter more to their tastebut here in the west that game got panned by the media and with good reasons.

I'm a weeaboo and everything but I was born in the west after all, so I tend to agree with the western scores much more. And beside, Gravity Rush has an average of 84/100 on Metacritic which is an amazing rating!

I think it has more to do with cultural differences than actual xenophobia. Japan loves their Monster Hunter and Dinasty Warrior and they always get really good scores from famitsu but the truth is that to me those 2 series are below average at best... Another thing is the Mass Effect 3 vs FFXIII-2 debate where Famitsu gave a perfect score to FFXIII-2 and deducted points from Mass Effec 3 for only god knows why even though Mass Effect 3 is a superior game to FFXIII-2 in absolutely every way you can think of. At the end Famitsu gave that perfect to FFXIII-2 because it catter more to their tastebut here in the west that game got panned by the media and with good reasons.

I'm a weeaboo and everything but I was born in the west after all, so I tend to agree with the western scores much more. And beside, Gravity Rush has an average of 84/100 on Metacritic which is an amazing rating!

[QUOTE="FPSfan1985"]I don't think they are it's just that Japanese games cater to a very different audience than western games. Most western gamers aren't going to enjoy the vast majority of eastern games. Honestly I find most of the very weird personally. Sure there are some real gems to be found, but the vast majority flat out suck imo.nhh18

One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Eater, Hunter x Hunter etc. etc. are what is wrong with the anime and manga industry.

But it's more of the peoples' fault for buying and supporting such dribble.

If you want good manga then read Vinland Saga and Historie and if you want good anime then look no further than Monster, Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Master Keaton.

Also Japan is just as Xenophobic if not more.

Because Western audiences judge games based on Western attitudes. Western games also have a notoriously bad time in Japan, each culture tends to like certain things and anything that doesn't follow their design philosophy is deemed "bad."

Here you go

Silent Hill 5 producer says Japan game development is in trouble

Capcom exec says Japanese gaming at least five years behind the West

Japan fighting a losing battle says Kojima

Lost Planet producer: "western developers are leading the industry"

Its because Japanese games aren't as good anymore and this is coming from a guy who grew up with NES, SNES and Genesis where we didn't have labels like Japanese games. It was just understood that most good games came from Japan. The fact that we even have to quanitify it or mention it shows how far they've fallen.

I always found it odd some of the game journalist attitudes but the three worst aspects are their sanctimony, weird blowhard attitudes towards big western developers and their xenophobia directed at japanese games. Every so often, we read articles as if japanese can't make games. They discuss how certain japanese developers struggle with management (which also represents some western developers), dand how their games aren't directed toward western audience (this one is by far the worst since it is narcissistic world revolves me type argument). Why do gamespot/ign/destructoid/1up/other sites write such idiotic articles and opinion pieces. We had people defending what phil fish said. This is outrageous that a community could have an opinion that is so far off on what reality is. There is a reason why people believe video gamers are immature socially akward idiots when you act in that manner

My main problem though is this cycle persists on forums. People actually believe this nonsense. People actually don't understand that these comments are stupid. I've seen this all the time on every board yet, when people talk about underrated games they immediatly announce japanese games. Gravity Rush, Binary Domain, and Dragon Dogma. 3 japanese games.

nhh18

i think the exact opposite, i think japanese games get away with alot of stuff due to complacency and expectation.

kind of like with anime, nobody really gives stuff from japan alot of flak for terrible voice acting... when all the voice acting is atrocious. Simply because reviewers expect it to be terrible.

The Japanese are just as xenophobic, if not moreso.ispeakfact

Holy sh!t, did ispeakfact just actually speak fact?

Looking at 360 numbers in Japan, i would say its the other way around.

Looking at 360 numbers in Japan, i would say its the other way around.

PAL360

and look at the PS3 sales in the US. The Xbox is ahead of the PS3 by more than 14 million consoles.... :oops:

[QUOTE="PAL360"]

Looking at 360 numbers in Japan, i would say its the other way around.

Gue1

and look at the PS3 sales in the US. The Xbox is ahead of the PS3 by more than 14 million consoles.... :oops:

At least it sold a few millions :P

TC, you make it sound like anyone who questions the Japanese are Xenophobic.

Its because Japanese games aren't as good anymore and this is coming from a guy who grew up with NES, SNES and Genesis where we didn't have labels like Japanese games. It was just understood that most good games came from Japan. The fact that we even have to quanitify it or mention it shows how far they've fallen.

Blackbond

Is that the case, or is it western games for western tastes? We never had that in those days, we were only fed what the Japanese would hand out. I don't think the Japanese games have lost quality, but they have lost a bit of their appeal.

Why wouldn't a western reviewer say that a Japanese game isn't made for the western audience? It only makes sense to point that out considering their target audience is the western people.

Here you go

Silent Hill 5 producer says Japan game development is in trouble

Capcom exec says Japanese gaming at least five years behind the West

Japan fighting a losing battle says Kojima

Lost Planet producer: "western developers are leading the industry"

CanYouDiglt

[QUOTE="PAL360"]

Looking at 360 numbers in Japan, i would say its the other way around.

Gue1

and look at the PS3 sales in the US. The Xbox is ahead of the PS3 by more than 14 million consoles.... :oops:

at least it still sold decently in the US

can you say that about the 360 in Japan?

Here you go

Silent Hill 5 producer says Japan game development is in trouble

Capcom exec says Japanese gaming at least five years behind the West

Japan fighting a losing battle says Kojima

Lost Planet producer: "western developers are leading the industry"

CanYouDiglt

Value differences.

[QUOTE="CanYouDiglt"]

Here you go

Silent Hill 5 producer says Japan game development is in trouble

Capcom exec says Japanese gaming at least five years behind the West

Japan fighting a losing battle says Kojima

Lost Planet producer: "western developers are leading the industry"

parkurtommo

[QUOTE="ispeakfact"]The Japanese are just as xenophobic, if not moreso.the_bi99man

Holy sh!t, did ispeakfact just actually speak fact?

well its true, historically the japanese were an incredibly xenophobic culture, if not the most xenophobic.

[QUOTE="parkurtommo"][QUOTE="CanYouDiglt"]

Here you go

Silent Hill 5 producer says Japan game development is in trouble

Capcom exec says Japanese gaming at least five years behind the West

Japan fighting a losing battle says Kojima

Lost Planet producer: "western developers are leading the industry"

Sushiglutton

Making distinctions between developer traditions based on geography and observing facts aren't xenophonic. Hell, in previous generations, Japanese developers were often praised and brought up as an example for the rest of the industry, and I didn't hear people constantly bring up the racism/xenophobia card back then, either. Now that the scales have unquestionably tipped in the favour of Western developers, there's no need to be a pansy about it.

But that doesn't say anything... TC's point is that a lot of western communities will bash japanese narratives or visual style ect. etc. because they aren't exactly like what they're used to.parkurtommo

Making distinctions between developer traditions based on geography and observing facts aren't xenophonic. Hell, in previous generations, Japanese developers were often praised and brought up as an example for the rest of the industry, and I didn't here people constantly bring up the racism/xenophobia card back then, either. Now that the scales have unquestionably tipped in the favour of Western developers, there's no need to be a pansy about it.

DraugenCP

Its because Japanese games aren't as good anymore and this is coming from a guy who grew up with NES, SNES and Genesis where we didn't have labels like Japanese games. It was just understood that most good games came from Japan. The fact that we even have to quanitify it or mention it shows how far they've fallen.

Blackbond

These two get it.

well its true, historically the japanese were an incredibly xenophobic culture, if not the most xenophobic.

BeardMaster

Especially during World War II.

The things they did to the Chinese was brutal.

They even had a newspaper article which celebrated the competition of who can kill 100 Chinese with a sword first between two Japanese officers.

A lot of them considered any non Japanese to be worse than dogs.

[QUOTE="nhh18"]

[QUOTE="FPSfan1985"]I don't think they are it's just that Japanese games cater to a very different audience than western games. Most western gamers aren't going to enjoy the vast majority of eastern games. Honestly I find most of the very weird personally. Sure there are some real gems to be found, but the vast majority flat out suck imo.RyviusARC

One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Eater, Hunter x Hunter etc. etc. are what is wrong with the anime and manga industry.

But it's more of the peoples' fault for buying and supporting such dribble.

If you want good manga then read Vinland Saga and Historie and if you want good anime then look no further than Monster, Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Master Keaton.

Also Japan is just as Xenophobic if not more.

Btw, remove one piece from that list, it doesn't even belong in the same rank as trash like Naruto or bleach. Most people grow up with it & still buying it, that's why one piece audience is mostly adult.

OT: Japanese are also xenophobic as hell, look at western games & consoles sales over there.

[QUOTE="RyviusARC"]

[QUOTE="nhh18"]This is a good point but this isn't what I am talking about. When people talk about japanese games their are weird aspects about them. I agree but not all their games are the same. I've seen some odd **** from all the anime and manga. They have weird fetishes with women that is so immature that it is hilarious. I've seen such immature sexually perversesd japanese **** that is pathetic. They can't write women dialgoue for **** (except for a few) but lets be honest that doesn't mean any of stuff they said is right. One piece have weird fetish stuff going on but hunter x hunter doesn't. Naruto is basically accidentally turned into the truman show but that doesn't mean one piece has the same problems

rjdofu

One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Soul Eater, Hunter x Hunter etc. etc. are what is wrong with the anime and manga industry.

But it's more of the peoples' fault for buying and supporting such dribble.

If you want good manga then read Vinland Saga and Historie and if you want good anime then look no further than Monster, Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Master Keaton.

Also Japan is just as Xenophobic if not more.

Btw, remove one piece from that list, it doesn't even belong in the same rank as trash like Naruto or bleach. Most people grow up with it & still buying it, that's why one piece audience is mostly adult.

OT: Japanese are also xenophobic as hell, look at western games & consoles sales over there.

I known those anime and manga target a different person but it doesn't mean they weren't poorly written.

The Power Rangers was made for kids and is poorly written but it doesn't matter because the audience it is intended for doesn't know any better.

One Piece belongs with all that dribble.

It's not well made and is over drawn.

The problem with those shows is that they start out with a good premise but the author forgets to actually add any depth and the plot and characters get stretched thin.

One of the biggest flaws of such manga and anime is the need for the author to spell everything out for you which is especially annoying when used in dialogue.

The author is just treating their audience like a bunch of idiots.

Non verbal cues are more commonly used in well written plots.

Its because Japanese games aren't as good anymore and this is coming from a guy who grew up with NES, SNES and Genesis where we didn't have labels like Japanese games. It was just understood that most good games came from Japan. The fact that we even have to quanitify it or mention it shows how far they've fallen.

Blackbond

Pretty much. They dominated the market for a long time, but they fell this gen and fell fast. Some of the best games still come out of Japan, but they are so few and far between relative to what they used to be.

[QUOTE="Blackbond"]

Its because Japanese games aren't as good anymore and this is coming from a guy who grew up with NES, SNES and Genesis where we didn't have labels like Japanese games. It was just understood that most good games came from Japan. The fact that we even have to quanitify it or mention it shows how far they've fallen.

Wiimotefan

Pretty much. They dominated the market for a long time, but they fell this gen and fell fast. Some of the best games still come out of Japan, but they are so few and far between relative to what they used to be.

I always found it odd some of the game journalist attitudes but the three worst aspects are their sanctimony, weird blowhard attitudes towards big western developers and their xenophobia directed at japanese games. Every so often, we read articles as if japanese can't make games. They discuss how certain japanese developers struggle with management (which also represents some western developers), dand how their games aren't directed toward western audience (this one is by far the worst since it is narcissistic world revolves me type argument). Why do gamespot/ign/destructoid/1up/other sites write such idiotic articles and opinion pieces. We had people defending what phil fish said. This is outrageous that a community could have an opinion that is so far off on what reality is. There is a reason why people believe video gamers are immature socially akward idiots when you act in that manner

My main problem though is this cycle persists on forums. People actually believe this nonsense. People actually don't understand that these comments are stupid. I've seen this all the time on every board yet, when people talk about underrated games they immediatly announce japanese games. Gravity Rush, Binary Domain, and Dragon Dogma. 3 japanese games.

nhh18

They're not. Japanese RPGs not only cater to Japanese culture, but their gameplay does not fit with western culture's game play preferences. Who wants to play turn based when you can play real time? I think anime looks stupid - I don't want to play a game where all the characters' facial features are more proportionate to owls than humans.

As for other Japanese games, didn't last Metal Gear score a 10 on GS? That's hardly an indication of western reviewers being "xenophobic".

The Japanese market is just as xenophobic if not more so than the Western one. I love Japan. But one thing I do dislike about it is how Japan treats non-Japanese people. I mean if you wanted to move to Japan and become a Japanese citizen, you would also have to change your last name by law to a Japanese surname. That's how far they go in Japan to keep Japan, Japanese. I mean Microsoft didn't even have a chance to win over the Japanese market, the Japanese don't like Western style games. It's sad but true. At least the West embraces Japanese games unlike how the Japanese try to get away from Western games as much as possible. I am just glad to see that many Japanese companies see how profitiable it can be to have a game that appeals to both cultures, and therefore choose to let Western developers make games that were made by Japanese companies. Such as Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, Naruto: The Broken Bond, Dead Rising 2, Lost Planet 3, Devil May Cry, Silent Hill: Downpour, etc.

Japan "fell" in the 7th gen because big budget gaming with high production values doesn't exist in their vocabulary.

That's when they migrated from PS2 to PSP/DS, and thus fell out of the radar. Now they're transitioning from handhelds to 3DS/Social which is even worse.

I just know that Japan is still king when it comes to high paced, arcady, gameplay driven gaming, the kind we've known and loved since NES. The west has made alot of progress though, I'm talking about the indie community.

The Japanese market is just as xenophobic if not more so than the Western one. I love Japan. But one thing I do dislike about it is how Japan treats non-Japanese people. I mean if you wanted to move to Japan and become a Japanese citizen, you would also have to change your last name by law to a Japanese surname. That's how far they go in Japan to keep Japan, Japanese. I mean Microsoft didn't even have a chance to win over the Japanese market, the Japanese don't like Western style games. It's sad but true. At least the West embraces Japanese games unlike how the Japanese try to get away from Western games as much as possible. I am just glad to see that many Japanese companies see how profitiable it can be to have a game that appeals to both cultures, and therefore choose to let Western developers make games that were made by Japanese companies. Such as Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, Naruto: The Broken Bond, Dead Rising 2, Lost Planet 3, Devil May Cry, Silent Hill: Downpour, etc.

ElectronicMagic

MS had no chance in Japan because they need Japanese games to appeal to them.

In the same way MS has good relations with western AAA devs, Sony and Nintendo control Japanese smaller devs.

MS would have to bring out the wallet to win them over, it's just not worth it for the Japanese games market. Plus MS' intentions are to create a service based platform, in Japan they wouldn't care about ESPN and such, there is no point for MS to care about the region.