So says Jun Takeuchi. Taken from this article on CVG, it got me thinking once again about the state of the Japanese gaming industry. I've had discussions online and offline with friends about how the west has overtaken the east in terms of overall gaming quality and innovation - this has been the case for the past 5 or so years now. My personal view is Japanese developers are way too eager to try and make games which will directly appeal to the western market and trying to make games with a western theme, while forgetting that a lot of gamers like Japanese games because they were exactly that, Japanese games. Of course this can all be quite subjective and open to interpretation. But there's no denying that the Japanese have lost quite a bit of originality and innovation, while resting on their laurels. As Jun Takeuchi has said, Japanese games need to evolve and fast. What can be done? Less Lost Planet 2, more Bayonetta?!