Johnny Awesome said:
Thank you for remaining civil Vince. I'm beginning to like debating with you.
Bah, I must have been slipping
Yes, but of those games I listed only one of them is from a DX-based PC developer - Halo. The real story is GTA3 and the continued dominance of Electronic Arts.
But, GTA3 isn't the whole story IMHO. While the dynamic gameplay is great, I'm begining to think it's the topic matter and violence more-so than the gameplay thats the main draw. So, to those I've previously debated and disagreed with, I appologize.
It's more the topic, the American public is infatuated with this gangster-image and GTA3, The Getaway (Which is big big too) are both examples of this. I'd chalk GTA3's populatity upto the plot and it's violence that closely mirrors the pop culture of our time in the US (eg.
Sopranoes,
The Shield, that mexican mafia type show, aswell as the continued mainstream pop-culture draw to classics like
Scarface,
Casino,
Godfather Trilogy and
Heat)
I think it's disrespectful to suggest that western developers aren't passionate about the games they make. Ubi Soft (Splinter Cell, Rayman 3) certainly care about making quality games. Rockstar are passionate about GTA3 and Bizarre Creations is passionate about Project Gotham Racing. Saying that "Japanese devs care about gameplay and gamers more than western devs" is another myth that floats about hardcore gaming circles all too often...
First off I never said "Japanese devs care about gameplay and gamers more then western devs". But I definatly think there is a
Massive diffrence in the work ethic - which in most cases is directly proportional to the quality of the product.
It's a diffrent mentality and even the guy who stated this thread indirectly said it by mentioning that Japanese dev's will work for far less then their Western equivalents, for much longer periods, and in worse conditions. It's a hard thing to put your finger on, but if you've ever been around them you can tell.
70% of the Top 20 games were made in the west and it gets worse when you go into the Top 100.
Again, look at the influx of PC developers, give this a generation before opeining your mouth as such.
Emergent gameplay is the wave of the future. Presentation is the wave of the future. Other than a few guys like Kojima, Japanese devs still don't get it. And even then, people laugh at the story in MGS2. I know you love it and I'm not going to debate it's merits again, but the average gamer thought the story was ridiculous. This will have to change with MGS3 or the game isn't going to do as well as it otherwise could
The average gamer also isn't going to pick up
Anarchy, State, and Utopia or any other significant philisophical work and start reading it. My guess is this and
The Matrix are the most philisophical things they've ever encountered. Is it Kojima's fault if a bunch of kids who sit around on the 'net and stare at boobs can't understand the story?
Beyond this: (a) Why would he change the story? It was the same type of thing in MGS, but it didn't matter. (b) MGS3 will still sell like crazy, but he's a fool if he doesn't make it a PS3 launch title and Vince shall be pist.
Western developers ARE taking over. The numbers prove my point. What isn't clear is why? I think it's because of the lack of emergent gameplay and a presentation that is alien to most casual US gamers.
The massive exodus of developers from the PC to Console arena has shaken up the traditionally Japanese dominated scene, yes. But, they have responded to this (eg. witness the mergers/deals) and allow this to kick-in before judging. Now, if you don't mind a lack of my immediate reponce, I'm going out to lunch to enjoy this beautiful day.
