With Game Developers Conference going on this week, it's understandable that there have been so many musings worth chewing on regarding all aspects of the industry. Ex-Capcom producer Keiji Inafune (Mega Man, Lost Planet) offers more constructive criticism of Japan's efforts in game creation than Phil Fish's much talked about statement that Japanese games just suck.
The former Mega Man producer's latest game, Dragon & Colonies, is going to dragon heaven.
Probably that "The mobile gaming landscape is cruel and ruthless and something needs to be done!" when not long ago he would've been thinking "the mobile game market is so massive, we'll make Megabucks!"
I kinda feel bad for him at this point but he did bring it on himself with mighty number 9.
Seems everything he touches since he left Capcom becomes filled with misfortune.
- Started work on a 3DS game called Kaio: King of Pirates that later got canceled
- Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z was a disappointing game that all but killed the Ninja Gaiden franchise
- Mighty No.9 failed to live up to the grand expectations set for it
- ReCore was very below average title that didn’t leave much of an impression
- Red Ash has fallen off the radar and the public hasn’t heard anything about its progression
All these flops from the same man who dissed Japanese developers a decade ago. He even defended Phil Fish’s harsh criticism of Japanese devs yet Inafune himself has hasn’t had any critical hits of his own since leaving Capcom.
Which is exactly why I put the word "creator" in quotes and added *coughs violently* after it, because he has been called the creator of Mega Man many times in the past despite it not being accurate. -_- Pardon my immense subtlety.
@MrSwank
**"he didnt create mega man"***
I think that was his point.
Hint: "coughs violently"
Level-5 Comcept’s Keiji Inafune recently sat down for an interview where he talked about how the idea for Dragon & Colonies came about, how they had to fit the needs of the smartphone crowd, and more.
Keiji Inafune was once a legendary and iconic game developer, but after the disaster of Mighty No. 9 and the failure of Red Ash, he's disappeared.
I lost so much respect for this guy. I am still bitter over Mighty No. 9 and not getting the backer rewards as promised. All I've gotten was what was promised in the lowest tier with a t shirt and a dumb plushie.
Have you guys seen the latest comments on the MN9 Kickstarter page? Lots of backers still haven't gotten their rewards.
https://www.kickstarter.com...
yea I'm in that tier and it doesn't look like we will get them. Honestly I quit doing Kickstarters because of this game. A "signature edition" came out at retail for $60 (I think). I did one of those upper tier backings with a reward of a cartridge, art book, and all kinds of stuff.
Yea all I got was a digital code for the game, a DLC skin for the wrong platform, a t-shirt, and a plushie...
Seems to work pretty well for nintendo, and activision.
This isn't something thats just an issue in japan. The west is just as mired in its nostalgia. It can be seen in games having endless similar sequels.
That's not to say there's a problem with sequels themselves just the fashion the entire industry has been going about them.
Often a publisher will push a developer to release three games in fairly quick succession, if the first does well enough to warrant it of course.
Some publishers stop after three, some keep on pushing for more, some switch in a new team, or sometimes the developers split.
With all that though the consumer base seems to support this trend. I personally find most series to be worn out after the second game, but there are quite a few examples otherwise in recent history.
It does seem like most developers given the power seem to stop after one sequel and move onto something else. Often even doing the sequel after a fresh ip. For indie's it's more risky to jump into a sequel to something that is untested.
Keiji Inafune i hope you prove your full capabilities with your next game i really do.
I love me some JRPGs but everything this guy says I agree with.