Gamasutra- Keiji Inafune -- he's best known for his integral work on such beloved video game franchises as Mega Man, Onimusha, and Resident Evil.
He's also known for ripping the Japanese game industry a new one every now and then.
But it's a misconception that the most vocal critic of the old guard of the Japanese video game industry somehow has a deep-rooted disdain for his domestic peers. If anything, Inafune isn't anti-Japanese games -- he seems anti-corporate, and pro-game creator.
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...
"..in Japan, it's more about the company than the individual. 'Super-officially' it looks like a cooperation between big studios, but really the companies' profit comes first. In the U.S., it's more about the individual. In Japan, it's more about the company.
"It's really hard for creators to do real knowledge sharing. It's just difficult. And if there was any knowledge sharing at all, they'd do it behind the companies' backs.
"...I believe that [secrecy] did corrupt the Japanese game industry over the years. There hasn't been that individualism for the creators. It's been all about the company and the business. And when you're strong and stand as an individual, as a creator, in the Japanese game industry, [your company] rips you apart."
Publishers who are out of touch with the actual games are the ones ruining the Japanes game industry
just look at Square-Enix and Crapcom
When it comes to gaming originality...
Once you go west, you lose the best!
He tells the truth at least. Just look at Capcom nickle and diming people for content already on disc. -___-
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will be great!
Isn't this guy one giant Hypocrite? While I respect someone who was the integral part of development for games like onimusha, I can't help but want to call him out also.
How can a guy who supposedly seems anti corporate work on a game that's being co-created by a western developer? One of if not the biggest complaints us fans of Japanese games have is that they are sacrificing what fundamentally makes these games Japanese games in order to appeal to the western market. Isn't this due to the "corporate" nature of Japanese developers?
While I might be making presumptions in assuming Ninja Gaiden Z is doing just that but by working with western developers, it just seems to me like this guy stinks of hypocrisy.