Why Japan Was Surpassed By Western Devs

This article collects comments from numerous Japanese developers that have gone on record to say that Japan has fallen behind Western developers recently. The author asserts that because Japanese gamers don't like guns, they never embraced FPS games. And since FPS games pushed graphics technology, the Japanese missed out on the graphical revolution of the mid nineties for cultural reasons. Now as more and more PC devs are switching to consoles, Japanese devs, who have little experience with PC gaming, struggle to compete.

The article cites several Japanese developers' criticisms of Japanese trends in game design, but ends on a positive note by showing how Hideo Kojima's latest game, Metal Gear Solid 4 will incorporate many of the technologies that have made Western games successful, offering a ray of hope for fans of Japanese game design.