Toshihiro Nagoshi the charismatic and colourful character behind the Yakuza series, has spoken at length about his appreciation for the recently released PS4 exclusive, Ghost of Tsushima. Despite being set on the Japanese island of the same name, Ghost of Tsushima was developed by Bellevue-based studio Sucker Punch, and Nagoshi thinks that Westerners sometimes have a knack for pleasing Japanese audiences.
"There’s like a notion that Westerners don’t understand things (about Japan), but that hypothesis itself is mistaken,"
Another stick in the eye to these pandering journalists caterwauling over a Western company making a game about Japan.
There was an idea mentioned in the Ghost of Tsushima Bonus material for the Collector's Edition. I'll expand on that. An Italian Director, copying a Japanese Director, made movies in Spain...about the American Old West. And they are some of the most memorable movies in the Western genre. Commonly referred to as Spaghetti Westerns and the formula was perfected by Sergio Leone.
I honestly don't think any Japanese developer would have done a better job than Sucker Punch did. They got every mark.
Can I just shout out how good the bamboo strikes feel. I think I only ever did one of them on my first attempt. Most took multiple tries. But when you nailed it and it cut through smooth man it felt so good.
Glad to see a Japanese dev speak truth to the actual haters out there who don't think other people can correctly represent other cultures.
This belief divides cultures and people and does not unite anything or anyone.
tl;dr marketing people keep saying we can't do things
Sooooooooooo stop listening to the dumbass marketing people? Having middle-aged guys as protags works out totally fine even in Japan, look at anime like Tiger & Bunny or manga like After the Rain.