Difference between Japanese and Western gamers

[SuperLuigiBros]

Gaming in the Asia-Pacific: Transnational industries and localised communities. Why are some games played globally while others are played only within certain cultural contexts?
...I have a presentation to do.

Any ideas on what I could touch on?

I'm thinking I need to find out about how Japanese gamers play games. Do they get together like we do? Or do they play by themselves mostly, either single player or online?

Theres also a bunch of info floating around about how the translations and localisation can have an impact on what games are popular in Japan and America. Ill talk about that some.

Any other interesting things I might be able to talk about?

[Viper]

Check out www.vgchartz.com for the japan and America sales figures. That will give you some data to judge what is popular and what isn't.

Genres are very geographically based. RPGs are very Japanese and FPS's are very much American.

[SuperLuigiBros]

Thanks. Any idea on where I might be able to find info on the gaming habits of the Japanese? Or anywhere, really. Maybe Korea... I know they are right into the online gaming scene.

Or just your thoughts on the subject.. Maybe something youve noticed? Im really reaching for info on this one, so anything would be much appreciated. Dont be shy!

[the poe collector]

Arcades are still going strong in Japan. Maybe.

[SuperLuigiBros]

Yeh I heard that, too. I read they love retro games and rare collectibles and stuff.

[cpiasminc]

I would characterize Japan as a very traditional gaming culture, while the US is not. The genres that tend to rule the day in the US are largely derived from *simulations*... FPSes, sports games, sandbox, etc... these are all really forms of simulators, and so certain things are stressed (and yes, this is one of the reasons that graphics is such a huge focus for American developers). In a sense, the Americans want to live out fantasies, while Japanese want to play Chess.

The popular genres in Japan tend to be more "game" games... that is to say, that they will be the types of things which are more structured, have definitive rules, there are explicit goals and methodologies available to you, and this is why you will see things like turn-based RPGs or dating simulations (which, although, the word simulation is in there, it's really more or less an RPG mixed with multiple choice quizzes). You can also see a parallel in this the way American gamers want more seemingly intelligent AI behavior (a la F.E.A.R.) and/or online multiplayer because it all adds to the realism of the simulation. In Japan, enemies typically have patterns and the challenges lie in analyzing and responding optimally to those patterns.

On another front, you might notice that action RPGs are the preferred RPG format in the US over turn-based, and one of the things that also comes up in US preferences on RPGs is that they hold non-linearity paramount. For the Japanese, linearity is viewed a little more positively because it generally means that the story is much more thoroughly fleshed out (at least, you'd hope that's true), and if you have a predefined story, that's inherently linear. Because the American gamers want an immersive simulation, the idea of linearity breaks the illusion and puts a "god" in the way.

[SuperLuigiBros]

Thats a great point. I was going to mention something similar to that - that American games are focused on being as realistic as possible, while Japanese gamers accept different styles (primarily anime).

Im still trying to analyse the difference between the habits of japanese and american gamers. I know all about american gamers (theyre pretty much just like us aussies). The majority of us enjoy FPS and other fast paced action games, and we like to play multiplayer, whether it be online or local. I think that may have something to do with it being 'socially unacceptable' to play by yourself (the image of a nerdy guy playing by himself in a dark room). But I dont have any evidence that suggests that Japanese gamers are more into single player games (like RPGs and such forth). Ive done some research into it and have a bit of data. The closest thing to proving it is by looking at Final Fantasy X, XI, and XII. X and XII were both single player games that sold millions. XI was an MMO and sold hardly any. Does this show that theyre more interested in single player games than playing with friends?

I also looked at the top 10 best selling games for each area. America had a range including Pokemon, GTA, Halo 2+3, a couple of sports games, etc. Japans top 4 games were all Pokemon, then you had things like Mario DS, Dr Kawashima's Brain Training, animal crossing ds, Tetris, etc. So it looks like theyre more into RPG's and games that have more universal appeal. I also noticed that 9/10 of the Japanese top 10 games were on a handheld, while 7/10 American top 10 were on consoles. I think the Japanese are more open to new gadgets and also playing in public, whereas Americans prefer getting friends over and playing together.

[Boggy700]

Super Lou, perhaps you could create some significant point out of the number of Koreans (was it?) that have died playing World Of Warcraft?


The popular genres in Japan tend to be more "game" games... that is to say, that they will be the types of things which are more structured, have definitive rules, there are explicit goals and methodologies available to you, and this is why you will see things like turn-based RPGs or dating simulations (which, although, the word simulation is in there, it's really more or less an RPG mixed with multiple choice quizzes).
I thought this was quite an interesting point in that Japan seems to be a more formal society, as opposed to the informality of, say, America. This being so, it makes sense that Japanese gamers might feel more comfortable playing video games that, as you say, are more strictly structured and have tighter playing limitations. On the other hand, in my personal view, it does seem a little strange that they might embrace such structure, where others would strive to escape those confines. Where American games excel is in letting the player do whatever they want to do, which is appropriate, given the target audience (hehehe!) The simulative aspect of western games, as you put it, is perhaps largely responsible for the accusations of video game violence leading to real life violence. At least with Japanese murderers they have to wait their turn before they can attack you.


If a prison has no walls, how do you know when you are free?

[SuperLuigiBros]

I scrolled up to see who the hell "Super Lou" was, and then I realised that it was me. :\

But yeh, more good points. I tried to put in some references about Korean gamers, but I think my teacher wants a more specific analysis so Ive kept it confined to Japan vs. America.

The presentation is due, thursday. ill let you know how i go :thumbr:

[TrueVCU]

...I have a presentation to do.

Any ideas on what I could touch on?

I'm thinking I need to find out about how Japanese gamers play games. Do they get together like we do? Or do they play by themselves mostly, either single player or online?

Theres also a bunch of info floating around about how the translations and localisation can have an impact on what games are popular in Japan and America. Ill talk about that some.

Any other interesting things I might be able to talk about?

How Korean gamers will MMO themselves into a coma

[cpiasminc]

On the other hand, in my personal view, it does seem a little strange that they might embrace such structure, where others would strive to escape those confines.
I have a feeling this is also somewhat tied to the fact that one of the things built into Japanese culture is this sense of a "hard line" between correct and incorrect. A lot of the older philosophies tended to draw everything in black and white. You look at a lot of classical Japanese music and performing arts, there is a great deal of subtlety and detail to everything, but this is not consigned unto improvisation -- the goal is to do it all *precisely* as prescribed. It's also why there are things like "batsu"(punishment) games in many game shows -- as George Takei said on The Simpsons, in America, game shows reward knowledge; In Japan, they punish ignorance.

I also wonder how much this is related to trying to present the gamer with something that is inherently simpler and more straightforward than real life. Reality is confusing enough as it is, so you might as well have something that makes sense.

[Hisham]

Japanese arcades are going strong (as poe said) so top down shooters (like ikaruga) and fighting games (Virtua Fighter is insanely popular in japan) are both booming in the arcade scene. Compare that to America, where you only have a couple of arcades (standalone, not counting a small arcade in a movie theater or something) in states like California. Cali has all the biggest ones. New York has a few. Texas also has a couple, but those are basically the only arcades left in America.

I'd like to think Japan found a way to keep these genre's alive while still progressing forward on the home console market. While America bascially shunned those types of games, and just concentrated on the home console market.

[Gummy]

Arcades here are weak...

[masteratt]

They have funny looking eyes that makes them see videogames differently.