East vs. West: Innovation in Video Games
Am I missing something about the sublime art of Japanese game development?
Alex Hutchinson, creative director for Assassins Creed III, was recently interviewed by ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Most of the interview is fairly standardno really huge revelations or anything --get it? Revelations?-- but there was one part that seems to have raised everyones hackles. CVG associate editor Rob Crossley gets into the topic of keeping a franchise fresh, and this exchange happens: CVG: Why do Nintendo get it right? It releases a new edition of the same franchise every year and no one bats an eyelid. Why? AH: You want my real answer? I think theres a subtle racism in the business, especially on the journalists side, where Japanese developers are forgiven for doing what they do. I think itscondescending to do this. CVG: Seriously? AH: Just think about how many Japanese games are released where their stories are literally gibberish. Literally gibberish. Theres no way you could write it with a straight face, and the journalists say oh it is brilliant. Then Gears of War comes out and apparently its the worst written narrative in a game ever. Ill take Gears of War over Bayonetta any time. Its patronising to say, oh those Japanese stories, they dont really mean what theyre doing.
I think hes absolutely right. No, I dont think game journalists are racist, but I kind of chalk that up to a poor choice of words on his part. What I think hes saying, and what I agree with, is that theres a sort of reverence for any game that comes from a well-known Japanese developer. Take Kojima Productions, for instance. Ill be honest: I havent really enjoyed a Metal Gear Solid game since the first one. The second one had its moments, and the third worked well for what it was trying to do, but did I enjoy playing it? No. Then theres MGS4, a smoldering wreck of a game buried underneath nonsense plot elements, utterly unlikable characters and completely bizarre in-jokes. Go take a look at Metacritic. Ill wait. Ninety-four out of 100. Eight point nine out of 10. Nearly perfect scores for a game thats more (awful) movie than (mediocre but fun) game! And of course we have Zelda. Oh, Zelda. The old get three MacGuffins, get sword, get five MacGuffins, win game standby. And I bet that I could go to any Zelda games page on Metacritic and see similar scores as Metal Gears. 
But its Zelda! Its a masterpiece! Miyamoto-sama captures that magic over and over again! youre probably saying in that whiny voice all your friends hate. Alright, but what about Call of Duty? Remember how the first Modern Warfare took the world by storm, garnering praise and numerous Game of the Year awards? And then remember how Modern Warfare 3 was scored into oblivion because gamers are tired of the same old garbage! Innovate! You want to tell me there isnt some bias? I dont think keeping a working strategy is a bad thing. I play every new iteration of Mega Man because theyre fun, not because Im expecting revolutionary gameplay. But you dont get to complain about American developers being afraid to try something new and then turn around and praise the Japanese for sticking to a tried and true formula. So, what is it? Am I a philistine? Am I missing something about the sublime art of Japanese game development? Tell me all about it.