Western gaming VS. Japanese gaming Part II: Development division

A week ago PVG decided to take a look at some of the cultural differences between Western gaming and Japanese gaming. In the process, we discovered that there are actually a lot of fundamental differences between the two styles of gaming. This time, we’ll take a look at what goes on in the development process in both countries and what effects these development methods have on the final product.

While it’s true that all game developers, no matter what their cultural preference or nationality, share a common goal, they certainly have different ways of going about achieving these goals. Here in the United States, a lot of us consider producing video games to be a dream job of sorts. I mean, all you really do is sit in a chair, test some games, and gulp down a few bottles of Mountain Dew, right? That’s hardly the case at all.

But hopefully, I don’t need to tell you this. Gaming has, over the years, slowly but surely proved itself as a valid art form, ranking above even the music industry in monetary value. With this, of course, comes tougher development processes and high pressure jobs amongst game developers around the world. That’s not to say that this laborious job might not be a little tougher on one side of the world than the other.

In Japan, game development retains a traditional hierarchy system, not unlike the one formerly used in their own government. You have the “aristocracy”, so to speak, and then you have the lowly peons (ok, so maybe not peons, but you get the idea). If you’re the lowly peon in the equation, then you had better fully understand that you do what you’re told, when you’re told, how you’re told. The process is not nearly as laid back as in the western world, where we may sometimes take for granted small luxuries like these.

A classic example of Japan’s old fashioned methods in game development: developers on the job are not permitted to go home until their supervisor or boss has already left. If you do, expect a fairly nasty look on your way out. It sounds harsh, but you could argue that a more effective job can be done with even small rules of thumb such as this. On the other hand, this further proves Japan’s continued refusal to change their ways; as their game development system and even technology is becoming more outdated with each passing moment in comparison to the western world. They don’t start localization until after a game is already finished, which is usually a large part of why we see delays in North America and Europe (although Nintendo is usually an exception to this), marketing is always an afterthought (Metroid Prime 3, anyone?), and you had better not count on getting rewarded for good work during the development process because typical Japanese supervisors barely know the meaning of such words. With problems like these being so persistent, it’s no wonder that the Japanese gaming market is shrinking. Let’s hope some of the newly attracted casuals can help make up for some of these losses in the market.

Meanwhile, in the western world, you basically see the exact opposite of all of the above. Multi-tasking is a must for westerners, marketing is almost too emphasized, and if you don’t get some kind of recognition for your good work here in the west you’ll most likely be repulsed enough to quit your job. In contrast, this is nothing like what you’d see in Japan. Western development puts heavy focus on working together as a group in a more; relatively, laid back manner. Chances are, you won’t have as much pressure on you as you would have in a Japanese game development studio. However, if you’re currently one of those aspiring game designers out there, don’t expect an easy job anywhere you decide to work in the world. The western side of game development may not have the strict rules and cultural emphasis that Japan has, but it certainly is a stressful job to have filled with deadlines, restrictions, and advertisers watching your every step.

It seems that these two styles of development in the world can be summed up in one word: uncomparable. Yes, Japanese game development has it’s perks just like western game development has its own set of (arguably better) perks, but as I mentioned in the beginning of this article they each share a common goal… to create an immersive gaming experience unlike anything previously produced. I don’t think it can be disputed that both sides of the spectrum are successful in achieving this goal, they just have differences in their methods of achieving it. You could easily argue back and forth between which side is more effective in their development process, but it probably wouldn’t do much good. After all, both sides would firmly state that they think their methods of development are superior. In that case, westerners are certainly no more open to change than the Japanese are.

Check back next week for the third and final part of our “Western gaming VS. Japanese gaming” feature as we look into why each side of the world has their own preferences in gaming. Who knows, we may even determine a winner in this light-hearted clash of cultures.