So, everybody’s talking about what the Japanese creator of Mega Man *ahem* pardon me Rock Man, Keiji Inafune, said over the weekend as it pertains to the Japanese gaming industry. Take a look:

In a nutshell (a very bitter nutshell of a very sour nut,) he said roll the credits, the Japanese gaming industry is done. Judging solely from what we’ve seen from the Tokyo Game Show, I’d say he’s probably right. Albeit in an exaggerated, broad-shouldered-Space -Marine American sort of way.

Japan’s been losing a grip on their games industry for quite some time now. Their core gamers have been dragged kicking and screaming into the next generation even as Nintendo’s Wii has brought in what I loathe to call hoardes of new “casual” gamers uninterested any software that doesn’t say Sports somewhere on it.
Could a PS3 pricedrop and the imminent arrival of their only bonafide original blockbuster app Final Fantasy XIII (its roman numeral indicating number of years in the making?) be the answer?

In short, no.

The issue is a far more pressing one and it’s a matter of soul. Now this is just my opinion but I tend to think even the coolest most well executed games that come out of our games industry here in the West tend to be more muscle than soul (exceptions granted.) Japan’s approach to gaming has, in the past, been more spiritually engaging. We all know the problem of this console generation is that the boost in graphics (which is fast approaching photo-realism) and sound has put development costs through the roof and increased development time as well. This jump in technical splendor has not translated to a jump in the quality of the gaming experience. Quite the opposite for Japan where companies can’t compete with Western development houses and have yet to adopt a Hollywood like assembly line for their games. Not to mention Japan’s relative disinterest in online gaming.

Hell, the man in the above video who is saying “Capcom is still making good games” implies that Capcom is still Japanese when in actuality the game he is pimping “Dead Rising 2″ has been shopped out to a Canadian developer. Irony.

I know this post has been a jumbled mess, but the point I’m trying to make is that Japan can’t compete with Hollywood and that’s what the gaming industry outside Japan is now.
They either need to start working within that system (even more than they currently do,) or find a reasonable way to deliver soul quenching experiences on a smaller scale as they have with the Nintendo DS and to a certain extent the Wii. I grew up on Japanese games, and it’s sad to see them in a slump. Maybe the answer is something like the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live Arcade, where cheap fun games with unique ideas are having a renaissance.

Right now. Looking at Japan’s release slate, it looks like they just gave up.

I just suffered through two brutal movies in a row; Jody Hill’s The Foot Fist Way follow-up, Observe and Report, and Lars Von Trier’s latest exercise in masochism, Antichrist. I’d love to go into the reasons why these movies brought the pain but frankly I’m still reeling from their assault and in need of huggle therapy.

I don’t think I’ve seen anything as uncomfortable as Antichrist since Gaspard Noe’s Irreverisble which I failed to make it through on my first two attempts.

So let’s put those happy thoughts aside for now and focus our attention elsewhere. Word is that the new Jared Hess movie Gentlemen Broncos is pretty good. Considering that early reviews for Hess’ last flick Nacho Libre were mostly condemning, and how much I wanna monkey rape loved that movie, I think this bodes well.

It would almost have to be awesome considering the unique viral marketing they’ve been doing for the film since it was announced.  I’m by no means a Flight of the Conchords super fan but give Jermaine the Oscar right this very minute if only for his reading of Cyborg Harpies the 8th Chronicle; Bio Wars: A Harpies Perspective, which reminds me quite a bit of an old Stephen Colbert gag.

If you haven’t figured it out yet. You need to get hip to this kick.

 Greetings and salupermutations,

Fall is nearly upon us, bearing down like a ravenous balding beast looking for one last meal before the winter of its discontent. I’ve had a relatively hectic summer between shooting and post production on F series 2 (FYI We’re calling it a series now instead of a season.) I think I’m finally ready to commit to a mid October launch of the new episodes, though Twilight may take longer since the graphic work hasn’t even begun yet and it’s the most intensive and longest. Other projects are sort of on hold for the moment (Ying has asked for some time to sort of his life putting the band in stasis,) but I’ve found other ways to bide my time. I’ve been cast as the lead in fellow F man, Shawn Stutler (whom you may know better as Roscoebang,) and Casey Kirkpatrick’s short horror film “The Courtship of Ronson Crumb.”  I get to play a delusional serial killer looking for love one engorged victim’s heart at a time. Awww.  Ain’t love grand? We’re shooting in October so I’ll have more deets and maybe some on set pics later.

One love,

-b