The Impact of Japanese Culture on the gaming industry

20952911 The impact of Japanese culture on the gaming industry

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The impact of Japanese culture on

the gaming industry

20952911

Dissertation

2015


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Contents Page

Introduction What are Video Games?.....................Page 3

The ascendance of Japanese culture in video

games..............................Page 4

Impacting Western game design, the calm after the

storm.........................................Page 11

Japans Console Culture The Rise of Western

Dominance...................................................Page 20


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Introduction What are Video Games?

To put it simply, a video game is an electronic device that uses a video device to give the user

feedback through visual means. Taking what we know from the current generation of video

games these electronic devices are widely distributed across different platforms, which can

come in the form of computer games consoles or even the home PC. While the beginning of

the video game industry saw games being played on arcade platforms, the future brought

about handheld gaming that can come in the form of mobile devices or handheld consoles.

Typically a video game is played with a gaming controller, which either correlates to an

external or internal piece of hardware. As the hardware has been advancing in the video game

industry, new technologies have come into play that further indulge the players need for

feedback. While the norm for computer games was either a gamepad or a keyboard and

mouse combination, now technology allows the user of touch screens and camera utilities

within the games themselves.


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The ascendance of Japanese culture in video games

The Japanese gaming industry was well established during the 1970s, having an already

booming market in Japanese electronics and childrens toys, so it was no wonder that the

industry managed to stretch overseas to the West and become a major influence for modern

day game design. Home consoles became a niche market in terms of the competition for

arcade machines, especially with the release of games like Pong and Space Invaders, and this

later spawned a number of clones from competing companies. While these games have been

firmly cemented into the first steps of the gaming industrys rise, none created as much of a

worldwide reach in the 70s as Pac-Man (1980) did. Champagne (2013) talks about;

how the coming of Pac-Man changed the way developers thought about games, and

brought on an incredible maturity to the gaming industry.

The creation of Pac-Man introduced a completely new icon in gaming history and gave the

world a look into Japanese culture through the visualisation of a pizza shaped hero eating

pills and dodging ghosts. Unlike many of the games that came before Pac-Man had his own

personality, and while the characters themselves had no sort of motivation or goals the use of

cinematic scenes created a sense of immersion that felt completely new. Kohler (2005, p23)

states that;

Pac-Man was the first game to make use of cinematic scenes, and that through these

scenes the player could be introduced to the different personalities that were created

for the ghosts and Pac-Man himself.


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The 1980s would bring about a new kind of game that was completely alien to the industry,

and in 1981 the world would see the greatest gaming icon ever created.

Donkey Kong (1981) became a worldwide success under the influence of Shigeru Miyamoto,

even though the original concept was designed to mirror the gameplay of Nintendos earlier

success, Radarscope. Through the use of iconography the real star of the game, Mario was

cemented into gaming history as the biggest icon ever and was a clever depiction of early

Japanese storytelling. Kohler (2005, p37) explains that;

the idea of the unassuming guy who succeeds against the odds is a common theme

in Japanese storytelling.

Mario is represented as a hardworking and heroic character, however his body structure

speaks differently to the player, allowing them to be immersed with this everyday person and

in turn engage with the moustachioed plumber. King (2002, p79) points out that;

Shigeru created Mario with a deformed frame in mind, which was more in keeping

of Japanese culture in terms of manga and anime.

Mario followed the typical stylisation of Japanese aesthetics with his large head and small

legs, similar to the design of major icons like Mickey Mouse, and the reason behind such

recognition was the same reason why Pac-Man was a huge success, the game introduced a

personality. Previous arcade games saw the player partaking in recreational activities and

didnt do much on expanding themselves past that, whereas the likes of Pac-Man and Donkey

Kong created a new influx in the making of a game that inspired many titles in the future.

Picard (2013) makes a point on Japanese culture in the likes of Mario, and that;


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the contribution of Nintendo in Donkey Kong was to bring a specific personality to

video games, one which later became a strong influence in the development of video

games in Japan as well as globally.

The success of Donkey Kong in the West assured Nintendos dominance in the video game

industry, through the introduction of narrative structure and personality (while inserting key

aspects of Japanese culture into the functionality of the game) and this inevitably revived the

home console from the crash of 1978, starting with the release of Super Mario Bros in

1985. While Donkey Kong had a narrative, the game was solely based on getting a high score

(like any arcade game at the time) but Super Mario Bros expanded further on the narrative of

the game and created something more. Narrative was commonplace in Japanese games at the

time, but Marios new challenge was to save the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom from

the evil King Koopa (with the help of his brother Luigi), and the immediate difference that

players saw in the game itself was that the focus was not to get a high score, but to save a

virtual princess from a virtual fire breathing king. Kohler (2005, p57) talks about;

the challenge of Donkey Kong was to get the highest score possible by replaying the

same levels over and over, while Super Mario Bros was the first game in which

completing the story was the only goal of the player.

The cultural aspects of Japan shined throughout this game, whether it would be from the

Deformed anthropomorphic lizards or even from the colourful backdrops of the Mushroom

Kingdom, and symbolism became key to the design process. Players were easily able to

differentiate a Koopa turtle from a Goomba through the representation of expressions and

colour palettes used in Super Mario Bros, and so the Japanese/Italian hero became ever

popular throughout the world. While the success of Nintendo flourished in the 1980s and

inspired many games to adhere to their cultural values (such as Dragon Quest and Final


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Fantasy) there would be an even greater representation of Japan in the form of a monster

collecting game

Pocket Monsters (or Pokmon as it came to be in the West) was designed in 1996 in Japan on

the Game Boy, the newest innovation in gaming technology at the time. It followed the story

of a young boy who faces adversity with the help of the Pokmon that you capture along the

way. While the game uses RPG elements that were similar to other games created around that

time, such as Final Fantasy V on the SNES, the game itself was fundamentally different than

anything that had previously hit the West because of the representation of

Japan it brings. Allison (2004, p36) states;

What makes Japan successful in its market of games, cartoons and comics is not

simply technological or business prowess, but what some call the expressive

strength of Japanese creators. For these reasons, Pokmons success as it travels so

popularly and profitably around the world has been watched with great interest back

home.

The creation of a cultural phenomenon in Japan that expanded its reach around the world

made an impact that would be hardly forgotten, for many reasons. Pokmon stood out from

the games of that generation because of the introduction of acquiring knowledge for a greater

purpose. The classification of these creatures through a device called the Pokedex was an

uncommon sight amongst games of this generation; typically players fought and defeated

opposing creatures for experience gain, now the player is given more information about the

inhabitants of this virtual world, encouraging the player to engage with this world in a


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meaningful way. The Pokedex itself was an encyclopaedia that immersed the player with a

ton of information, and in order to gather more information they would have to progress

further into the game and expand their knowledge through catching and defeating more

Pokmon. According to Buckingham (2004, p22), he states that;

it makes for a considerable degree of longevity: to commit to Pokmon is to commit

to a long-term engagement, which poses some significant challenges in terms of

finding, processing, remembering and applying information.

The Japanese gaming industry had introduced a new mechanic to the world, the completion

of an archive of information. An important thing to note is that this information that is

needed to collect is that of a creature, a living thing. Each Pokmon created a brand new

personality unbeknownst to anyone at the time, and it was the players job to find out all they

could about these fascinating creatures.

Taking this into account, one of the major influences of Japanese culture in Pokmon was the

cuteness that each creature represents. Japans culture was partly based off the term

kawaisa which means cuteness. A major Japanese media export was anime and manga,

which often expressed this style. This style is rather unique, as most Western animations

opted for more realistic visualisations and interpretations; Disneys animated films, while

targeted for a younger audience, had very realistically proportioned characters and were

designed to look as human as possible. Anime characters are often depicted with exaggerated

features, particularly face and height. Many Pokemon show this as the majority of the

Pokemon that would be deemed cute are often small, round and presented with oversized


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features. An example of this would be in Pikachu, the mascot of Pokemon, who is depicted as

a short, fat mouse with a squashed circular body shape and displaying a typical

Baby face, as discussed by Isbister (2006, p10). However, not every Pokemon looks cute.

Mewtwo and Charizard are much larger creatures with more intimidating features: their eyes

are triangular in shape, a common feature on anime characters that tend to be either serious or

play the role of the villain. They are often depicted in aggressive stances, Charizard is often

shown breathing fire into the air and Mewtwo always stands upright, with a much more

serious expression on his face in contrast to the much happier looking Pikachu. The cuter

Pokemon tend to be more passive in the animated series, often seen being very friendly with

their trainers and other Pokmon. The more aggressive Pokemon are more likely to be seen

fighting with other monsters and, in the case of Charizard, unlikely to listen to their trainers

unless exposed to a battle they deem worth their while. These differences are integral to

Pokmons success as it allows it to appeal to different audiences; some people like the idea

of fighting alongside their virtual companions and some like to train a team that they feel will

dominate and look cool. Contrasting to Japanese cuteness is the American idea of coolness

and Pikachu is a representation of both. He has predominantly cute features but can display a

determination to win and is a very competent fighter, lending to a more cool look.

Pokmon tailors to the realistic values of home life with the training of animals and the bond

thats created with them; this is a major part of Western society. The expansion of the

Japanese culture inside of the game can be boiled down to the of the real life home values

that Western society brings, for example, the ten year old boy leaving home to live a different

life. The sensibilities and values of the modern home are left behind by the player as they go

out and explore this world they live in, meeting the various inhabitants along the way. Allison

(2003, p14) points out that;


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Japans cultural industries have touched a pulse in the imaginations of millennial

children in this era of cyber-technology and post-industrial socializationby

blending flexibility and fantasy into technology that is conveniently portable,

virtuality that is intimately cute, and a commodity form that is polymorphically

perverse.

It is this yearning for another culture that is a major driving force behind the success of

Pokmon. Just as players want to find out more information about the different worlds of the

Pokemon games, so to do they wish to find out more about Japanese culture as a whole.


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Impacting Western game design the calm after the storm

After looking through the founding principles of many beloved Japanese video games, it is an

understatement to say that Western game design was influenced greatly by the popularity and

hype that Japan, and Nintendo had created. Of course Japans current gaming mascot Mario

was easily recognizable to anyone around the world at this point, the height of his popularity

extending further as the years went on, and this was due to the fact that his design was aimed

at Western audiences in addition to Japan. This became a trend that spanned across the years

to come, with games that predominantly featured a main character with characteristics that

appealed to the West. Upon the release of the Sega Genesis, the aforementioned company

was in dire need of a flagship game that could contend with the current Nintendo market, so

in order to stand out of the crowd Sega introduced their very own mascot, named Sonic the

Hedgehog.

The battleground was Japan, the year was 1991, and the victor would receive the title of

Gaming Giant. Sega and Nintendo were now butting heads for the crown, and their fighters

were Mario and Sonic. Both characters represent different cultures, but also form a

foundation of the Japanese cultural background of iconography and stylization. Sonic

however, aimed to become something greater than MarioSega wanted their new mascot to

hit the Western market by storm, and they did. The blue hedgehog became a worldwide

phenomenon and hit hard on both fronts, in Japan and in America, and created a rivalry that

would last decades. McNerney (2014) points out that:


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The extraordinary speed and exciting gameplay in Sonic the Hedgehog, the first game

in the series, was unlike anything that consumers had seen before. By being so different (and

so unlike Nintendos Mario Bros.), Sega was in a position to declare the games rebellious

lead character as the personification for what videogames could become. Speedy, splashy, in-

your-face, and always infused with a cool dude attitude.

This foundation in the design of Sonics characteristics immediately hit a spark with Western

audiences, who craved a character with a personality that they could aspire and even relate to.

Taking this into account, it was no wonder that Sega created a saga of games that would

periodically come face to face with Nintendos greatest mascot and still hold up in todays

market. With newer instalments of the Sonic franchise came new characters, with new

personalities that werent seen in any Mario game and offered a new kind of experience to

both Japanese and Western audiences. Sonic and friends were slowly becoming a gang, and

through the interaction with themselves their personalities became apparent. This was a

dynamic that is still a part of Western culture today, cultivating the idea of a group dynamic

between friends that brings out their different personalities, therefore leaving the player more

invested and engaged with the characters within this digital world.

With the branching of companies into the West, new games were being created throughout

the years that gave off the appeal of Western culture. One of the many success stories came

from the corporate giant themselves, Sony. Being a Japanese company would help Sony

branch out into the West with their entertainment division, known as Sony Computer

Entertainment, to set a standpoint for which they could create their very own console to rival

Nintendo and Sega. The Playstation Home Console was unveiled on December 3rd, 1994 in


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Japan and then marketed to the U.S. through their newly established branch, aimed

particularly at a more adult market. The audiences for video games had always been steadily

increasing in age, and Sony was the quickest to jump on that fact. Using the knowledge of the

current state of video game design, the company began to market their console towards the

adult populace, something that out of place in the current market. However, the games that

would create a popular standing in both cultures came about in 1996, in the form of a

bandicoot named Crash.

Crash Bandicoot is arguably one of the most successful stories of translation between

Japanese and Western culture, with many reasons as to its success being its design in general.

Creating a new icon in this current market was a tough process, considering the mascot king

Nintendo had recently gained complete superiority over Sega and other companies at the

time, but Sony aimed to prove that their console could compete just as much as Sega did.

Crash was essentially a product of Japanese game design, following the features that were

prominent throughout the mascots of Nintendo and Sega. Welchy (2015) points out that:

The game was praised for its graphics and unique visual style and would go on to

become one the bestselling PlayStation games of all time.

The enlarged head and small body, the exaggerated expressions throughout and the

personality that enables the player to connect with him personally were all conditions

throughout the designs of Sonic and Mario, and became a familiar feeling in the design of

many beloved game characters to come.


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While Japanese and video game design had a heavy focus on appealing to children through

fun loving characters with emphasised features, there were many different games sold on the

PlayStation console that were specifically aimed at adults, because of Sonys knowledge on

their target audience. One such case of them hitting the nail on the head was in the game

Wipeout, developed by Psygnosis (later named Sony Computer Entertainment Studio,

Liverpool). Being based in Europe meant for some pretty interesting games, and Wipeout

was a design that was specific to the current genre of racing games and evolved past that. The

futuristic design, accompanied by the night club soundtrack that it is still now famous for,

created an atmospheric experience that gamers would remember for decades. In the UK,

Wipeout was extremely famous for its soundtrack in particular, due to the fact that night

clubs would even use the music for their own remixes. Techno music was a large part of

European culture during the 1990s and Wipeout was designed specifically with that in mind,

right down to the soundtracks that would be released a year prior to the games release.

According to Campbell (2012), he states that:

Sony management, having smartly bought Psygnosis in order to get PlayStation off the

ground, celebrated its win with night-club installations. Wipeout became the companys

mascot for a generation of kids who had grown up with NES but didnt want to grow out of

games.

While not a commercial success in Japan, Wipeout became a cult classic for gaming that

merged the design of a Japanese game, with a soundtrack fit for Western culture to create an

experience unlike any other at the time.


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The differences between Japanese and Western game design were not as apparent as they are

in the present, as video game design was still relatively new and many games followed the

same formula for decades. However, a type of game that eventually branched off into its own

genre was the RPG (or Role Playing Game). In an RPG, the player would follow some kind

of progression, whether it would be through building a character level or finding gear to

improve themselves, and press on through a story that centred around the world the player

was thrown into. Considering this formula for this particular kind of game, it wasnt

surprising a genre was formed from its rise, due to the fact that it became a popular trope

among game developers to design a world to immerse the player in.

Given that the years prior to the birth of RPGs would pave the way towards some of the

greatest and most memorable games of all time, its easy to see a parallel created from the

differences in Japanese and Western game design.

In Japanese game design, particularly in the early years of JRPGs, the game would generally

focus on a group of characters that have to save the world on a grand scale. However, the

overall aesthetic feel to the game would make it stand out completely amongst other RPGs,

drawing inspiration from the themes of anime in terms of hardships and turmoil. Even the

overarching design of JRPGs could personify Japanese culture throughout its entirety, using

both colour and themes to give the player a niche experience that you could only find from

Japan. A few examples of this subcategory of games can be found in the likes of Final

Fantasy and Dragon Quest, both developed by the company Square Enix (Squaresoft and

Enix respectively). Both these games adopted the Japanese traditions of storytelling and


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colourful design that the player has come to find as the general design for a JRPG. Metagross

(2013) makes a valid point in:

Japanese RPGs gained such great success stories during their Golden Age due to the

mediums unique ability to tell stories. In early gaming history many game genres had a

difficult time telling compelling, interesting stories and thus players who wished to

experience a great story would turn to roleplaying games.

Because of Japanese dominance in the video game industry during the early years, many of

the tropes that we all know and love became a key design aspect in the creation of their

games, and story-telling was once again an alien concept that became a necessity.

Western RPGs were somewhat different in a few of its design aspects, mainly because of the

Japanese dominance in the console wars and many RPGs released in Europe and USA were

often confined to the realms of PC, which was only particular to Western culture. A typical

Western RPG in the early days of game design would consist of first person gameplay, a lack

of any story within it and a pure focus on the gameplay throughout. While this type of game

was exceedingly popular during the rise of Western gaming in the 1990s, Japanese

dominance would prove the better by companies selling their games across the sea into

Western territory. Games like Final Fantasy 7 and Chrono Trigger became some of the most

popular RPG games sold throughout the West, and it seemed like the attitude of focusing on a

pure action game with little depth was becoming a slight burden for Western game design.

Many gamers turned to Japan to produce higher quality games to be sold onto consoles,


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particularly the likes of Sony and Nintendo, and it seemed there needed to be a shift in the

dynamics of Western game design. A company called Bethesda was very popular amongst

the PC gaming community, and being well established gave them the drive to create a series

of games that would expand on Western game design and even take into themselves some

other well-known themes. This series of games was the Elder Scrolls series, the first being

Arena and released on PC platform in 1994. Arena used a lot of themes from Japanese game

design to create an immersive but Western experience, creating an expansive world filled

with lore and rich with story, while also feeding from common tropes of Western RPGs such

as a medieval concept and an action style of gameplay, along with the ability to create your

own character and name in the world. Metagross (2012) states that:

The Elder Scrolls series by Bethesda aims to create extremely realistic worlds for the

player to explore and enjoy, and the idea of expression allows you to take control of your

own avatar or created self within the game and not play as an established character.

This quote particularly sums up in general the concept of a Western RPG, and the aim is to

create an immersive but realistic world that the player can throw themselves into and carve

their own path into the world, rather than follow a set story line. This became a cornerstone

for future game design not just in the West, but also in Japan and became a major influence

for a very difficult game with a huge following.

Dark Souls was created in 2011 by the Japanese game developer From Software, who was

previously known for creating the predecessor Demon Souls in 2009, and was well known for


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becoming a bridge in the gap between Japanese and Western game design. The game was

exceedingly well known for its difficulty, particularly in its slow but not clunky action style

gameplay and felt more like a Western game to play, due to its focus on player versus player

combat. However, underneath it all the game still followed the traditions of Japanese game

design, such as storytelling and a difficulty that could rival any arcade game, giving new life

to the definition of an RPG. Quoting from Metagross (2012) he points out that:

Dark Souls gained a strong following due to its extreme difficulty, but very open design

which is a hallmark of western games. Dark Souls put a greater emphasis on player versus

player combat, which encouraged competition amongst players. These traits make Dark

Souls feel extremely Western in its design.

Due to this fact, the game reached a new height in the West and is praised highly for its

innovative and conjunctive gameplay, in which it combined the best of both worlds in

Japanese and Western game design.

There are some cases, however where the attempt to design a more universal game comes

with a heavy price, and this came from the name everyone came to for the next JRPG, Square

Enix. In 2009 Square Enix released its 13th instalment in the franchise, aptly named Final

Fantasy 13, and what was expected to be a blockbuster hit spiralled into a blow that still rocks

the company to its core. While the release of Final Fantasy 13 was a success due to its long

build up, the game received many negative reviews from Western audiences for the game

being too linear and pushed the players through very regressive game design. Another main


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aspect of the game that was criticized was the change from turn based combat into a more

action orientated game, what looked more like the remnants of a hack and slash game but

with a much slower pace. This was clearly something that Square Enix had purposely used in

order to gain the popularity of Western audiences, what with the Western gaming market

currently bombarded with actions games like Call of Duty and Halo, so they tried to place

their pin in the West once more. Unfortunately, the perception of a JRPG became that of a

negative one, due to the fact that Western players favoured the more action orientated games

to turn based command battles, which left little immersion for the player. Quoting an article

by Plunkett (2010) it states:

Even before the current generation of consoles was released, it was obvious that the

game market in the West was gaining momentum, and we couldnt ignore it, write

developers Motomu Toriyama and Akihiko Maeda. The sentiment that stood out the most to

us at the time was the increasingly harsh criticism towards JRPGs.

From this article, it is easy to tell that the developers of Final Fantasy 13 attempted to

reconnect Western audiences with a beloved franchise by creating an experience that would

appeal to players in the way an action game would, but also give them the same themes that

you would expect from a Final Fantasy. Unfortunately, this experiment did not take too

kindly with Western audiences, and due to very late focus testing amongst Western players

the developers were unable to implement many of the changes that we would later see in the

newer instalments of the XIII trilogy.


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Japans Console Culture The rise of Western dominance

Japan was foremost known throughout the world as specifically a console culture. Because

of the rise in game development companies throughout the country, consoles became more

and more apparent in peoples homes. Nintendo and Sega were still fighting to reign supreme

over the other, however Sega began to decline a few years after the release of the Sega Saturn

(which was released 1994 in Japan). The Saturn provided nothing new to the console market,

and with the release of the Nintendo 64 and the push to 3D gaming in both Japan and the

West, Sega needed to step up their game. In 1998 the company pushed forward a new console

to fight in the current war, which was the Sega Dreamcast. Following Sonys example of

using a disc instead of cartridges, Sega aimed to create a new craze like the PlayStation did in

the West, and that was to aim for the mass public and rather towards children.

While the Dreamcast would certainly bring a new twist into the console war, with the

addition of online multiplayer and numerous software devices that could connect to it, the

console would fall short due to the cost of manufacturing all the software devices and the cost

of actually making the console itself. Kevingiiford (2013) in an interview with marketing

director Tadashi Takezaki writes:

Its one of those things where the more consoles you sell, the more you lose, so we

had to cover that up with software sales. But those sales werent going up, and at the same

time, we were busy trying to bring the idea of online gaming to users with the system.


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Sega definitely attempted to pull out a console that would connect players via the Internet to

play their favourite games together, and because of this heavy focus the consoles

expenditures would only rise, causing the console to become more and more expensive, until

Sega stopped production of the Dreamcast in 2001 regrettably. Even though the console was

discontinued, the Dreamcast helped pave the way into a new form of gaming that was

completely new to the console industry, and that was online gaming.

Japan would slowly see to a new competition in the West, the console known as the Xbox.

Created by Microsoft, the West had now begun to place their own foothold in the video game

industry, and with Microsofts reputation with the PC platform, the console would provide

lots of potential for the new form of gaming that was slowly on the riseonline gaming.

With the inclusion of an Ethernet port in the back of the system, the Xbox was able to

connect to a gaming platform called Xbox Live, which allowed players to play their favourite

games against each other, for a price. This move by Microsoft became a massive step into

reclaiming the West from the clutches of Japanese dominance, which recently failed in the

online console market with the Dreamcast. Sinclair (2012) talks about:

Undeterred by Segas failure, Microsoft embraced online gaming as the future not only

for its console, but of the industry as a whole. The company was expecting online gaming to

set its console apart in the market, and committed it in a big way, building an Ethernet port

into every Xbox.

The release title for the Xbox, Halo: Combat Evolved was originally designed to use

Microsofts Xbox Live to create a completely new experience for players, which was a game

that they could all play together using the Internet. However, the game was rushed by


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Microsoft to be the release title for their new console, so the development of the game fell

short and so Xbox Live compatibility was not included in Halo till the second title, Halo 2.

The developers of Halo, Bungie had created an action packed game that followed the similar

principles of many first person shooters, such as Doom and Wolfenstein, but created a unique

experience for players on the Xbox, assuring its dominance in the market. Halo 2 was

released in 2004 with the Xbox Live compatibility that players had been waiting 3 years for,

and immediately online gaming on a console became a true realisation of what Sega was

attempting to do with their Dreamcast, connecting players throughout the world in their

favourite games. Sinclair (2012) states that:

By the end of its first month in stores, Halo 2 had sold more than 5 million copies. By

the time Microsoft had pulled the plug on original Xbox Live support in 2010, Halo 2 played

host to 5.4 billion games. The game essentially defined Xbox Live gaming during the original

Xbox era, a fact that is not lost to the people who created it.

Online multiplayer was firmly cemented into the hearts of players from then on, and has

become a major phenomenon throughout the gaming industry.

After the culmination of years of experience in the making, Japan was slowly declining from

its pedestal as the reigning king of video game design. Online multiplayer was increasingly

progressing into a staple of game design in the West, and Nintendo most of all started losing

their grip on the market. Nintendo had already released the Gamecube, the predecessor to the

Nintendo 64, as a means to keep their foothold in the market. However, Sony and Microsoft


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had now become the competition, creating games for online multiplayer and focusing purely

on the Western market. With the Xbox 360 coming from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 by

Sony currently taking the market by storm, the competition was going to be fierce. Nintendo

returned fire by releasing the Wii in 2006 for Japan, which was a console that came with a

Wii Motion Controller and a sensor, which would allow the software to respond to the

position of the Wii Controller, creating a whole new step into the future of gaming. The new

emphasis on room multiplayer set the future for the Wii, with new titles being released that

would allow you to emulate certain actions or hobbies, without ever leaving the room. Wii

Sports was the highest selling game for many years after the Wiis release, due to the ease of

accessibility to play your favourite sports in the living room, while also being utilized as a

fitness tool and catered to another audience too. Johnson (2014) points out that:

Sports games were chosen because people already knew the rules. A new type of

gameplay paired with the new controls might have turned new users off, but the goal was to

familiarize players with how motion controls worked.

Overall, the Wii became the highest selling console of all time, comparatively to the likes of

Microsoft and Sonys gaming platforms, and regained the foothold that Nintendo had been

losing since the 90s.


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Closing Statement

Looking at the many years that the Japanese gaming industry has become dominant in shows

how the formula for game design was melded from the tropes of traditional Japanese themes,

the common storytelling of classic mythologies and interesting concepts from art styles, the

anthropomorphisation of animals and wildlife in comparison to the representation of different

cultures in the world, even the exaggerated character designs of our favourite mascots that we

all love today. None of it wouldnt have been possible if it wasnt for the rich, cultural

background of Japan, and the steps it took to create a better future for video game design.


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References

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Documents

The Impact of Japanese Culture on the gaming industry