Gaming in Japan: an American insider’s look

japanmicrosoft

It may not concern us as much, but have you ever wondered how it probably feels for Americans who are working with the Japanese in Japan‘s gaming industry? Sure, there’s the language barrier, the culture differences, and the clash of decisions, but we wonder: who gets to decide which games get shipped to the U.S., which screenshots will be released, and which magazines the ads will be placed in? From the point of view of the American employees working under a Japanese parent company, it’s a tough case of bureaucracy.

Read the full article after the Jump!

japanmicrosoft

It may not concern us as much, but have you ever wondered how it probably feels for Americans who are working with the Japanese in Japan‘s gaming industry? Sure, there’s the language barrier, the culture differences, and the clash of decisions, but we wonder: who gets to decide which games get shipped to the U.S., which screenshots will be released, and which magazines the ads will be placed in? From the point of view of the American employees working under a Japanese parent company, it’s a tough case of bureaucracy.

According to Game Informer, the Japanese developers dominate the management as far as most American subsidiaries are concerned. Communication, or the difficulty of communication, does make it a bit hard for everyone to get their messages across. Compared to French or Swedish companies however, the Japanese have made their mark on the universal market that it has become easier to create deals with them, but one has to take note that the Japanese developers are keen on following layers of management. Also, according to their American counterparts, once they made the decision, it is very hard to change their minds.

When it comes to the corporate philosophies that they follow, American gaming executives also admit that difficulty and conflict isn’t always the case, as some Japanese companies are easy to work with. Different Japanese gaming companies possess their own corporate philosophies but there seems to be one thing in common: they focus on their product more than their market. Also, their strategies are not as effective as their American counterparts’ when it comes to selling their games to the American market, since their corporate philosophies only work too well in Japan.

On the other hand, Mike Fischer, GM of Marketing for Xbox and Games for Windows, tells us that bureaucracy is universal and that it’s more of a problem of getting through to the developer than getting through a “Japanese” developer. Sure, you can’t go home before your boss does, but as a whole, Americans working with the Japanese find the experience enlightening. He says “Everyone in Japan just wants to make the best game possible. All these guys have a real passion for what they do. Everything they do they want to do right. I understand and respect that.”

Passion over effectiveness? A stunning game over a brilliant international marketing plan? I suppose that as with any form of relationship, corporate or otherwise, one just has to learn to take the good with the bad and learn to cooperate with eachother.

Via Game Informer

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