1. Localization
1.1. Levels
1.1.1. No localization
1.1.2. Box and documentation
1.1.3. Partial
1.1.3.1. Translation
1.1.3.1.1. French
1.1.3.1.2. English
1.1.3.1.3. Other languages not needed as your 2 main markets are U.S and France, with U.K and Germany not far behind
1.1.3.1.4. Developer
1.1.3.1.5. 3rd party
1.1.3.1.6. Fans
1.1.3.1.7. SCEE David Reeves said main reason why Europe is affected by delays and sometimes no release is because there are no incentives for developers to translate in multiple languages during development
1.1.3.1.8. Studios should request the services of executive director Mark MacDonald for localization firm based in Tokyo called 8-4
1.1.4. Full
1.1.4.1. Altering assets
1.1.4.1.1. Packaging and manuals
1.1.4.1.2. Art
1.1.4.1.3. Recording new audio
1.1.4.1.4. Cutting out whole portions of the game and adding new sessions
2. Communication
2.1. Forums
2.1.1. Sony's english forum have 1000 posts or more whilst their japanese forum have a dozen
2.2. Trade Shows
2.2.1. GDC and other western tradeshows have devs sharing knowledge about technical stuff in development, in Japan, nothing like this exists and all studios and tradeshows are secretive
2.2.1.1. By the time new technology or development practice reaches the coast of Japan, West is already ahead
2.2.2. Nobody comes to the mobile stands during the TGS
2.2.3. Japan
2.2.3.1. TGS
2.2.3.1.1. Frequentation a officiellement augmente
2.2.4. America
2.2.4.1. E3
2.2.4.2. GDC
2.2.5. France
2.2.5.1. Paris Games Week
2.2.6. Germany
2.2.6.1. Gamescom
2.2.7. Game shows serve regional audiences not anglo-american press
2.2.8. No point for japanese devlopers to make the effort to travel to a country their game wasn't developed for
2.3. Youtube
2.3.1. Shift occuring in Japan where some youtube stars promote the game and consumers buy because of them
2.3.2. 2 youtubers had their own stand at TGS 2015, which is a first
2.4. Twitch
2.5. Marketing
2.5.1. Western games only have realism going for them, yet people are buying that more than jap games because they don't see jap games in shelves and if they do see them, they don't know what it is because they have never heard of it
2.5.2. not agressive enough when existent, almost non-existent
2.5.3. not enough direct contact with retailers
2.5.4. means not put in place and money spent elsewhere to their hurt
2.5.5. sales and marketing team get brought into the office after game is complete
2.5.6. meeting is held to maximise sales in EU and only person not present is the european
2.6. Twiitter
2.6.1. La meilleure plateforme pour promouvoir jeu au Japon grâce a l'espace limite d'ecriture qui s'adapte parfaitement aux kanjis japonais, et tous les japs y sont inscris
2.7. Press
2.7.1. Anglo-American press biased against Japanese games
2.7.2. Japs do not realize the impact that anglo american press have on the sales of their overseas
2.7.3. lack of communication with press
2.7.4. famitsu.com/biz/ranking
2.7.5. Stories about video games are only popular in niches, and niches are not of interest for the traditional games media
2.7.6. 4gamer.net
2.7.7. jin115.com
2.7.8. gematsu.com
3. Japanese Video Game Market
3.1. Troubles
3.1.1. Decreasing pool of suitable and talented developer applicants that apply at Japanese studios
3.1.2. Japanese studios only have Japanese staff working on their game because of the language barrier. West on the other hand has global pool of talent
3.2. Success
3.2.1. In its lifetime in Japan, Xbox One sold 70.000 units only
3.2.2. Japan's strength has always been to take something that already exists and make it better
3.2.3. Consoles have longer life than in the West
3.2.4. Japanese people do not pirate games
3.3. In decline?
3.3.1. Yes
3.3.1.1. Japan's population peaked in 2008 and is now in decline which of course contributes to the decreased sales in an industry where young people represent a huge chunk of the consumers
3.3.1.2. Japanese games represent 30% of the US market and only 13% of the world market
3.3.1.3. Decline in arcade is due to shift for mobile and more powerful PC like consoles
3.3.1.4. Xbox360 came out with distinctly PC architecture and all western devs took advantage of that
3.3.1.5. Console market hit biggest low in 24 years
3.3.1.6. PS3 lost to xbox360 bcz cell processor too hard for devs to grasp and higher pricepoint for console
3.3.2. No
3.3.2.1. Japan has much bigger IP choice than the West with TV, manga, anime, toys, goods etc.
3.3.2.2. Software libraries much more expansive in japan
3.3.2.3. Its been 25 years since console controllers conquered our hearts, its not any time soon that mobile controls are going to replace our dear controllers
3.3.2.4. 2nd hand market is huge
3.3.2.5. has been split by the diversification of platforms
3.3.2.6. Jap market is huge so the west is not really a factor
3.3.2.7. much better track record of exporting game ips to the world
3.4. Developers
3.4.1. Capcom
3.4.1.1. Capcom announced that they are releasing three video game titles this year due to the rise of their net sales at $714 million from April 2015 to March 2016. Read more: http://en.yibada.com/articles/123116/20160513/devil-may-cry-5-rumors.htm#ixzz497uuGi8N
3.4.1.2. N'a pas reussi sa diversification sur smartphone
3.4.1.3. Only studio to offer its MT framework to the world
3.4.2. Atlus
3.4.2.1. Persona 5 has 121 employees working on it
3.4.3. Level 5
3.4.3.1. Yokai Watch
3.4.4. Konami
3.4.4.1. Est parti sur mobile pour de bon
3.4.4.2. Ont tourne le dos sur leur patrimoine et se sont vendus aux actionnaires
3.4.4.3. Ont tue Suikoden et MGS
3.4.5. Square Enix
3.4.5.1. Multiplication d'activite
3.4.5.2. Branched out into MMORPG
3.4.6. Bandai Namco
3.4.6.1. Depose le mot RPG et Imageepoch a depose le mot JRPG
3.5. Mobile
3.5.1. People are starting to realize that mobile games are very risky to make
3.5.2. rpgs and fighting games dont translate to mobile
3.5.3. Jeux japs en smartphone ne passent quasiment pas la frontiere
3.5.4. Success is elusive and risky, only one game gets to have all the profits
3.5.5. Developing for this platform is not the best choice because of the recent Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan is seeking to ban many business practices due to too many addiction incidents
3.6. F2P
3.6.1. Puzzle & Dragon, Monster Strike
3.7. PC
3.7.1. PCs are too expensive, pc gamers have bad connotation bcz of erotic games, not enough space for a desktop pc in your average japanese home, family shares one laptop
3.7.2. PC ports only cost $50, so Japanese developers have no excuse to make thousand more sales
3.7.3. You don't have to buy a developer's kit if you produce for PC
3.8. Handhelds
3.8.1. Much bigger market in japan bcz people are rarely at home and spend more time commuting
4. Competition
4.1. International Market
4.1.1. U.S.A
4.1.1.1. Xbox 360 changed landscape and power position between the 2 hemispheres
4.1.1.2. West invests 10x more in Marketing than Japan
4.1.2. France
4.1.2.1. Release more often so that their IPs are more visible and remain longer in shelf.
5. Development
5.1. Production
5.1.1. Methods
5.1.1.1. Kanban
5.1.1.1.1. XBOX uses Kanban
5.1.1.2. SCRUM
5.1.1.2.1. Blizzard uses SCRUM
5.1.1.3. Waterfall
5.1.1.3.1. Japanese use waterfall
5.2. Cut costs
5.2.1. No lip syncing
5.2.2. No demos
5.2.3. 2-2.5 year production time
5.2.4. No open world
5.2.5. No 360 camera
5.2.6. No need for fully rendered backgrounds
5.2.7. Do not create new game engine
5.3. Older vs Younger generations
5.3.1. Development costs for PS2 and Gamecube generation were around $3 to $5 million but for PS3 and Xbox360 they were around $10 million
5.4. Culture
5.4.1. 'Cultural differences play a big role' says Hamamura Hirokazu
5.4.2. Mark MacDonald says shift occured from fantasy worlds to gritty warfare
5.4.3. Rise of console FPS in 2007 with COD mordern warfare alienated japanese consumers
5.4.4. Different heroes for different hemispheres
5.5. Western development practices and tastes
5.5.1. Bright colors used by Japanese games are considered 'gay'
5.5.2. Characters
5.5.2.1. Americans like grown middle-aged strong men says Satomi Hajime who is the founder of Sammy Corporation, which merged with Sega to form the holding company Sega Sammy Holdings
5.5.2.2. Bully macho main char
5.5.3. Development
5.5.3.1. Immersion demands more realism, so that is what they do
5.5.3.2. Experience and immersion is king the rest is accessory
5.5.3.3. All western games are 2 dimensional and interchangeable, they lack vision and innovation
5.5.3.4. 'If a game plays like a tech demo, it's probably because it is one'
5.5.3.5. Games can be played for 15-30min without much mental effort
5.5.3.6. Addictive online mode
5.5.3.7. Safe options and less expression for ideas because u are just a number inside a huge team
5.5.3.8. 2-3 creative directors sometimes, absolute madness
5.5.3.9. Brainstorming and design by consensus
5.5.3.10. Indie games are West's secret weapon
5.5.4. Themes
5.5.4.1. Brownish gritty colors and backgrounds
5.5.4.2. Revolves around killing people and destroying stuff
5.5.4.3. Themes: War is awesome, killing relationships, authority has cool guns
5.5.5. Management
5.5.5.1. CEOs have less power and influence during production
5.5.5.2. Too much reliance on technology
5.5.5.3. Make their franchises an annual event and near annual release
5.5.5.4. Publisher decides shaders that are gonna be used in the game
5.5.5.5. U.S and E.U avoid direct competition
5.5.6. Graphics
5.5.6.1. Particular interest in amazing graphics
5.5.6.2. Too much detail, too much useless stuff, everything but the kitchen sink
5.5.6.3. Exquisite craftmanship but little replayability and enjoyability
5.5.6.4. Functional homogeneity and because of that the only way to differentiate yourself is to have the best graphics
5.5.6.4.1. This leads to a graphical arms race that induces high development costs and closures of studios
5.5.7. Marketing
5.5.7.1. PR and Sales department have so much power that they can tell the lead designer
5.6. Japanese development practices and tastes
5.6.1. Graphics
5.6.1.1. For the most part, no interest in amazing graphics, some game still look like PS2 titles
5.6.2. Online
5.6.2.1. For the most part, no online mode
5.6.3. Management
5.6.3.1. CEOs have way too much power and influence and can change project scope on a whim increasing costs and time
5.6.3.2. Publishers decide deadlines before consulting PM resulting in delays and unrealistic expectations
5.6.3.3. Companies fall by bad management but managers themselves stay safe when companies merge together
5.6.3.4. Try something new but do it cheaply and fast
5.6.3.5. Too much paperwork, several levels of management, each level having to approve with a stamp a particular decision from the designer
5.6.3.6. Ringiseido
5.6.3.7. Main problem is to figure out how to make money in a world where profitability escapes all games except million dollar mega hit
5.6.4. Story
5.6.4.1. Story is everything for Japanese studios
5.6.4.2. Japanese gamers prefer to be led by a good story rather than deciding story as they go
5.6.5. Characters
5.6.5.1. Ageless, androgynous main characters
5.6.5.2. Camera and how characters look on screen is the preferred method instead of how they look on the artists board
5.6.5.3. Control scheme and character design take precedence in japan
5.6.5.4. Characters are given much importance because if they are successful, they can be turned into million dollar making IPs
5.6.5.4.1. Easier to transfer a loved character into other mediums
5.6.6. Colors are mostly saturated adding to sense of unrealism
5.6.7. Technology
5.6.7.1. Low tech knowledge
5.6.8. Development
5.6.8.1. Fast moving forward with many risks and innovations
5.6.8.2. Creative Director calls all the shots
5.6.8.3. Problems aren't avoided, they are dealt with when they arise
5.6.8.4. Develop in-house engines for each game, but they are only now starting to realize that this is ridiculous
5.6.8.5. They make games that can be played in arcades
5.6.8.6. Tried to make games for West and failed
5.6.8.7. Different teams working on the same problem without knowing it
5.6.8.8. Weekly unproductive meetings
5.6.8.9. Slow development process
5.6.8.10. SCRUM and XP not used apart from Square Enix
5.6.8.11. Minimalist, core ideas pushed to the extreme
5.6.8.12. More self expression and encouraged crazy ideas during prototyping
5.6.9. Mechanics
5.6.9.1. Getting better at the game is highly valued
5.6.9.2. Jap games have mis-en-scene and beat technical prowess
5.6.9.3. Games need time, patience and most of the time brain matter to play
5.6.9.4. Focus on low level mechanics and type of input
5.6.9.5. Focus on risk/reward and gameplay balance
5.6.10. Coding
5.6.10.1. console coding coders are programming right down to machine code and not using any middleware
5.6.11. Themes
5.6.11.1. Suspension of disbelief
5.6.11.2. Horrible cost of war, value of relationships, danger of authority
5.7. Kickstarter
5.7.1. Recycle les anciennes gloires du jeux video Japonais
6. Distribution
6.1. Digital Distribution Platforms
6.1.1. Steam
6.1.1.1. Steam only introduced Japanese language and the possibility to pay in Yens, 11 years after its creation, so in 2014
6.1.1.2. Valkyria chronicles sold so well on Steam that only now are Japanese publishers understanding
6.1.1.3. Users in Japan according to Steamspy statistics amount to 2.4 million
6.1.1.4. Grandia 2 remasterise sur Steam apres un sondage, donc les sondages marchent
6.1.1.5. bayonetta designer Kamiya Hideki not interested inSteam
6.1.2. GOG Ltd
6.1.3. Humble Bundle
6.2. Retailers
6.2.1. Micromania
6.2.1.1. Distribute more copies of the game
6.2.1.1.1. Publishers have upper hand in negotiations
6.2.1.2. There is no demand for certain types of japanese games
6.2.1.3. 1/100 achete un jeu reserve non-AAA jap
6.2.1.4. Lors des soldes les jeux japs sont les premiers a partir
6.2.1.5. 2 copies recues en magasin, pas assez d'offre
6.2.1.6. 0 reza sur 3/4 des jeux japs
6.2.1.7. aucun PLV, point of sale display par les studios japs, alors qu'Assassins creed a eu tout un univers cree autour des jeux
6.2.1.8. 10% de casual gamers micromania pensent que un jeu equivaut a un autre
6.2.2. Fnac
6.2.2.1. Warn retailers in advance for a release date or for upcoming game
6.2.2.1.1. Nobody knows if and when jap games are coming out in EU
6.3. Shipping
6.3.1. Sim-ship
6.3.1.1. Because games have short shelf life and are prone to being pirated, there is profit to be made in releasing simultaneously all over the world
6.3.2. Post-gold
6.4. Dates
6.4.1. Rentree des classes au Japon en Avril
7. My solutions
7.1. Some people would say gamers are not particularly interested in where a game comes from or who created it, any more than someone buying a new car or dvd player. Supposedly a product for mass consumption only keeps the branding features of the trademark, all other characteristics might be subject to customisation due to the need to appeal to the local market. But this is where I digress and believe with firm conviction that if we can make the motto : "Made in Japan", come back to life again, we would conquer another segment of the pop and increase our market share
7.2. AAA games should cost no more than $800.000 to make and they should make more of them, that way when one of them is successful, the revenue it brings is more than enough to cover the cost for the others
7.3. There is a general feel in the air amongst population of gamers worldwide of boredness for usual western games like COD and Assassins Creed. They seem to want something new, now is the time for Japanese studios to give them that and rise to the top once again. Users will follow if game is great and has an online community behind it.
7.4. Keep all your staff except Online and Framerate coders for PC ports and get rid of your marketing/PR/sales teams
7.5. Faire passer Fire Emblem en complet freemium ou alors faire payer la premiere map, et ensuite au fur et a mesure
7.6. Don't put Zelda on mobile otherwise no one will buy on consoles
7.7. Create facebook page about games coming out
7.8. i can translate, find you translators, find you coders you need for online multiplayer and framerate
7.9. hadopi.fr, jeux video ne sont pas sur le site
7.10. Firms are spending money on features not demanded by the market
7.11. what really sells video games are 4 things, communication, online, are my friends playing it, word of mouth, japan devs have none of these
7.12. associate jap games with lasting games, coming out finished, offering full immediate content
7.13. akio morita put quote in book
7.14. put quote of tominaga shintaro
7.15. make youtube video of where to find my book
7.16. ESRB grades are ridiculous and do not accurately portray to parents the reality of the game, aka fantasy violence?
7.17. save costs by not using famous people's voices, nobody cares about japanese voice actors and especially not about american voice actors
7.18. Use MindMaps in company
7.19. il faut rester sur la niche mais c'est une grande niche
7.20. Make playasia bigger
7.21. faire un site internet avec tout le pipeline des studios
7.22. faire plus de versions collectors parce que ca marche, FF15 collector s'est ecoulee en 15 minutes sur le site officiel de square enix
7.23. mettre tous les jeux japs sur twitch ou les vrais hard core gamers se retrouvent pour savoir si le jeu vaut la peine d'etre acheter, youtube est pr les enfants
7.24. glisser une page dans le manga pour annoncer qu'il y aura aussi un jeu
7.25. pokken a eu 5 reza, mais 8 personnes voulaient l'acheter, resultat, perte de vents
7.26. la demande se cree par la communication et la mise en avant
7.27. japs ne payent pas pour bande-annonce tele
7.28. parents achetent jeux japs pour leurs gosses parce que les boites sont plus kid friendly et colores
8. Sales
8.1. Usually a successful console game will sell 2 million units without PR or MKT
8.2. Japan
8.2.1. Top 10 selling games in Japan were all Nintendo with 8 of them being for 3DS
8.2.2. PS4 has currently 40 million units sold worldwide
8.2.3. Not a single Japanese game listed in U.K's 2014 best selling games
8.2.4. Japan is 1/5 of global spend on games
8.2.5. overall market for games in japan is double that of 2005
8.3. US
8.3.1. Blizzard and Valve turn up blanks in Japan
8.4. EU
8.5. Physical
8.6. Digital
9. Japanese video games noteworthy for mistakes
9.1. Metal Gear Solid 5
9.1.1. Cost more than $80 million to produce
9.2. Final Fantasy 15 took 10 years to make
9.3. Persona 3, trop jap, trop culturel
9.4. Tales of vesperia n'a jamais ete importe
9.5. yakuza n'a jamais ete traduit en francais
9.6. Monster Hunter never caught in the west
9.7. yakuza 0 arrive en europe en 2017
9.8. PES a fait 45.000 ventes en france en 2015
10. Japanese games
10.1. Very loved by vocal group of die-hard fans that will buy niche games even at $60 price point
10.2. Some japanese games sell 10x as much in the US than in Japan
10.3. Star Ocean 4 le jeu le plus vendu au Japon sur xbox360
10.4. Saint Seiya games sell around 70.000 copies on their first week in Japan
10.5. Mario Maker fait 130.000 ventes la premiere semaine
10.6. MGS5 fait 475.000 ventes la premiere semaine
10.7. Grand Turismo vend grand max 250.000 unites la premiere semaine
10.8. Arslan Senki est la plus grosse license du moment avec le jeu video et l'anime
10.9. IPs work very well in Japan even if game is shite(Gundam series for 40 year olds)
10.10. Hard to predict if an original title will sell but not hard for a previously successful IP
10.11. too many derives
10.12. Until Dawn traduit et bcp de comm, donc il a marche, meme si le jeu est pourri
11. Consoles
11.1. Sony
11.1.1. Met la pression sur les developeurs pour qu'ils sortent leur jeu uniquement sur leur console et leur donnent proposent de payer pour la pub de leur jeux
11.1.2. Sony America's job is to get as many titles from Japan into US
11.1.3. Target audience:core gamers
11.1.4. PS4 not region blocked
11.1.5. sony offre de faire toute la pub pour un jeu si le studio accepte de ne sortir que sur cette plateforme la
11.2. Nintendo
11.2.1. Sont des long-sellers
11.2.2. Entre dans le marche mobile avec 5 jeux dont ils veulent tous en faire des succes
11.2.3. Target audiences:families
11.3. Adoption
11.3.1. People playing less console games
11.3.1.1. Because easier to play mobile games in trains
11.3.2. Convenience of hardware and cater to a large audience bcz of plug and play
11.3.3. Console gamers are usually hard core gamers or young people who have more free time on their hands
11.4. 3DS bloquee par region
12. Miscellaneous
12.1. when new console hits market there is a 60% decline after only one year
12.2. Japan's population now is older than ever so there are less young people to appeal to
12.3. In Japan it is very complicated to keep playing after you have finished university and have your first job
12.3.1. Otherwise you will be considered as an otaku
12.4. They feel like they are not understood, "we make jap games for jap people, on-jap people just don't understand us"
12.5. Seasonal industry with best games coming out near the end of lifetime of console
12.6. No interest on their part to learn english, only bright people and school professors learn english
12.7. MGS originally created for PC
12.8. Poland and Croatia is all about PC gaming, so no need to work hard for them
12.9. Social pressure for young devs to start their own company
12.10. Inafune-san says users will follow indie if devs put effort in
12.11. 1/2 of console owners are offline
12.12. Everything is centralized aroung major train station
12.13. Japanese gaming experience tends to follow social trends
12.14. Living space is limited in Japan thats why you see console makers trying to make their consoles small factor as opposed to the gigantic xbox original when it came out
12.15. Japan is a country of swords, West is a continent of guns
12.16. Video games rooted in ukiyo-e and 2D
12.17. Grandes surfaces vendent leur jeux a perte mais c quand meme rentable parce que les gens achetent d'autres choses aussi
12.18. Steam, playasia and republique boulevard voltaire is where people are buying most of their games nowadays
12.19. customer wanted a game to play for 2 people on xbox one and store clerk told her there was none
12.20. October worst time to launch bcz too much competition, september is better
12.21. moins de studios japs dans le monde
13. Strategy
13.1. Different target audiences for different companies
13.2. 2 types de vente
13.2.1. 3 semaines, vente de 300 jeux et ensuite presque plus rien
13.2.2. 15 jeux en 3 semaines mais pendant 1 an
14. History
14.1. 80-90s
14.1.1. No big shots, looked alot like Indie scene today with many many studios taking risks
15. Japanese gamers
15.1. Steam store is too dark, japanese love bright colors
15.2. Japanese gamers are more likely to purchase micro transactions than their western counterparts
15.3. Japs don't care for customization
15.4. Teenagers in Japan don't want to be gangsters killing innocents, which is what a lot of western games revolve around
15.5. Japanese gamers do not use chat let alone voice chat
15.6. Japanese audience does not care about social media integration on their consoles or indie support, they care about games
15.7. Young japanese men can spend up to 80.000yen a month on online games with rare cases such as that boy who spent his otoshidaman of 100.000 in 10 days
15.8. jap players play because in real world there is no hope, and in game u feel progress and achievement
16. Numbers
16.1. Margins
16.1.1. Consoles
16.1.1.1. $3
16.1.2. Games
16.1.2.1. $10