1. My solutions
1.1. 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
1.2. 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
1.3. 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.
1.4. Keep all your staff except Online and Framerate coders for PC ports and get rid of your marketing/PR/sales teams
1.5. Faire passer Fire Emblem en complet freemium ou alors faire payer la premiere map, et ensuite au fur et a mesure
1.6. Don't put Zelda on mobile otherwise no one will buy on consoles
1.7. Create facebook page about games coming out
1.8. i can translate, find you translators, find you coders you need for online multiplayer and framerate
1.9. hadopi.fr, jeux video ne sont pas sur le site
1.10. Firms are spending money on features not demanded by the market
1.11. what really sells video games are 4 things, communication, online, are my friends playing it, word of mouth, japan devs have none of these
1.12. associate jap games with lasting games, coming out finished, offering full immediate content
1.13. akio morita put quote in book
1.14. put quote of tominaga shintaro
1.15. make youtube video of where to find my book
1.16. ESRB grades are ridiculous and do not accurately portray to parents the reality of the game, aka fantasy violence?
1.17. save costs by not using famous people's voices, nobody cares about japanese voice actors and especially not about american voice actors
1.18. Use MindMaps in company
1.19. il faut rester sur la niche mais c'est une grande niche
1.20. Make playasia bigger
1.21. faire un site internet avec tout le pipeline des studios
1.22. faire plus de versions collectors parce que ca marche, FF15 collector s'est ecoulee en 15 minutes sur le site officiel de square enix
1.23. 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
1.24. glisser une page dans le manga pour annoncer qu'il y aura aussi un jeu
1.25. pokken a eu 5 reza, mais 8 personnes voulaient l'acheter, resultat, perte de vents
1.26. la demande se cree par la communication et la mise en avant
1.27. japs ne payent pas pour bande-annonce tele
1.28. parents achetent jeux japs pour leurs gosses parce que les boites sont plus kid friendly et colores
2. Japanese games
2.1. Very loved by vocal group of die-hard fans that will buy niche games even at $60 price point
2.2. Some japanese games sell 10x as much in the US than in Japan
2.3. Star Ocean 4 le jeu le plus vendu au Japon sur xbox360
2.4. Saint Seiya games sell around 70.000 copies on their first week in Japan
2.5. Mario Maker fait 130.000 ventes la premiere semaine
2.6. MGS5 fait 475.000 ventes la premiere semaine
2.7. Grand Turismo vend grand max 250.000 unites la premiere semaine
2.8. Arslan Senki est la plus grosse license du moment avec le jeu video et l'anime
2.9. IPs work very well in Japan even if game is shite(Gundam series for 40 year olds)
2.10. Hard to predict if an original title will sell but not hard for a previously successful IP
2.11. too many derives
2.12. Until Dawn traduit et bcp de comm, donc il a marche, meme si le jeu est pourri
3. Consoles
3.1. Sony
3.1.1. 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
3.1.2. Sony America's job is to get as many titles from Japan into US
3.1.3. Target audience:core gamers
3.1.4. PS4 not region blocked
3.1.5. sony offre de faire toute la pub pour un jeu si le studio accepte de ne sortir que sur cette plateforme la
3.2. Nintendo
3.2.1. Sont des long-sellers
3.2.2. Entre dans le marche mobile avec 5 jeux dont ils veulent tous en faire des succes
3.2.3. Target audiences:families
3.3. Adoption
3.3.1. People playing less console games
3.3.1.1. Because easier to play mobile games in trains
3.3.2. Convenience of hardware and cater to a large audience bcz of plug and play
3.3.3. Console gamers are usually hard core gamers or young people who have more free time on their hands
3.4. 3DS bloquee par region
4. Miscellaneous
4.1. when new console hits market there is a 60% decline after only one year
4.2. Japan's population now is older than ever so there are less young people to appeal to
4.3. In Japan it is very complicated to keep playing after you have finished university and have your first job
4.3.1. Otherwise you will be considered as an otaku
4.4. They feel like they are not understood, "we make jap games for jap people, on-jap people just don't understand us"
4.5. Seasonal industry with best games coming out near the end of lifetime of console
4.6. No interest on their part to learn english, only bright people and school professors learn english
4.7. MGS originally created for PC
4.8. Poland and Croatia is all about PC gaming, so no need to work hard for them
4.9. Social pressure for young devs to start their own company
4.10. Inafune-san says users will follow indie if devs put effort in
4.11. 1/2 of console owners are offline
4.12. Everything is centralized aroung major train station
4.13. Japanese gaming experience tends to follow social trends
4.14. 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
4.15. Japan is a country of swords, West is a continent of guns
4.16. Video games rooted in ukiyo-e and 2D
4.17. Grandes surfaces vendent leur jeux a perte mais c quand meme rentable parce que les gens achetent d'autres choses aussi
4.18. Steam, playasia and republique boulevard voltaire is where people are buying most of their games nowadays
4.19. customer wanted a game to play for 2 people on xbox one and store clerk told her there was none
4.20. October worst time to launch bcz too much competition, september is better
4.21. moins de studios japs dans le monde
5. Strategy
5.1. Different target audiences for different companies
5.2. 2 types de vente
5.2.1. 3 semaines, vente de 300 jeux et ensuite presque plus rien
5.2.2. 15 jeux en 3 semaines mais pendant 1 an
6. History
6.1. 80-90s
6.1.1. No big shots, looked alot like Indie scene today with many many studios taking risks
7. Japanese gamers
7.1. Steam store is too dark, japanese love bright colors
7.2. Japanese gamers are more likely to purchase micro transactions than their western counterparts
7.3. Japs don't care for customization
7.4. Teenagers in Japan don't want to be gangsters killing innocents, which is what a lot of western games revolve around
7.5. Japanese gamers do not use chat let alone voice chat
7.6. Japanese audience does not care about social media integration on their consoles or indie support, they care about games
7.7. 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
7.8. jap players play because in real world there is no hope, and in game u feel progress and achievement
8. Numbers
8.1. Margins
8.1.1. Consoles
8.1.1.1. $3
8.1.2. Games
8.1.2.1. $10
8.2. Managers tell me that japAAA games can double their sales of they make the effort
8.3. non - AAA jap games sell for same price as AAA
8.4. dead or alive extreme beach volley 3 most sold game in import
8.5. Level 5 va inonder le marche avec yokai watch, 8 jeux en 1 an, plus que pokemon
8.6. mobile has much more marketing than console
9. Localization
9.1. Levels
9.1.1. No localization
9.1.2. Box and documentation
9.1.3. Partial
9.1.3.1. Translation
9.1.3.1.1. French
9.1.3.1.2. English
9.1.3.1.3. Other languages not needed as your 2 main markets are U.S and France, with U.K and Germany not far behind
9.1.3.1.4. Developer
9.1.3.1.5. 3rd party
9.1.3.1.6. Fans
9.1.3.1.7. 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
9.1.3.1.8. Studios should request the services of executive director Mark MacDonald for localization firm based in Tokyo called 8-4
9.1.4. Full
9.1.4.1. Altering assets
9.1.4.1.1. Packaging and manuals
9.1.4.1.2. Art
9.1.4.1.3. Recording new audio
9.1.4.1.4. Cutting out whole portions of the game and adding new sessions
10. Communication
10.1. Forums
10.1.1. Sony's english forum have 1000 posts or more whilst their japanese forum have a dozen
10.2. Trade Shows
10.2.1. 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
10.2.1.1. By the time new technology or development practice reaches the coast of Japan, West is already ahead
10.2.2. Nobody comes to the mobile stands during the TGS
10.2.3. Japan
10.2.3.1. TGS
10.2.3.1.1. Frequentation a officiellement augmente
10.2.4. America
10.2.4.1. E3
10.2.4.2. GDC
10.2.5. France
10.2.5.1. Paris Games Week
10.2.6. Germany
10.2.6.1. Gamescom
10.2.7. Game shows serve regional audiences not anglo-american press
10.2.8. No point for japanese devlopers to make the effort to travel to a country their game wasn't developed for
10.3. Youtube
10.3.1. Shift occuring in Japan where some youtube stars promote the game and consumers buy because of them
10.3.2. 2 youtubers had their own stand at TGS 2015, which is a first
10.4. Twitch
10.5. Marketing
10.5.1. 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
10.5.2. not agressive enough when existent, almost non-existent
10.5.3. not enough direct contact with retailers
10.5.4. means not put in place and money spent elsewhere to their hurt
10.5.5. sales and marketing team get brought into the office after game is complete
10.5.6. meeting is held to maximise sales in EU and only person not present is the european
10.6. Twiitter
10.6.1. 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
10.7. Press
10.7.1. Anglo-American press biased against Japanese games
10.7.2. Japs do not realize the impact that anglo american press have on the sales of their overseas
10.7.3. lack of communication with press
10.7.4. famitsu.com/biz/ranking
10.7.5. Stories about video games are only popular in niches, and niches are not of interest for the traditional games media
10.7.6. 4gamer.net
10.7.7. jin115.com
10.7.8. gematsu.com
11. Japanese Video Game Market
11.1. Troubles
11.1.1. Decreasing pool of suitable and talented developer applicants that apply at Japanese studios
11.1.2. 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
11.2. Success
11.2.1. In its lifetime in Japan, Xbox One sold 70.000 units only
11.2.2. Japan's strength has always been to take something that already exists and make it better
11.2.3. Consoles have longer life than in the West
11.2.4. Japanese people do not pirate games
11.3. In decline?
11.3.1. Yes
11.3.1.1. 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
11.3.1.2. Japanese games represent 30% of the US market and only 13% of the world market
11.3.1.3. Decline in arcade is due to shift for mobile and more powerful PC like consoles
11.3.1.4. Xbox360 came out with distinctly PC architecture and all western devs took advantage of that
11.3.1.5. Console market hit biggest low in 24 years
11.3.1.6. PS3 lost to xbox360 bcz cell processor too hard for devs to grasp and higher pricepoint for console
11.3.2. No
11.3.2.1. Japan has much bigger IP choice than the West with TV, manga, anime, toys, goods etc.
11.3.2.2. Software libraries much more expansive in japan
11.3.2.3. 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
11.3.2.4. 2nd hand market is huge
11.3.2.5. has been split by the diversification of platforms
11.3.2.6. Jap market is huge so the west is not really a factor
11.3.2.7. much better track record of exporting game ips to the world
11.4. Developers
11.4.1. Capcom
11.4.1.1. 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
11.4.1.2. N'a pas reussi sa diversification sur smartphone
11.4.1.3. Only studio to offer its MT framework to the world
11.4.2. Atlus
11.4.2.1. Persona 5 has 121 employees working on it
11.4.3. Level 5
11.4.3.1. Yokai Watch
11.4.4. Konami
11.4.4.1. Est parti sur mobile pour de bon
11.4.4.2. Ont tourne le dos sur leur patrimoine et se sont vendus aux actionnaires
11.4.4.3. Ont tue Suikoden et MGS
11.4.5. Square Enix
11.4.5.1. Multiplication d'activite
11.4.5.2. Branched out into MMORPG
11.4.6. Bandai Namco
11.4.6.1. Depose le mot RPG et Imageepoch a depose le mot JRPG
11.5. Mobile
11.5.1. People are starting to realize that mobile games are very risky to make
11.5.2. rpgs and fighting games dont translate to mobile
11.5.3. Jeux japs en smartphone ne passent quasiment pas la frontiere
11.5.4. Success is elusive and risky, only one game gets to have all the profits
11.5.5. 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
11.6. F2P
11.6.1. Puzzle & Dragon, Monster Strike
11.7. PC
11.7.1. 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
11.7.2. PC ports only cost $50, so Japanese developers have no excuse to make thousand more sales
11.7.3. You don't have to buy a developer's kit if you produce for PC
11.8. Handhelds
11.8.1. Much bigger market in japan bcz people are rarely at home and spend more time commuting
12. Competition
12.1. International Market
12.1.1. U.S.A
12.1.1.1. Xbox 360 changed landscape and power position between the 2 hemispheres
12.1.1.2. West invests 10x more in Marketing than Japan
12.1.2. France
12.1.2.1. Release more often so that their IPs are more visible and remain longer in shelf.
13. Development
13.1. Production
13.1.1. Methods
13.1.1.1. Kanban
13.1.1.1.1. XBOX uses Kanban
13.1.1.2. SCRUM
13.1.1.2.1. Blizzard uses SCRUM
13.1.1.3. Waterfall
13.1.1.3.1. Japanese use waterfall
13.2. Cut costs
13.2.1. No lip syncing
13.2.2. No demos
13.2.3. 2-2.5 year production time
13.2.4. No open world
13.2.5. No 360 camera
13.2.6. No need for fully rendered backgrounds
13.2.7. Do not create new game engine
13.3. Older vs Younger generations
13.3.1. Development costs for PS2 and Gamecube generation were around $3 to $5 million but for PS3 and Xbox360 they were around $10 million
13.4. Culture
13.4.1. 'Cultural differences play a big role' says Hamamura Hirokazu
13.4.2. Mark MacDonald says shift occured from fantasy worlds to gritty warfare
13.4.3. Rise of console FPS in 2007 with COD mordern warfare alienated japanese consumers
13.4.4. Different heroes for different hemispheres
13.5. Western development practices and tastes
13.5.1. Bright colors used by Japanese games are considered 'gay'
13.5.2. Characters
13.5.2.1. 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
13.5.2.2. Bully macho main char
13.5.3. Development
13.5.3.1. Immersion demands more realism, so that is what they do
13.5.3.2. Experience and immersion is king the rest is accessory
13.5.3.3. All western games are 2 dimensional and interchangeable, they lack vision and innovation
13.5.3.4. 'If a game plays like a tech demo, it's probably because it is one'
13.5.3.5. Games can be played for 15-30min without much mental effort
13.5.3.6. Addictive online mode
13.5.3.7. Safe options and less expression for ideas because u are just a number inside a huge team
13.5.3.8. 2-3 creative directors sometimes, absolute madness
13.5.3.9. Brainstorming and design by consensus
13.5.3.10. Indie games are West's secret weapon
13.5.4. Themes
13.5.4.1. Brownish gritty colors and backgrounds
13.5.4.2. Revolves around killing people and destroying stuff
13.5.4.3. Themes: War is awesome, killing relationships, authority has cool guns
13.5.5. Management
13.5.5.1. CEOs have less power and influence during production
13.5.5.2. Too much reliance on technology
13.5.5.3. Make their franchises an annual event and near annual release
13.5.5.4. Publisher decides shaders that are gonna be used in the game
13.5.5.5. U.S and E.U avoid direct competition
13.5.6. Graphics
13.5.6.1. Particular interest in amazing graphics
13.5.6.2. Too much detail, too much useless stuff, everything but the kitchen sink
13.5.6.3. Exquisite craftmanship but little replayability and enjoyability
13.5.6.4. Functional homogeneity and because of that the only way to differentiate yourself is to have the best graphics
13.5.6.4.1. This leads to a graphical arms race that induces high development costs and closures of studios
13.5.7. Marketing
13.5.7.1. PR and Sales department have so much power that they can tell the lead designer
13.6. Japanese development practices and tastes
13.6.1. Graphics
13.6.1.1. For the most part, no interest in amazing graphics, some game still look like PS2 titles
13.6.2. Online
13.6.2.1. For the most part, no online mode
13.6.3. Management
13.6.3.1. CEOs have way too much power and influence and can change project scope on a whim increasing costs and time
13.6.3.2. Publishers decide deadlines before consulting PM resulting in delays and unrealistic expectations
13.6.3.3. Companies fall by bad management but managers themselves stay safe when companies merge together
13.6.3.4. Try something new but do it cheaply and fast
13.6.3.5. Too much paperwork, several levels of management, each level having to approve with a stamp a particular decision from the designer
13.6.3.6. Ringiseido
13.6.3.7. Main problem is to figure out how to make money in a world where profitability escapes all games except million dollar mega hit
13.6.4. Story
13.6.4.1. Story is everything for Japanese studios
13.6.4.2. Japanese gamers prefer to be led by a good story rather than deciding story as they go
13.6.5. Characters
13.6.5.1. Ageless, androgynous main characters
13.6.5.2. Camera and how characters look on screen is the preferred method instead of how they look on the artists board
13.6.5.3. Control scheme and character design take precedence in japan
13.6.5.4. Characters are given much importance because if they are successful, they can be turned into million dollar making IPs
13.6.5.4.1. Easier to transfer a loved character into other mediums
13.6.6. Colors are mostly saturated adding to sense of unrealism
13.6.7. Technology
13.6.7.1. Low tech knowledge
13.6.8. Development
13.6.8.1. Fast moving forward with many risks and innovations
13.6.8.2. Creative Director calls all the shots
13.6.8.3. Problems aren't avoided, they are dealt with when they arise
13.6.8.4. Develop in-house engines for each game, but they are only now starting to realize that this is ridiculous
13.6.8.5. They make games that can be played in arcades
13.6.8.6. Tried to make games for West and failed
13.6.8.7. Different teams working on the same problem without knowing it
13.6.8.8. Weekly unproductive meetings
13.6.8.9. Slow development process
13.6.8.10. SCRUM and XP not used apart from Square Enix
13.6.8.11. Minimalist, core ideas pushed to the extreme
13.6.8.12. More self expression and encouraged crazy ideas during prototyping
13.6.9. Mechanics
13.6.9.1. Getting better at the game is highly valued
13.6.9.2. Jap games have mis-en-scene and beat technical prowess
13.6.9.3. Games need time, patience and most of the time brain matter to play
13.6.9.4. Focus on low level mechanics and type of input
13.6.9.5. Focus on risk/reward and gameplay balance
13.6.10. Coding
13.6.10.1. console coding coders are programming right down to machine code and not using any middleware
13.6.11. Themes
13.6.11.1. Suspension of disbelief
13.6.11.2. Horrible cost of war, value of relationships, danger of authority
13.7. Kickstarter
13.7.1. Recycle les anciennes gloires du jeux video Japonais
14. Distribution
14.1. Digital Distribution Platforms
14.1.1. Steam
14.1.1.1. Steam only introduced Japanese language and the possibility to pay in Yens, 11 years after its creation, so in 2014
14.1.1.2. Valkyria chronicles sold so well on Steam that only now are Japanese publishers understanding
14.1.1.3. Users in Japan according to Steamspy statistics amount to 2.4 million
14.1.1.4. Grandia 2 remasterise sur Steam apres un sondage, donc les sondages marchent
14.1.1.5. bayonetta designer Kamiya Hideki not interested inSteam
14.1.2. GOG Ltd
14.1.3. Humble Bundle
14.2. Retailers
14.2.1. Micromania
14.2.1.1. Distribute more copies of the game
14.2.1.1.1. Publishers have upper hand in negotiations
14.2.1.2. There is no demand for certain types of japanese games
14.2.1.3. 1/100 achete un jeu reserve non-AAA jap
14.2.1.4. Lors des soldes les jeux japs sont les premiers a partir
14.2.1.5. 2 copies recues en magasin, pas assez d'offre
14.2.1.6. 0 reza sur 3/4 des jeux japs
14.2.1.7. aucun PLV, point of sale display par les studios japs, alors qu'Assassins creed a eu tout un univers cree autour des jeux
14.2.1.8. 10% de casual gamers micromania pensent que un jeu equivaut a un autre
14.2.2. Fnac
14.2.2.1. Warn retailers in advance for a release date or for upcoming game
14.2.2.1.1. Nobody knows if and when jap games are coming out in EU
14.3. Shipping
14.3.1. Sim-ship
14.3.1.1. 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
14.3.2. Post-gold
14.4. Dates
14.4.1. Rentree des classes au Japon en Avril
15. Sales
15.1. Usually a successful console game will sell 2 million units without PR or MKT
15.2. Japan
15.2.1. Top 10 selling games in Japan were all Nintendo with 8 of them being for 3DS
15.2.2. PS4 has currently 40 million units sold worldwide
15.2.3. Not a single Japanese game listed in U.K's 2014 best selling games
15.2.4. Japan is 1/5 of global spend on games
15.2.5. overall market for games in japan is double that of 2005
15.3. US
15.3.1. Blizzard and Valve turn up blanks in Japan
15.4. EU
15.5. Physical
15.6. Digital
16. Japanese video games noteworthy for mistakes
16.1. Metal Gear Solid 5
16.1.1. Cost more than $80 million to produce