RattyBatty wrote:
#2 : Feeling entitled to be pampered by heartless multinational companies like a newborn baby is a western thing. More specifically an american baby boomer thing.
It reallyyyyyyyyy runs so much deeper than that. Ever since Dungeons and Dragons 30 years ago or more, Western gaming has always included the player heavily and not underestimated their contributions and their voice. The people who play this genre are likely just as qualified, or more qualified to suggest improvements and offer suggestions.
Don't believe me? Dungeons and Dragons, the entire premise of the game is built on respecting player input. You have a Dungeon Master who uses all of the tools the developer uses and creates his own adventures. In many cases, popular player created content gets adopted by the company who invented the game and the game evolves.
Yet another example, all PC games that had Mod sets that come with it. The players literally make their own versions of the game, oftentimes with amazing content (See every Bethesda RPG since Morrowind).
For as long as I have played Final Fantasy, SE has severely underestimated their player base. They could honestly release update notes with mathematical equations detailing exactly what they did to adjusted damage formulas and the players would instantly know what they meant and appreciate them for it. We still don't even really know what all the basic attributes do, we have an idea but it's not even in the instructions, it's just a complete mystery.
Add to this their policy on updates that barely is even functioning at this point. Contrast this to any major Western company and you'll see a colossal difference. Western game companies are actually building and nourishing communities that they can mobilize to support their games. Check out Valve. Check out Bethesda. Check out BioWare.
Add to this the statements from Capcom in a recent video game conference speech that said that Japan accounts for 6% of their sales right now. 6%! Do you want to see how quickly they are adjusting and communicating with their playerbase? Watch the new trailer for Lost Planet 2 on XBox Live if you have it. It's literally a video of the leader of the project explaining the game and introducing it personally, communicating to his audience.
Edited, Feb 26th 2009 3:59am by JingWoo