Square Enix President Waxes About The Lack Of Young Developers In Japan

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Many industry executives including Yoichi Wada, CEO of Square Enix, agree that the Japanese video game industry is on a downhill slope. But, why?

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Wada has an idea which he explains in an excellent Ars Technica interview. ā€œWhat I’m most concerned about,ā€ Wada told Ars, ā€œis that the game creator foundation is starting to become exhausted in a sense, because there aren’t as many younger creators that are aspiring to become developers.ā€

 

He isnā€™t exactly sure how this happened, but cites the movement of console manufacturers from Japan to North America as a possibility. Even though two of them, Sony and Nintendo, are Japanese companies Wada says, ā€œBut now Nintendo is practically the only console manufacturer based in Japan…so the console manufacturer as a hub is now missing.ā€

 

Perhaps, creators donā€™t have enough freedom to make the games they want so they leave the industry or lose their passion. Enigmatic and eccentric developer Keita Takahashi said in a separate interview with Gamasutra, ā€œOr maybe I just donā€™t like where I think itā€™s [the video game industry] going. Iā€™m not sure. Thatā€™s probably related to my second frustration. I just canā€™t perceive where the fun is in recent hit video games. I see nothing in them that resonates with me and, their success leaves me feeling confused. The things I find interesting and enjoyable just arenā€™t reflected in the popular games of today and, I feel like thereā€™s not much room for my voice because of that.ā€


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