Topic: Anime video games compared to games based on American cartoons...

[tendoboy1984]

Why does it seem that games based on anime are higher quality than the games based on American cartoons?

[broodwars]

Why does it seem that games based on anime are higher quality than the games based on American cartoons?

The two are made for different audiences. In the West, animation has sadly become the realm of children, so the games based on Western animation tend to be made for a very young audience. In Japan, there is anime made for children, but also animation made for older audiences (largely meaning teenagers).  For that matter, manga hits an even older age, and most anime is based on a manga or light novel.  So the games based on that material tend to hit at a slightly older and more sophisticated age.

I also think the Japanese just plain stick better teams on their anime games than Western companies stick on their games based on Western animation, largely because of that age discrepancy.

It's sad, really...I would have adored a truly great game based on Avatar: The Last Airbender or Batman: The Animated Series.  I'll just have to take the excellent Batman: Arkham games in the place of the latter considering all the re-used talent from that series.  Until Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, I don't think we'd managed a good Transformers game either, for that matter.

[Oblivion]

I would've loved an Avatar MMO (all the fan ones suck) or fighting game.

[Ian Sane]

Japanese companies made better games based on American cartoons like DuckTales and TMNT as well.  I think the real source of it is that Japanese videogame companies have a higher standard of quality.  There are incredibly talented American devs of course but American publishers like EA or THQ will INTENTIONALLY make shovelware.  For example practically any Western publisher's handhelds games are ****.  They don't care, they don't try.  They figure stupid kids will play any damn game if it has a popular cartoon character on it so they don't put any effort into making a decent game.  That doesn't seem to be the corporate culture in Japan.  It seems that bad Japanese games are more like failed experiments.  A crappy Japanese games seems to be some half-baked concept that turned out wrong.  A lot of crappy American games are unfinished, rushed pieces of **** where the priority was entirely to get it out by this Christmas or to coincide with some film's release date or the start of a sports season - the Atari E.T. approach.

If EA or Activision was assigned to make a game based on anime or manga it would SUCK ASS because they would take the same "the stupid fans will buy any old crap" approach.  The source material has no impact.

[tendoboy1984]

Japanese companies made better games based on American cartoons like DuckTales and TMNT as well.  I think the real source of it is that Japanese videogame companies have a higher standard of quality.  There are incredibly talented American devs of course but American publishers like EA or THQ will INTENTIONALLY make shovelware.  For example practically any Western publisher's handhelds games are ****.  They don't care, they don't try.  They figure stupid kids will play any damn game if it has a popular cartoon character on it so they don't put any effort into making a decent game.  That doesn't seem to be the corporate culture in Japan.  It seems that bad Japanese games are more like failed experiments.  A crappy Japanese games seems to be some half-baked concept that turned out wrong.  A lot of crappy American games are unfinished, rushed pieces of **** where the priority was entirely to get it out by this Christmas or to coincide with some film's release date or the start of a sports season - the Atari E.T. approach.

If EA or Activision was assigned to make a game based on anime or manga it would SUCK ASS because they would take the same "the stupid fans will buy any old crap" approach.  The source material has no impact.

Plenty of American / Western developers have high standards of quality, it's just that they view games made for kids and women as shovelware. The Western industry is dominated by this patriarchal attitude where the only good games are made for men.


The Japanese don't have that mindset, they strive for the same quality in all games, regardless of age or demographic.


And yes I realize I pretty much reiterated the same thing you just stated.

[Louieturkey]

And yes I realize I pretty much reiterated the same thing you just stated.

LOL, I was reading your post thinking that you were basically reiterating what Ian said.  Awesome that you saw it too.

[broodwars]

The Japanese don't have that mindset, they strive for the same quality in all games, regardless of age or demographic.

Wow, you actually managed to say that with a straight face.  Japan's just as capable of making crap with barely any effort put into it as the West is.  Dynasty Warriors, anyone?  New Super Mario Bros., anyone?  Wii Music?  The likely overwhelming majority of visual novel games?  I could go on, but you get the point.

[Oblivion]

Dynasty Warriors is my guilty pleasure. :3

[oohhboy]

The Japanese definitely have a different outlook on game development. Far more of them see making games as prestige projects than straight up money making endeavours. Money is still a factor, but it isn't a main driver in a lot of the games. Hence why a lot of games that don't play or sell well tend to come off as failed experiments rather than commerial drivel cash in that is out to fail.

There is also a strong export filter effect that that prevents a lot of shovelware that any development community produces from reaching the west creating a natural bias.

Then there are the games that don't have a natural market in the west. Your Hentai games, dating games, the overly complex near unplayable tactical RPGs, the ultra grind based RPGs, bullet hell shooters, visual novels, mech games, anime licenses.

[Oblivion]

Then there are the games that don't have a natural market in the west. Your Hentai games...

Says you. :

[oohhboy]

*Cough*S.U.P.E.R*Cough*