Posts tagged Japan
Shadows of the Damned: A new way for Japan?
Oct 24th
Within ten minutes of beginning Shadows of the Damned, you’ve been subjected to a litany of dick jokes, seen a woman burst at the seams (literally), and have been introduced to a protagonist who’s chosen middle name is “Fucking.” Before bringing in the late title card, the main character and his gun/sidekick have a quick discussion about this trip into the underworld is going to be “our own road movie,” setting the scene for what follows.
It’s really easy to discredit Shadows of the Damned as potty humor, old gameplay mechanics, and JAPAN. I know, because for a while this summer, I did. However, after playing Grasshopper’s latest, I’m convinced that not only is this bound to be a cult classic of a video game, but could be a model for the Japanese developer community going forward.
The Long Break, or Doug’s hiatus from console gaming
Oct 8th
Welcome to the Japanese countryside! There are video games here, you just have to squint really hard to find them.
Whenever I’ve moved, one of the last things to get packed up has been my gaming console. Of course, my console has also often been the first thing unpacked once I’ve gotten moved in. Funny how that works. But this time, after moving to Japan in early August, all I’ve played since are iPhone games – until last weekend, I hadn’t picked up a real controller since arriving in the land of Nintendo and Sony.
What the hell happened? Well, a perfect storm of things for me, at least.
First: I didn’t want to bring my Xbox 360 with me to Japan. It’s old, is bound to break (again), and is region-locked. Most importantly, though, I would either have to pack it into my slim luggage allowance or ship it over separately, and neither are worth the trouble. Sometimes you have to be an adult and bring clothing, especially when there’s little chance to buy new threads. Okay, I did bring my Nintendo DS, but it’s now gathering Japanese dust instead of gathering American dust. I’ve got the itch to play games; what to do?
But I can wait. Maybe. I’ve gone two months without playing a game – and longer without playing anything new, frankly – and can afford to wait because real life and the gaming release schedule have allowed me to. I’m too busy getting out of the house and visiting my new friends to spend too much time playing games at the moment, which is good, because there haven’t been a ton of AAA titles coming out this summer. I bemoaned the lack of a year-round release schedule earlier in the year, but I’m quite glad for the break at the moment.
Soon the weather will turn nasty and, as a friend here in Japan said, people will begin to “hide under their kotatsu.” Unlike the U.S., most places in Japan aren’t centrally heated and have very poor insulation, which means you wear lots of sweaters indoors and a kotatsu, a table with a heated blanket. In short, people don’t want to head out and be social; perfect time to catch up on video games, then!
Postscript to the story? Last weekend was my birthday. With enough money and free time on the weekend to go buy a PS3, I broke down and picked one up — a 320 gb model, which now sits happily next to my TV and wireless router. It’s now set up to stream media from my computer, access my U.S. Netflix account, and make use of the Silicon Sasquatch staff PSN share. And I bought a pretty kick-ass game to go along with the system, too, one that I’m excited to write about soon.
After the long break, it’s good to be back.
The Backlog: No Need for a Memorial edition
May 30th
We honestly can't remember what Snake is memorializing here, but the old soldier sure is rocking an appropriately solemn mustache
Don’t call it a comeback? We’ve been through down periods before, and we’ve come back stronger before, but this one feels good. We’ve got a four-man strong Backlog that is incredibly lengthy (helped along by Tyler’s mini-article about RPGs) and features as disparate things as L.A. Noire, Fallout 3, Chrono Trigger, LAN parties, Doug’s sports games, Bayonetta, and more.
There are also more promises to write again, so please be on the lookout online, on Twitter, on Facebook, in RSS feeds and via smoke signals to see when we’re publishing great articles once again. So, without further ado, TO THE BACKLOG!
Backlog: Portals to a New World edition
Apr 24th
Happy Easter! Or, in particularly snarky corners of The Internet, Zombie Jesus Day! We’ve got Tyler back again extolling the virtues of digital downloads, Nick and Aaron digging into Portal 2, and Doug still playing innkeeper and digital tyrant. So without further ado, to the backlog!
Editorial: Comfort Gaming in a Time of Crisis
Apr 13th
Pull up a seat, as Sasquatch contributor Tyler has a story to tell.
It has been casually mentioned here on Silicon Sasquatch before but if you didn’t know, I’ve lived in Japan for the last year. You also should know that Japan recently suffered a rather large earthquake, followed by a ten-meter tsunami and a catastrophic failure at one of the major nuclear reactors Japan uses to power its rather demanding electrical grid. I’ve been here for all of it and all I can do is watch it unfold.
At the time of the earthquake I lived in a rural town north of Sendai in the Miyagi prefecture. Luckily, we were far enough inland to avoid the tsunami but the shock of the earthquake was certainly felt. From a personal standpoint, this couldn’t have hit at a worse time; it was the end of the school year and my work visa was up for renewal. In the two weeks to come I needed to move, start a new position in the Kanto region outside of Tokyo and renew all my official documents here with the government — and Japanese bureaucracy is no joke. For myself, my friends, coworkers and students, however, we were essentially stranded. With the power out trains stopped, and even if they could be made operational many lines were damaged. Major roadways south went through Sendai and thus were closed off; regardless, gas stations also were shut down. To make matters worse, it was snowing.
For the time being all we could do is wait. We waited in our apartments without heat or electricity, we waited in school gyms that had been made into refuge shelters, we even waited in a hot spring hotel as it was our only source of hot water. For the first half of the week we didn’t even have any cell service. No way to find out what was going on unless we attempted to read the local newspaper, and no way to contact our loved ones. When we did get service again we begun to hear news about the Fukushima nuclear reactor and I began to wonder if ignorance had been bliss.
It’s difficult to keep a level head in those sort of moments. I know many a foreigner living in southern parts of Japan farther from the dangers that simply gave up and left. For us with no means of departure, even if we wanted to leave, panicking wasn’t exactly a reasonable option. Daylight hours would obviously be spent taking care of necessities like finding food, water, etc. But with the other time I had, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say gaming helped me get through it.
Why Nintendo Is (Probably) Sticking to Friend Codes
Jan 17th
Miyamoto says, "３DSがフレンド・コードを使うのはもちろん！"
A couple weeks ago, Nintendo held an event in Japan to spin hype for the upcoming 3DS handheld system. The Nintendo World 2011 event featured the grand, public unveiling of the soon-to-be-released system to the Japanese public, with almost all of the launch titles playable. Check that link for event details, but it’s what came after that’s interesting.
Rising Sun Rising: The Reinvigoration of Japanese Developers
Sep 21st
The 2010 Tokyo Game Show, which concluded last week, may have showcased the re-awakening of Japanese gaming innovation
If you’re a big fan of video games, there’s a very good likelihood you have played and enjoyed the fruits of Japanese video game developers’ innovation. From Super Mario Bros. to Final Fantasy VII to Street Fighter II and back again, many of the highlights of gaming have come from the land of the rising sun.
However, it wouldn’t be controversial to say that, for the last console generation, the games that have set the standard worldwide have come from Western developers — both American and European. One of Japanese gaming’s most prominent developers, Resident Evil creator Keiji Inafune, even said as much to the New York Times: “I look around Tokyo Games Show, and everyone’s making awful games; Japan is at least five years behind,” he said. The same article estimated that Japanese developers, publishers and manufacturers owned as much as 50 percent of the gaming market in 2002; this has fallen to just 10 percent. While this lull is due to many reasons — including a dearth of creativity and the shifting Japanese market — what was shown last week at the Tokyo Game Show may be indicative of a real revival.
Adventures in Akihabara: Silicon Sasquatch Tackles Japan
May 10th
In March, Silicon Sasquatch senior contributor Doug Bonham spent four weeks traveling through Asia. Here is a first-hand report after seeing Japanese gaming culture, specifically in Tokyo, up close and personal. All photos by Doug Bonham, 2010.
Japan has had an undeniable influence on the video game industry. One of the main reasons why I began studying the Japanese language, why I continued studying that through to an undergraduate major, and why I am now in a graduate program with a focus on east Asia is because of my love of video games, and this historic influence. I can’t deny my nerdy roots. That curiosity has turned into a respect and academic desire to study other cultures, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say gaming sparked some of that. That is how I found myself spending a month in Asia in March, traveling through Japan, South Korea, and China, visiting factories and hearing business lectures.
The Backlog: Life During Boretime edition
Mar 5th
There’s not much to say this week. Doug and Aaron are both on trips of varying intensity and length, and I’m once again at the helm. But I’m not jealous! There’s a quiet dignity to be found in staying at home, you know. And it saves money. Really, it’s the only reasonable way to live in these uncertain times.
Yep.
I mean, what kind of person would really want to go on a whirlwind tour of Asia for a whole month? Doug. Doug’s the guy. And, wow, big deal — the first weekend with amazing weather in the Pacific Northwest. “Hey everybody, we need to go party at the coast now!” That’s definitely what Aaron said when he left to go party at the coast with his totally awesome and probably quite attractive friends.
But no. I’m fine. I’m fine! Just, you know, read this thing and leave me to my unbridled joy.
Daily Recap: May 11, 2009
May 11th
Our three day extravaganza of Fallout 3 DLC reviews is finally over, capped-off by the best DLC Bethesda has to offer: Broken Steel. We hope you enjoyed the weekend feature and found it to be informative–maybe even life-changing.
But, I’ll be honest here and say I’m completely fine with not playing Fallout 3 in any capacity for a few months.
Please, Vault Boy…no more
Today’s batch of industry news has annoying legal teams crushing fan-made dreams, enough Japanese DS owners for Nintendo to start a conscription-based army, one announced title that no one really is surprised by and a perplexing possible addition to the English language that all gamers love to hate, but also use incessantly. Read the rest of this entry »