Gamespot just did an article on MMOGs in China, which many percieve as the next big market for U.S. manufactured entertainment goods. The problem comes, as IDC senior analyst Jun-Fwu Chin says:
"For an American-based or English-language-based game to successfully enter the market, the criteria is not based in language, it is based on content. Chinese gamers want something close to their culture." |
This statement, I find a bit humourous... not because I don't believe there is a cultural divide between North America and Asia (which there most certainly is), but because he believes that he knows what gamers want and that the gamers themselves know what they want.
When people have choices in the games they are allowed to play, (rather than games being approved through cultural ministries), I think we will find that at the core, North American and Asian gamers want one thing from their games: fun. This is irregardless of any factor, historical or cultural -- last year, when EA's Medal of Honor: Rising Sun came out in Japan, many thought the game which featured the re-enactment of the WWII conflict would sink the game in Japan. Japanese players wouldn't want to play an American soldier killing Japanese soldiers... but to the surprise of the media, the game did extrodinarily well. In this case, the subject matter did not make a difference, simply having great gameplay made it a success.
Leave a comment