Extra Credits

The New Future of Japan - The Auteur Movement (2015x27)

Air date: Jul 15, 2015

Celebrity game developers from Japan have become frustrated with AAA development and begun breaking off to form their own, small teams. The AAA side of the industry is shrinking worldwide, focused solely on games that have marketability and thereby forcing derivative games with an emphasis on graphics over gameplay. In the US, this spurred small, relatively unknown developers to create games that succeeded on the back of innovations that broke with traditional rules. In Japan, however, it's famous developers who - frustrated with the limitations of large studios - have broken off to form small teams and return to their roots, perfecting old school game genres that they themselves created. While the success of this new direction is uncertain, the industry as a whole could stand to benefit from an increased focus on craftsmanship in our games.