Inafune: Japanese games dev "5 years behind," Capcom "barely keeping up"

Capcom dev lead Keiji Inafune, now infamous for his remarks on the state of the Japanese gaming industry, has turned his guns on his own employer.

Speaking to the NYT, Inafune said the development community in Japan is "five years behind," with Capcom struggling to keep pace.

"I look around Tokyo Games Show, and everyone's making awful games; Japan is at least five years behind," he said at TGS last week.

"Capcom is barely keeping up. I want to study how Westerners live, and make games that appeal to them."

His comments contract sharply with those he made at Capcom's TGS event last week, where he said the Japanese games industry was not dead "as long as Capcom is around."

During the same event, Capcom counted on its western friends, announcing it had bought Dead Rising 2 developer Blue Castle Games, as well as roping in English Heavenly Sword and Enslaved developer Ninja Theory for a Devil May Cry reboot called DMC.

There's more through here, featuring quotes from other Japanese industry figureheads, including Square Enix president Yoichi Wada.

[Pic]