The Japanese industry's doing fine? "Wishful thinking" says Inafune

Soul Sacrifice designer Keiji Inafune has expressed concern over the state of the Japanese games industry, and has called on studios in the country to break through their stagnation and achieve greatness once more.

Speaking with IGN, Inafune said, "Some developers are saying [the] Japanese game industry is still doing fine, but that's wishful thinking. Words are not enough, we must act and prove it. Unless at least a few titles from Japan make it to the top 10 games of the year worldwide, we won't prove it.

"I hope Japanese game developers are breaking through the stagnation. However, the reality isn't as good as I want it to be. I see they're starting to be aware of the problem and that they have to do something.

"They know they have to learn more from western games and create games that'll sell more in the western market. However, they don't know what to do or how to do it. Even worse, their pride gets in the way, preventing them from learning from overseas developers. As a result, they end up staying in the domestic market rather than going global."

What do you think? Is Japanese development stuck in a rut? Do Japanese studios keep following the same ideas over and over, or is there real innovation at hand? Let us know below.

Thanks GI.biz.