Ninja Gaiden's Itagaki: Japan Needs a Strong Leader - Me!
The whole country's gone up the swanney, and he'd like to fix it.
Outspoken Japanese games designer Tomonobu Itagaki has criticised the government, culture and sensibilities of his homeland for for 'failing to understand the lessons of capitalism'. He adds that the talk of the Japanese game industry dying is merely a symptom of a larger problem the country has. He has a possible solution though, he could lead the country.
When asked in an interview about comments from fellow Japanese designers of a decline in the industry, Itagaki responded, "I agree. Japan failed to import capitalism, or rather, it failed to understand the lessons of capitalism, of the free market economy. What I’m talking about isn’t just limited to the games industry. I’m talking about what has happened in Japan since the ’60s. Japan’s destiny – the destiny of this era – was already determined then."
Referring to the country's success between the 1960s and 1990s, Itagaki opined that while "they were doing great," the older generation failed to continue establishing and improving education and infrastructure. "They became too interested in making money rather than evaluating themselves."
While the designer revealed that "there are a lot of things I haven’t done in this industry, so I’ll probably stay in it until I die," he did say that he'd like to be a politician someday to fix these deep-rooted problems in Japanese society. "Yes [I'd be interested]. There have been some offers for me to become a political candidate in Japan, and we do need a strong leader.
"I’m a real Japanese; I know to look inside at my own strengths and weaknesses, to know where my individuality lies. I only talk like this because I want people in the UK to know there are people who actually care about these things. Rather than just saying that the Japanese videogame industry is over, really thinking about why."
Bearing in mind that Itagaki has produced some of the finest hack'n'slash (Ninja Gaiden) and bouncy-boobed beach volleyball (DOAX), how do you think he'd stand up on the world stage? Tell us in comments below.
When asked in an interview about comments from fellow Japanese designers of a decline in the industry, Itagaki responded, "I agree. Japan failed to import capitalism, or rather, it failed to understand the lessons of capitalism, of the free market economy. What I’m talking about isn’t just limited to the games industry. I’m talking about what has happened in Japan since the ’60s. Japan’s destiny – the destiny of this era – was already determined then."
Referring to the country's success between the 1960s and 1990s, Itagaki opined that while "they were doing great," the older generation failed to continue establishing and improving education and infrastructure. "They became too interested in making money rather than evaluating themselves."
While the designer revealed that "there are a lot of things I haven’t done in this industry, so I’ll probably stay in it until I die," he did say that he'd like to be a politician someday to fix these deep-rooted problems in Japanese society. "Yes [I'd be interested]. There have been some offers for me to become a political candidate in Japan, and we do need a strong leader.
"I’m a real Japanese; I know to look inside at my own strengths and weaknesses, to know where my individuality lies. I only talk like this because I want people in the UK to know there are people who actually care about these things. Rather than just saying that the Japanese videogame industry is over, really thinking about why."
Bearing in mind that Itagaki has produced some of the finest hack'n'slash (Ninja Gaiden) and bouncy-boobed beach volleyball (DOAX), how do you think he'd stand up on the world stage? Tell us in comments below.
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Tomonobu Itagaki
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Comments
tyrion 10 Aug 2010 12:24
1/1
Itagaki wrote:
They became too interested in making money rather than evaluating themselves.
Sounds like they "got" capitalism just fine. :-)