Ubisoft says subtle racism from journalists explains why ...

[moonspark]

...what?

I mean yeah, I think there are fans out there that would let Nintendo get away with murder, but I seriously doubt racism has anything to do with it. Plenty of developers have similar supporters. Epic Games included.

And even among the most hardcore of fans, I doubt anyone with an ounce of sanity would claim that the plots of Mario or Gears of War are award-winning epics.

[hawthorneluke]

I'll take Gears of War over Bayonetta any time.

And there'll be others that take the opposite. It's all down to preference.
I LOVE a good story, but of course not all games are the same and story is far from the only element making a game (try a book maybe)
Mario's just about the fun.

I think There's a HUGE difference in preference between western and Japanese games though. Some people don't care if the stories are out of this world and far from realistic. Some prefer that they be as creative as possible. It seems like a lot of westerns tend to prefer the more down to earth realistic stories and games, but imo those can be extremely boring and unimaginative. But again, that's just one person's preference.

Mario stars in many games, but they're not all the same. There are tons of different games that just star him, as he's just more likeable than some random character in a rather casual game.
In his trademark games though, of course they're all very similar. It wouldn't be a mario game if they changed all that much. Say, if they keep the platforming but turn it into a darker adventure? Metroid. So of course mario's going to be the same, and mario's pretty much like your favourite chocolate bar or whatever. Sure you like to eat all sorts of tasty food, but when it comes down to just eating a snack once in a while, you don't complain when you find you have more of your favourite snacks left. What's wrong with mario? Does he need to change? If you don't like it or want something different, then you need to find a different game, not demand mario changes. Mario's fine as he is.

Also, when you put out a game that is known to be 100% solid fun for its entire life, which is longer than almost any other game, it has to be good.
Comparing such a thing to say CoD is just laughable. Sure, if CoD was a huge hit for 25 years, then I'm sure it'd continue to sell for a very long time keeping its formula. Maybe it will. Maybe it'll just turn out to be another fad where everyone just ends up bored after a while. Who knows. If you're keeping the customers happy, then you can keep on making the games. If not, then obviously they're going to stop selling. Quite simple really. It's because they sell, because people like them.

[Super Missile]

Meanwhile... 15 years ago...
Little Alex Hutchinson: When I grow up, I'm gonna make games like they do in Japan! They're fun and have bright colors and crazy stories!

Present day...
Big Alex Hutchinson: F-ck Japan!

This guy's kinda awesome. He typifies what happens when the imagination solidifies around the fifteen year mark of a person's life. Don't worry Big Alex Hutchinson, in a few short years, you too will again come to appreciate different flavors. Chocolate Ice Cream is heaven, but if that's all I ever ate... At the end of the day, games should be about fighting evil hula girls because they can. No need to ask or explain why.
Metacritic bonuses are really messing with game developer's outlook.

[KingJames7]

Lol so much fail, no wonder no one likes the French

[Johnknight1]

Woaw, this is pur utter failure. I mean, some companies do get away with this by journalists (Resident Evil 5, Dragon Quest), but Western developers get away with it a lot more.

Call of Duty's craptastic story is split by the gaming media of being "good" and "bad," while the gaming media went berserk over the "great" story of Halo 3(which was mostly recycled stuff from Halo 1, which was disappointing). Gears of War is also another craptastic story that literally is about nothing. Seriously, the point is "aliens invade Earth, save the few humans left," but it gets all muddled in poorly written, poorly explained, and poorly built storylines.

Japanese games (mostly platformers and fighting games like Sonic, Mario, Street Fighter, Tekken, etc) also sometimes don't have much of a story, and instead focus minimally on it, and focus on gameplay. In other words, loads of story details isn't always needed. Ultimately what games are about is PLAYING, DOING, AND EXPERIENCING, NOT WATCHING!!!

Overall, I feel that nearly all "bias" against Western or Japanese developers is people not liking the style that is frequently in one or another... or perhaps, in some situations, "my country is better than your country" extreme nationalism. After all, racism is completely different from nationalism and person preference (we should all be totally accepting of people's personal preference based on games, not race, nation, etc).

In the case of Western games, it is hard to tell the race of the people who made it due to heightened racial diversity in the West. That is unless you are racist against Caucasians (who make up most of the Western population). There is also the fact that many Western developers have Japanese studios and Japanese developers with Western studios, which further adds more diversity.

However, I do on a rare occasional see see this kind of nationalistic opinion in Western journalists and in Japanese journalists alike (although oddly enough, not as frequently in gamers). However, most biases are due to either personal opinion (which as I stated before, is a-okay), blind fanboyism, or ignorance (see: Kotaku, Game Spot).

Really though, if Alex Hutchinson better explained himself with a more detailed opinion and more precise language instead of lazily using the word "racism" (unless that is his opinion, in which case, he's got to have serious mental issues), then nobody with a brain would say he's an idiot. They could disagree, but it would be (aside from idiots and trolls) respectful disagreements.

[wiired]

I knew Nintendo shouldn't have made Bayonetta

[Devil_Rising]

This guy needs to get fired. Not for sharing his wonderful little "opinion". Let him crucify himself. But for doing so as a representative of Ubisoft. What a fucking moron.

[bptboy]

Like Gears of Wars isn't praised for everything besides its craptacular story....oh wait.

Same goes for Bayonetta.

[Koopzilla]

So, journalists are racist against things that aren't Nintendo? Seems the complete opposite to me.

[internet]

oh wow , in what parallel universe this guy is living ? where i mean f$%£¨µ where is the press not overly critical of anything remotely japanese ? did he not catch all those jabs and ridicule many japanese shooters received ? or the universal stupid praise hollywood game changer gta got ?
i think the press is actually overtly biased against the japanese production . For what reasons i don't really know but to reach the opposite conclusion is just so weird . I've never seen any article that would say "well that's good but the japanese do it way better" . Nope nothing close to that ,on the other hand any japanese game is automatically compared to western ones.

oh i see , since he began his shtick with the usual nintendo hate , he could follow it with anything he wants . Even at the very least being totally unprofessional .
And comparing gears of war to bayonetta is just laughable . One is a multimillion overtly acclaimed game , the other could not even reach half a million global sales. As far as ubisoft is concerned , it's not even a challenger , their AC series is aiming for the five eight millions . And those games including gears of wars automatically receive great coverage , borderline event of the decade stuff.

To sum up they've got all the coverage the video game journalist could give , the press actually has been overtly focused on those "hd hardcore cinematic blood and guns " , and the fans do show up in high numbers although in less titles . AND still the guy finds something to complain about . What's the best selling "hardcore blood cinematic story driven mature hd japanese game" ? the half a million ninja gaiden ? the 200.000 us sales bayonetta ? the abysmal sales wise vanquish ? Apart from metal gear and re i can't think of any story driven japanese game that did well.

it's fantastic really , that guy has a real big problem and frankly i don't want to know how it end up with thinking it's okay to say that .
but i guess since one indie guy could say it's all trash , in his mind saying that is not a big stretch .

[KaoZP]

Sounds like a lot of ignorance on Alex's part, actually. The fact that there are cultural differences in this world seems to completely go over his head.

Japanese storytelling and narrative styles are going to differ from those found in many Western cultures. Many people find the differences in perspective and world view to be refreshing and enjoyable.

I can't speak to Bayonetta's story since I've never played the game, but yes, Gears of War's story is garbage. It's derivative, low-brow drivel.