Otaku

An American in Tokyo

Does that make any sense?

Yes. These all sound like single-player games.

Yes.

In the U.S., gaming is pretty social/competitive. Is there any of that in Japan?

This is just my impression, but competition pretty much mostly happens in game centers, i.e., fighting games. I'm not sure why, but my impression is that in the U.S., it's common to invite your friends over to play; but here in Japan, it seems like kids play outside when they are together. They don't come over to each other's houses. Even as adults, that lifestyle continues. I'm sure there are many reasons for that. Here in Tokyo, people live far apart. If you co-worker lives on the other side of town, it's an hour or more by train to get together.

Also, Tokyo apartments are small, so there is less room to party.

So this is why arcades have continued to flourish?

Well, I'm not sure they are flourishing, but they do still exist. There's many things different about Japanese arcades than American, though. The typical arcade is 25% redemption games, like UFO Catcher and Purikura; 25% "arcade games"; and 50% gambling games (not pachinko). So the arcades are not just running on what we consider arcade games. In fact, I suspect arcade games are making the least money compared to redemption games and gambling games. Some of the gambling games are amazing! Like Sega's newest horse racing game. There are lots of those types of things from every developer (Capcom, Konami, Sega, etc.)

So what kind of community is there around gaming in Japan? Forums?

The biggest forum in Japan is called "Channel 2," pronounced "nee-chan." It's kind of considered the slashdot of Japan, although it's a forum, not a blog; but all the news in Japan, especially "geek" news, happens there first. If you want to find out what the fans are talking about, that's the place to check

How would you compare the attitudes and opinions and how they are expressed to an American gaming forum?

This is a generalization, and I know there are exceptions, but Japanese culture is known for being more polite. So I have a feeling, the "my favorite game rulez and your favorite game suxors," type of thing is a little less common on average here.

People seem to offer lots of design ideas. Like "I hope it has this feature," and "I would rock if you could do ___ in some level." My impression is that's a little different compared to American discussion.

How practical do you think Nintendo's aim is at expanding the gaming population in Japan? Are more people open to gaming than are now involved?

Well, it certainly seems to have worked with DS and Nintendogs. Lots of the women that got out of games from their PS1 days got back in with Nintendogs. I don't know if they are playing anything else, though. My impression is if anyone can do it, it's Nintendo. They seem to at least have the will. I don't see that kind of will from any other company, Japanese or Western.

Is there any stigma around games as not being feminine? Or as being socially disadvantageous?

Not as much as in the West, but yes. There is also the same "games are for kids." Met lots of woman, and I always ask them about games. Only about one out of 15 or so plays, as far as I can tell.

I'm curious about ninjas and samurai. That's a huge thing in the West. Is there similar interest in Japan? Also, is there an analogous interest in feudal Europe?

There's a pretty huge interest here in ninjas and samurai. It's not just games; there are dramas on TV about samurai pretty much constantly. I don't see any interest in feudal Europe though. And, maybe only slightly related, but there is no interest in elves, dwarfs, orcs, ogres, etc. That "Middle Earth" type of stuff is not part of Japanese culture in any way shape or form.