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[ShadyAcshuns]

The beasts from the East.

 

[Kokoloko85]

Both make great games.

Baldurs Gate 3, Witcher 3, God of War, ND games

Zelda TOTK, Elden Ring/Sekiro, RE4remake, FF7Rebirth

 

[Labadal]

I don't like doing these kinds of comparisons, but if I look at my purchasing history:

West: 5 games
East: 15 games

On my wishlist (including already released games):

West: 7
East: 30

All western games were AA or Indie games.

 

[Roberts]

East has higher highs, but lows are so bad it’s unbearable.

West is more safe but consistent.

That is exactly what I had in mind but couldn’t put it into words. Certain western games can be just dull and boring - you play them for a while and then just quietly abandon them yet certain Japanese games are “fuck this dweeb shit!” from a get go.

 

[Boralf]

The north

 

[SlimySnake]

Western media is currently in a Dark Age. Eastern media is currently in a Golden Age. I’m not even a weeb, it’s just the stone cold truth.

It’s the cold heart truth but you are still a weeb.

 

[nial]

Valve are the only company that can save us.

I think Valve not making games anymore is the best thing for us.

Home - Sweet Baby Inc

sweetbabyinc.com

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

Western media is currently in a Dark Age. Nintendo is currently in a Golden Age. I’m a weeb.

FTFY

 

[Danjin44]

For my taste, easily East…..it’s not even close for me.

I can’t think of single western game I should be excited about for this year or next year or even year after that.

 

[mystech]

I voted for East 100% Starfield literally puts me sleep while playing meanwhile Elden Ring keeps me coming back 2 years later and I’m itching to play the DLC which is weird for me since I NEVER buy DLC. FF7 rebirth looks amazing. Dragons Dogma 2 looks amazing! The East puts out some crappy games too but when they really go for it… it really shows.

Now that being said, when it comes to pushing new technologies and new trends, the West wins. Games like Alan Wake 2 and Spider-Man 2 are good examples of pushing the new consoles in a way I haven’t really seen from the Eastern studios. The western studios were also the first ones to set the trend for open worlds. We went from Final Fantasy being the standard template for RPGs to Skyrim being the new template.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Yup, for every Tears of the Kingdom or Elden Ring or Yakuza, we get trashy ass CAG or RPG's that are doing the exact same things they did 20+ years ago in the PS2.

Yes because the West doesn't make yearly disposable garbage games either on par with gaming junk food.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

On a serious note, there are games that japanese developers simply don't/can't make

 

[Krappadizzle]

Yes because the West doesn't make yearly disposable garbage games either on par with gaming junk food.

Should one list out the thousands of crap gacha games from the eastern market to try and prove a point as well? It's a dumb comparison and you should feel silly.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Should one list out the thousands of crap gacha games from the eastern market to try and prove a point as well? It's a dumb comparison and you should feel silly.

You want me to list of all the yearly rehash sports games? Sure there's more gacha garbage but Baldur's Gate 3 alone isn't gonna be enough to tip the scales against Eastern games right now. Not even close.

 

[Krappadizzle]

You want me to list of all the yearly rehash sports games? Sure there's more gacha garbage but Baldur's Gate 3 alone isn't gonna be enough to tip the scales against Eastern games right now. Not even close.

 

[Luc2010]

Go woke go broke, bitches! I don't play this political bullshit.

 

[Guilty_AI]

You want me to list of all the yearly rehash sports games? Sure there's more gacha garbage but Baldur's Gate 3 alone isn't gonna be enough to tip the scales against Eastern games right now. Not even close.

We've been discussing and citing multiple games from the west this whole time... i have never seen anything like System Shock, Cyberpunk 2077 or Ctrl Alt Ego coming out of an eastern developer

 

[TGO]

I feel the East has come back with vengeance after the PS3 era and the West is cutting off it's nose to spite it's face

 

[balls of snow]

West is an abobination of gaming. Rather then presenting a compelling stuff and entertaiment to their audince, they rather focus on delivering messages and being politically correct, to the point of damaging storic events and things people care about. All for the sake of a few person that don't give a fuck about about games.

East is based. It gives exactly what the player wants. No bullshit, no moral crap and no life lessons.

If all you get from Nier Automata is sexy 2b and not a life lesson then Yoko Taro needs to be more overt in his games.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Japan only on the East.
Korea and China are unproven.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Out of curiosity, here's all the game purchases I made in 2023 and the first part of 2024 sorted into East and West.

2023:

Eastern made games: 81
Western made games: 146

2024:

Eastern made games: 16
Western made games: 4

Worth mentioning that a large portion of the western made titles bought in 2023 were either AA or indie.

Now I'm interested to see how this will change by the time 2024 comes to a close, as the first quarter of the year looks to be lacking big Western releases compared to Japanese ones.

 

[nial]

Now I'm interested to see how this will change by the time 2024 comes to a close, as the first quarter of the year looks to be lacking big Western releases compared to Japanese ones.

Helldivers 2 carried Q1 2024 for the mainstream Western biz.

 

[Lethal01]

Despite what you think, 2 of the top 5 Visual novels in VN database are not from japan (Katawa Shoujo & Doki Doki Literature Club). Similarly on Steam, many of the best user-rated VNs are also non-eastern (VA-11 Hall A, Bag of Milk series, DDLC again, etc). So there's clearly a lot of love and respect for said attempts.

Okay, but I don't think they are as good, if something being popular was enough to agree it was good then the west would win just based on cod and GTA.

Aside from VNs, you'll also see games like Crosscode, Neon White, Stardew Valley, Long Live the Queen, Momodora, A hat in time, Undertale, etc. All greatly reviewed and respected games that drawn inspiration from classic JP games or aesthetics. Crosscode in particular is considered by many one of the best JRPG ever made despite not even being japanese.

Sure, again, I think for every strong attempt by the west there are 3 more games I like more from Japan

 

[gow3isben]

Japan only on the East.
Korea and China are unproven.

Lies of P bro

 

[Guilty_AI]

Okay, but I don't think they are as good, if something being popular was enough to agree it was good then the west would win just based on cod and GTA.

Have you even played the games i mentioned tho. And they're still niche genres, they're not popular the same way COD or GTA are, they're popular among enthusiasts of specific types of games.

Sure, again, I think for every strong attempt by the west there are 3 more games I like more from Japan

Duh, we're speaking of traditional JP genres. All i'm saying is you'll find plenty of these great attempts amongst western devs, yet you'll have trouble finding even one eastern FPS.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Helldivers 2 carried Q1 2024 for the mainstream Western biz.

Yup, one of the 4 games made in the West that I bought this year lol.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

my favourite games over the last few years have been from the east - Resident Evil 4 Remake, Elden Ring, MGS3. Also enjoyed a few games from Europe too.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Lies of P bro

Not a fan

 

[The Shepard]

PS1 Era. East
PS2 Era. East
PS3 Era. West
PS4 Era. West
PS5 Era. East

 

[Lethal01]

Have you even played the games i mentioned tho. And they're still niche genres, they're not popular the same way COD or GTA are, they're popular among enthusiasts of specific types of games.

Yes I played each one, most of them on the day of release, and atleast 3 I played over a year before release.

Duh, we're speaking of traditional JP genres. All i'm saying is you'll find plenty of these great attempts amongst western devs, yet you'll have trouble finding even one eastern FPS.

Yes and like I said, That is almost a point in japans favor, I am not a big fps fan I think the genres that Japan has been making more games in are more compelling.
Like Pesident Evil and Metroid went first person and I really wish they didn't.

The end result is that Japan is jut making far more great games

 

[Guilty_AI]

Yes and like I said, That is almost a point in japans favor, I am not a big fps fan I think the genres that Japan has been making more games in are more compelling.
Like Pesident Evil and Metroid went first person and I really wish they didn't.

The end result is that Japan is jut making far more great games

Again, i'm not talking about your specific taste. Even if you don't like FPSs, plenty of people do. Similarly, even if you don't like Katawa Shoujo and VA-11 Hall A, these games are respected even among JP audiences.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Not a fan

stella blade bro

 

[kurisu_1974]

Cyberpunk 2077 is from Eastern Europe.

Larian Studios are in East Flanders.

 

[Lethal01]

Again, i'm not talking about your specific taste. Even if you don't like FPSs, plenty of people do. Similarly,

Yes and I'm saying that people arent ignoring those fps games, they know they exist and think they arent as good despite their popularity and thus they vote for the east

even if you don't like Katawa Shoujo and VA-11 Hall A, these games are respected even among JP audiences.

Didn't say they were bad, just that great games release yearly

 

[SlimySnake]

I think the west has had a pretty abysmal last few years by their own studios. I think theyruled the PS3 and PS4 era but floundered during the cross gen era thanks to a lot of studios phoning in cross gen games that felt more like DLCs than ground up reboots. Not to mention the gaas fad that ruined studios like rocksteady, crystal dynamics, bioware and almost ruined naughty dog.

That said, Japanese devs release fewer games so its a bit of an unfair comparison. People can look at ubisoft trash, ea and activision nonsense, and say hey, west sucks. I see starfield posted here as if that is an indicator of anything. its an anomaly for a bethesda game to be that underwhelming, its not the norm. I can look at FF16 which to me was just as flawed as starfield as say japanese developers are trash.

While I loved Zelda ToTK, RE4, RE Village, Bayonetta 3, and FF7, it's not like these japanese devs are out there creating brand new IPs and pushing the industry forward. i didnt personally care for Elden Rings precisely because i have souls fatigue after literally 6 games in 10 years. How is that different from ubisoft sequelitis? They are way better designed, but im not going to pretend that they are innovating every year. And i say that as someone who just gave Zelda goty for its physics implementation. its not the norm by any means. You have to go back all the way to Death Stranding in 2019 to get something truly original and innovative.

On the west side, I dont see the level design Japanese developers are so good at crafting, but the best developers come very close. Id put TLOU2, GOW, Star Wars, It Takes Two, etc right up there with those Japanese games above in terms of gameplay, and they are leagues ahead in storytelling and visuals.

I do think Japanese devs will wipe the floor with western devs this year thanks to FF7, Dragons Dogma, Rise of Ronin, but lets face it, it';s a very slow year with MS first party and ubisoft studios pushing out most of the big games. Wait till 2025, and you will see western studios deliver again.

 

[NeonDelta]

Thought this thread was about a sequel to North vs South

 

[IAmRei]

Who cares

Right now 173 and 29 people cares

 

[sachos]

I have a huge bias towards Japanese games so i voted East. Imo the East has on average better gameplay design and more interesting characters/art design while the West has technical prowess on their side, cinematic style storytelling/narratives and probably the Indie scene is bigger too although im not sure.

 

[alucard0712_rus]

If 'East' means Japan then I vote for East. Japanese developers are best in my opinion.

 

[hemo memo]

West for creativity and more experimentation for sure. Especially on the indie side.