Legal Niches

Wada on Piracy and ?Japan is Over? Quip

By pete_gallagher

Square Enix President and CEO Yoichi Wada provided some insight and opinions on the Japanese videogame market in a recent interview with Edge-Online.

Wada, who is also Chairman of Japan's Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA), a trade organization designed to promote interactive entertainment, was queried on how piracy is affecting Japanese game makers:

Piracy does a lot of damage, but within the Asian region the majority of damage comes from outside of Japan – not including the Nintendo DS. The R4 continues to inflict tremendous damage to our business. So in tandem with Nintendo, we have brought the issue to court. And we have been able to reach a certain degree of success from the court rulings.

When asked why Western games appear to be shunned by Japanese gamers, Wada answered:

Well, actually, I've found the person that is prejudiced is actually the retailer and not the actual players. The retailers have a prejudice against overseas titles, and they won't procure them.

Wada was asked for his take on a comment from Capcom's Keiji Inafune that Japan's game industry is finished:

To say something so extreme is surprising. I'm surprised Capcom allowed Inafune to say that at TGS. My message by proxy for the Japanese developers who would have heard such a discouraging message is that if they are willing today, then they definitely have the capability to change and face tomorrow.

Head over to Edge for the full article, which also details what's next on Wada's games-to-be-played list and the possibility of using non-Japanese developers on future Square Enix titles.

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on January 06, 2010 (boomark / email).