A popular theme of late is how Japan has lost its edge. The country isn't where it should be. But, says one game developer, it isn't technology that is holding back Japan. It's ambition.
Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima expressed his opinion after watching a TV program on foreign students studying manga in Japan. He was impressed at how driven the foreign students were.
"The Game Industry is very similar," Kojima tweeted. "The West is very motivated. The younger generation of Japan is losing. The designers and to-be-designers in the West have the focus, ambition, and ability to make their dream become true. So it is not the Japanese technology or culture that is losing, we are lacking the motivation."
Kojima also notes that fewer and fewer Japanese studying are studying abroad. There just doesn't seem to be the gumption.
In the Post War Era, Japan had no shortage of get up and go. That generation rebuilt the country back up from burning rumble. Of course, Japan didn't do it alone, but the country did do it.
The next generation, likewise, worked hard and helped propel the country towards economic dominance. This generation was born after their war, and their parents had experienced the hardships firsthand.
The current generation was born during Japan's "Bubble Economy" and came of age during the country's "Lost Decade" of economy stagnation. Is it this generation that lacks motivation?
The Game Industry is very similar [Twitlonger via Twitter via Eurogamer] [Pic]