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Orientalism: When Exotic or Japanese-looking Imagery is Used to Sell Games in the U.S.

"Shogun: Total War" is a real-time simulation of feudal Japanese warfare by American game company, Electronic Arts.

Why would a non-Japanese game developer want to use Japanese themes in their games? There is certainly enough interest by American gamers in the "cool" parts of Japanese history to create a market for Japanese-themed games in the U.S., but you would think that this market would already be filled by games from Japan. Actually, this is not the case. While there are a few classics like "Nobunaga's Ambition" by Koei, Japanese games that treat Japanese history in a serious and factual way are surprisingly few in number. The majority of Japanese games which feature ninja or samurai-type characters tend to paint Japanese history in a highly romanticized, parodical, and unrealistic way. Young Japanese people seem to be showing a lack of interest in Japanese history. For them, Japanese history is a subject that they must learn about every day in school, not just a fun topic that a history class in an America high school might focus on for a few weeks. When young Japanese are looking for something to do with their leisure time, Japanese history is, understandably, not a popular first choice. Take, for example, samurai-themed television programs in Japan which are usually aimed at older generations, not young video game players. Wacky ninja games like "Goemon" will sell in America, but there are a large number of young Americans who are more than ready to play a serious game about 'the way of the ninja' or 'feudal Japanese warfare.' After all, there are already American games that deal with almost every other part of history you could imagine. Since feudal Japan is often considered to be an interesting part of world history, there is certainly a market in America for this type of game, and this market is filled by American game makers because Japanese developers don't occupy it. These Japanese history-themed American games are usually highly historical, and don't rely on the supernatural as their Japanese counterparts tend to.

"Oni" is an American game that uses anime-style imagery. (Playstation 2 version pictured)

Historical games are easily explainable, but what is much more perplexing is an anomaly in the international video game market that goes by the name of "Oni." "Oni" is an American PC game that uses anime-style art and themes. The theme and look of the game seems to borrow a lot from popular "cyberpunk" anime titles like "Ghost in the Shell" and "Armitage III." The setting of the game is a futuristic Japan, and all of the characters have Japanese names; and the characters don't just look like anime, they sound like anime too. The overdone voice performances in the game seem reminiscent of anime which has been poorly dubbed into English.¹ The game play, however, is nothing like that of a Japanese video game; it seems rather similar to American third-person 3-D action titles like "Tomb Raider."

Why does "Oni" exist when there are already plenty of Japanese games that use anime-style art and themes? Well, it is commonly known that the internet has played a large part in the propagation of anime's popularity in the U.S. Therefore, it is probable that a large number of American anime fans are also avid PC users. We can also assume that a considerable portion of avid PC users also tend to play games on their PC, and as explained earlier², the term "PC games" in the U.S. almost always refers to American games. Therefore, it does not take a large stretch of the imagination to think that a considerable number of American anime fans are also fans of American video games. "Oni" is a game that brings anime-style art work and themes to the American game genre. It is a game for Americans who like the Japanese art style, but prefer American-style video games.

Click one of the following links to continue to the other sections of this editorial:

1. Introduction: A Brief History of the U.S. Video Game Market

2. Japanese vs. American Video Games - Do Cultural Differences Exist in Game Production?

3. Assimilation of Japanese 'Otherness' into the U.S. Market

5. American Games in Japan: The Other Side

6. The Asian Video Game Market: Not Profitable Enough?

7. Conclusion

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