The video game industry is crumbling, or is it? Not many notable games have been coming out lately. Then how come we have Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring, and more? They came out of the east side and not the west.
It’s not just about the big bucks; eastern game development has cast a long shadow on the industry. Not just the game design, but we were introduced to the mythologies and eastern culture that is more than meets the eye. Those from the west should think about leveling the playing field now.
Graphics should take a backseat when it comes to video games and let the storytelling steer the wheel. The ones that came recently, like Black Myth: Wukong, do that. Actually, they do well with the graphics part too.
More than that, the mechanics in these games are just a treat. These range from Spirit attacks and transformations in Black Myth to the crowd running away driven by the fear of being wiped from those energy attacks in Sparking Zero.
Today, we are impressed by the games companies like Bandai Namco or Square Enix give us; they certainly have some significant influence on the market. Genshin Impact, a game developed by miHoYo, became a global sensation overnight and made a billion dollars in under six months.
Not that western games haven’t seen something like that, but all of it seems to be a thing of the past. Even the heavy hitters like Call of Duty have succumbed to the business trying to churn out that low-quality content.
It won’t be wrong to say that they are relying on their long-running franchises now. And they now have done that to such an extent that those series’ need saving now. I never thought of seeing games like Battlefield or Call of Duty ever struggling for glory.
As a result, famous video games that we once proudly showed to our friends are seeing a decline in user count and sales altogether. Attention to what those users want is the need of the hour for western developers to weave magic they once used to do.
There’s a risk in diverting away from the path that has proven to be a wellspring of success. But not taking the risk at all isn’t effective either. The west may give those developers a chance to explore new horizons and maybe tap into the way the east develops its video games. Who knows, magic may come out of it.
The worst that can happen is that a game won’t become a success; they aren’t being successful now either. Taking a risk to innovate something in a new IP and not just the long-running franchises is something they can go for. Like exploring more of their own culture like the eastern games do.
If we take a look at western games influenced by eastern culture, we will find some gems out of that analysis. Assassin’s Creed Origins, for one, taps into the mythologies of Egypt. And I don’t think we need to mention Ghost of Tsushima for that matter.
Gamers are drawn to innovative approaches whenever they see some. Western video game developers should think about that thoroughly. They have been a success before; they can be a success now, only if they begin to focus a bit less on turning something into a cash cow.
West, they say, is evolving fast. The gaming industry is doing the same when we consider different markets. New technologies are coming out; some of them, like VR, aren’t really mainstream, but they will be at some point. And mobile gaming is developing at a much faster rate.
East has already tapped into that segment and is generating quality content alongside some juicy revenue streams. Krafton is one extremely popular name when we think about this. It’s all about churning those thoughts that spring out ideas for some quality content to keep the ball rolling.
Do you know about more gems developed by eastern developers? We would like to know about them in the comments section below!
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