The Ubisoft exec said some Japanese titles were praised highly despite story being ”literally gibberish,” but that Western studios would never be ‘let of the hook’ for it. ”It’s condescending to do this.”
The same hordes who heap praise atop Japanese ‘gibberish’ would turn and eviscerate the likes of Gears of War, argued Alex Hutchinson. Two standards applied?
Asked how Nintendo skates on by with the same franchises being released year after year without being hounded about it, Alex Hutchinson gave his ”real” answer: ”I think there’s a subtle racism in the business, especially on the journalists’ side, where Japanese developers are forgiven for doing what they do. I think it’s condescending to do this.”
”Just think about how many Japanese games are released where their stories are literally gibberish. Literally gibberish. There’s no way you could write it with a straight face, and the journalists say ‘oh it is brilliant’,” he continued.
”Then Gears of War comes out and apparently it’s the worst written narrative in a game ever. I’ll take Gears of War over Bayonetta any time. It’s patronising to say, “oh those Japanese stories, they don’t really mean what they’re doing.”
”I just think the simple question should be; is the story any good?”
Check out the full interview between Alex Hutchinson and CVG. Assassin’s Creed 3 releases on Xbox 360 and PS3 October 30th in the US, 31st in EU and on PC November 20th in the US, 23rd in EU.