That is all.

“Nice article… I’ve always enjoyed both styles of game, although Japanese RPGs and Koei’s historical titles have had the biggest and most lasting impression on me by far.

The “freedom” and choices offered by most western games are to me, nothing but a novelty. They’re fun distractions but they rarely produce anything great on their own merits. Also, calling it creativity and self expression within the game may be a bit of a stretch. You’re still playing within the rules and confines of the game world, you’re simply exploring its limits. Some people call that clever game design… I tend to think of it as laziness. The developer shouldn’t be asking me (the customer and player) to generate game content and to look for ways to kill my own time. That’s their job.

Self expression vs self escapism may hold some truth to it, but ultimately all videogames are about escape, so that may be a false paradigm. I think the more correct portrayal lies in how our cultures are fundamentally, socially different : Egocentrism vs Altruism. In the western world it’s all about “me, me, me” and that’s reflected in our games. Japanese games, by contrast, ask you to put your ego aside and to step into someone elses.

Western gamers would do well to play more Japanese games and learn to take a broader and less egocentric view. Japanese gamers would probably do well to play more western games and spend a little more time in their own heads. I’m speaking in generalities of course, but on the whole I do find the entire situation, with both cultures being firmly entrenched in their own style, to be rather ironic.”