Masahiro Sakurai thinks Japanese developers should remain focused on typically Japanese games

For a long time, Japanese games were the gold standard when it came to video games, which was perhaps not surprising given that it was mainly Nintendo and Sega (and later Sony) that provided consoles. However, somewhere around the launch of the Xbox in 2001, this began to shift, and Western games became much more common at the expense of Japanese ones.

This led many Japanese developers to start developing games for a Western audience, often with rather mixed results, but for many years the Japanese gaming world has been finding its feet again. Nevertheless, in recent years a new competitor has emerged, namely China.

The Chinese games industry is growing like crazy with games like Genshin Impact and Black Myth: Wukong, and in an interview with Entax (via Automaton), Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai was asked what he thinks Japanese developers should do about this to stay relevant. His answer was something we're guessing many will sympathise with:

"It's not really my own idea, but as an industry trend, I think Japanese people should keep pursuing the things that Japanese people like."

And those who buy Japanese games outside the country's borders, wants it specifically Japanese, he says:

"I think that they seek the uniqueness and fun of Japanese games."

How do you see it, should Japanese game developers adapt or continue making games their way?