Katsuhiro Harada, producer of Tekken games, is not happy with the state of the development industry in Japan. Back in the days he was very critical, but in a recent interview he admitted that things have improved a little.
Asked about the strong comebacks of franchises such as Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, The Legend of Zelda or Tekken, he said that "while it might be a bit better [than a few years ago], it hasn't really changed all that much". He doesn't seem too unhappy but rather accustomed to the new role of his country in this global industry.
"I was one of the first people, back in the nineties, to say that Japanese game development is over and I haven't really changed my opinion. There are a few hits like you mentioned, but Japan was once seen as being at the top of game development. Then it fell right down, and while it might be a bit better [than a few years ago], it hasn't really changed all that much. Compared to the USA, over there you have a lot more game developers just because of the population. You have a lot more funding. Just the scale and scope of development is something Japan can't really compete with. Although there are a few titles that only Japanese can make - and sometimes they do quite well - it's not like Japan will ever be back on top of game development. That's our position: it's a realistic view, I guess you could say. We're not too high, but we're not too low."
Do you see any improvement in Japanese games lastly?