TGS 06: Q&A with Hiroshi Kamide

TOKYO--Earlier this week, GameSpot visited Hiroshi Kamide, director of KBC Securities' research department, at KBC's headquarters in downtown Tokyo. Kamide's offices are located on the fifth floor of the Akasaka Tameike Tower in the Akasaka neighborhood, a veritable hub of corporate offices that hosts the US Embassy as well.

We were ushered in by KBC's efficient staff and treated to cold mineral water, much welcome as it was a hot, sticky day in Tokyo. Hiroshi Kamide greeted us shortly afterward. Although Japan-born, Mr. Kamide has spent much of his life living and studying in the UK. "I'm more of a Brit than Japanese," he joked. We then moved to the building's observation deck, some 25 floors above the city. The deck offered a panoramic view of Tokyo. "On a clear day, you can see Mount Fuji," Kamide told us. Today is not such a day.

We settled into wooden deck chairs under a trellis, inexplicably erected to grow grapes, and began our conversation.

GameSpot: What's your opinion as to why the 360 has had such a rough time in Japan?

Hiroshi Kamide: There are two key issues: Firstly, the availability of software has been pretty poor. Not in respect of volume, per se, but the fact that it hasn't catered to Japanese tastes--and support from the homegrown publishers has been poor. And secondly, I think it's unfair not to mention the fact that this is still the land of Sony and Nintendo--basically, Japanese gamers remain slightly wary of anything coming from an outside market.

GS: And Western software, in general, doesn't seem to have made much headway here.

HK: No, it hasn't.

GS: What do Western publishers need to do to make their games more appealing for the Japan market?

HK: One potential solution is to actually have a development team based over here, one who might understand culturally and creatively what [kind of game] might be more attractive. Another [option] is coproducing [games] with Japanese companies. Buena Vista has done that with Square Enix, with Kingdom Hearts. That's done well...a potential option. It's a bit of a halfway house, but that's something they could do.

GS: How do you think Japan would react to a Microsoft handheld console?

HK: If it's a great product with great software, it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a failure from day one. So if it's offering something new, different, and interesting, Japanese consumers will buy into that. Japanese consumers do like interesting new technology, new fads, new trends, so if they can meet those [criteria], I don't see any reason why it can't be a success.

GS: Do you think Microsoft has done absolutely everything they possibly can to crack Japan?

HK: To be fair, from a commercial perspective it probably made sense for them to make more of an effort in the US and Europe than here. So, you know, Japan has probably been lower in the priority list and hence the results show for themselves.

GS: If the Nintendo Wii outsells the PS3--which many feel is possible, based on the price difference--how do you think the financial markets in Japan will react?

HK: The financial markets will react very positively if Nintendo [outsells Sony]. Conversely, [investors] will probably take a long, hard look at what Sony's earnings are going to be like going forward, because it still very much relies on the game business. And if it transpires that that [Sony's game business] isn't going to keep growing, Sony's share price might have a bit of a knock.

GS: When do you think Sony will announce the first PlayStation 3 price cut?

HK: That's dependent on two things: how much Sony is willing to lose money, you know, how much they're prepared to sacrifice. And secondly, it depends on how badly [the launch] actually goes, or how good it goes, releasewise. If demand is there and they're making good progress, there may not be a huge need of [a price drop] for maybe a year. However, if things are really deteriorating, six months down the line might be a very visible option for them.

GS: Consoles are fast becoming more integrated devices. Looking down the road, where do you think this trend is headed?

HK: I think Sony is happy to [further] develop this [strategy]...a home server scenario where potentially everything you buy for your house is Sony, or Sony-related, and hence everything is all networked together. I don't think Nintendo will ever go that far, but they obviously have to keep up with the times... Maybe a bit more interactivity with the handhelds going forwards, a bit more than we have been used to to date, but I guess Nintendo's philosophy will always be, "We are a game company first and foremost." And they probably won't [stray] too much from that.

GS: Did big Western games like Gears of War or Grand Theft Auto generate any buzz in Japan?

HK: Gears of War, no. Grand Theft Auto, a little bit.

GS: Explain the fascination with Grand Theft Auto.

HK: Well, to be fair, because there hasn't been anything like it over here. So, the novelty value was there, and the fact that it's an interesting, fun game to play. And obviously, it did attract press attention because some local prefecture government councils were trying to ban it. There was that [level] of press attention. But nothing in scale compared to what happened in the West.

I guess it just again boils down to cultural taste, really. You know, Japanese gamers don't have to go around bashing people with baseball bats. The industry has to be aware that these differences will always exist and there are only certain types of games that are really going to cross boundaries or have global taste, such as really established franchises like Mario...that's what it boils down to.

GS: What's your opinion of the overall strength of the Japan game market?

HK: It's definitely a buy at the moment. The DS has really gone off the scale over here and it's driving software sales--really being a key factor for a lot of developers. At this point in the cycle, one should be very positive about what should be happening going forward. So let's hope it goes that way. And continues.

GS: Thanks, Hiroshi.

HK: No problem.