The Eastern school of videogames in the very beginning was only an epigone art direction. The economic situation and Westernization of Japan allowed them to create games only in the eighties and later. The same thing occurred with anime, which is the golden age we are witnessing right now. Also, the brand new Chinese developing market follows the same rules. Genshin Impact is a big hit. Korean MMOs are a significant part of the community too.

The business models in the different regions vary dramatically. For example, Japan has a pretty specific gambling industry, called gacha games. Technically, the payments there are not the same as in the WMS slot machines. But this is pure gambling. Why is it so important for computer games? Well, gacha mechanics are taboo in most games. When you are buying “classic” electronic entertainment – there should be a strict system of payments. And these slot activities can’t guarantee them.

The market share of Eastern and Western games are pretty equal, but Asians have some handicaps. The audience in Europe and the USA shows signs of stagflation. These countries have had gaming culture for decades. They are over satisfied. At the same time, the Chinese gamers are tasting the big titles right now. And the developed country with hundreds of millions of active Internet users is a serious power. So, even the traditional Western companies make new titles for Eastern tastes. Let’s see the main differences between markets.

Eastern School

Generally, the local specific design is about:

• aesthetic;
• gameplay;
• business model;
• narration.

Japanese games are famous for their distinct sexualization. Not every title, of course, but you still can see grotesque macho and femme fatale. The epitome of libido is Bayonetta and the “beach spin-off” of Dead or Alive. Yes, they’ve made a separate physics simulation of a woman’s breast. Still, the examples of the sex appeal overlook were in Western games, like Bloodrayne.

There is an additional “Eastern-Western” category. The traditional view on the genre is an anime look. Still, you can find a lot of Americanized franchises. Evil Within, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid are made without a trace of Asian roots. They look like horrors, survival games, and tactical espionage combat simulators respectively. Some missions can be even in Japan but the mood and characters belong to Westerners.

The console industry in Japan is shaping the direction of the gambling market. Some games will never be adapted on PC. The local public only plays on Nintendo and Playstation consoles.
Hence, the quality of ported versions varies greatly. Even the hits, like Dark Souls, suffer from lame controls, bad cameras, or crude optimization with numerous bugs.

The Japanese narrative is also different. Asian literature genres have grown on a modern novel literature tradition, but the aesthetics are related to innuendo. The plot is complete, but the lore is often untold. The spectators can picture the whole narration in their minds.

Western-Style

Games from the USA and Europe are based on:

• classic literature;
• realistic portrayal;
• comics and more fundamental graphic novels;
• tabletops.

Our classic literature gave birth to high fantasy pinnacles. We all are grown on Arthurian legend, Greek myths, and Biblical stories. Hence, this cultural code is the base of our games too. The style of the development is much more realistic than Japanese titles of the medieval ages etc. The same picture in Western games is about the Sengoku, ninjas, or other parts of Asian culture.

The “realistic” overlook is based on classical Renaissance paintings and Disney animation at the same time. Yes, we have some examples of grotesque anatomy from Boris Vallejo or Frank Frazetta’s posters. Though, these art creations are stylish, not mainstream.

Also, the colors are slightly different. Blue is brighter, yellowish shades are more distinctive, etc. There are several color schemes for regions too. It came from the analog TV. Japan and the USA use the same pattern because the first consoles used to have the NTSC output. European games used PAL at the same time. Modern digital TV sets are working with HD pictures, 4K, and even 8K. Still, some tones are specific traditions that don’t die quickly.

The tabletop community makes a rich contribution to the rules of narration. In the seventies, Gary Gygax presented the worldwide renowned Dungeons & Dragons system. The standards of characters, quest and general storytelling are here even today. You can play any classic “Bioware RPG” and find all the good old narration tropes there.

The business model is slightly different too. Westerners love consoles, but the role of traditional PC genres is more significant here. The RTS, TBS, and various simulators are still big hits. Also, the localization to the main European languages is more frequent.