What do Japanese gamers like in an indie game? (Casual Connect Asia 2014)

Robert Pontow, marketing director of Active Gaming Media, took to the stage at Casual Connect Asia 2014 to talk about the indie game scene in Japan. He also touched on what works for the Japanese audience. Here is a breakdown of his keynote.

What Japan is like

Japan is different from the rest of the world. Although Pontow compared the Japanese indie game scene to the Western industry, Japan is unique enough that it’s quite unlike its Asian neighbors.

(See: What’s big in Japan: teenage girls)

Pontow said that in Japan, there are no developer meetups, no communication, no media support, no community, and no organized industry support. He also said that there are no proper distribution channels, though you and I all know: this is fast changing.

The biggest difference Pontow mentioned is how the personal computer is a workstation in Japanese culture, not a machine for leisure or entertainment. In short, indie games have been slow to catch on, unlike in the West.

Yet while the indie video game scene in Japan is still in its fledgling days, Pontow said that Japan has had an indie scene all along in doujin productions. “Doujin games existed years before indie even became a thing,” Pontow said, citing fan-made games like the Touhou Project, Cave Story, Higurashi, Recettear, and Melty Blood as some examples.

Tackling the Japanese market

Still, the Japanese are happy consumers of indie games nowadays, be they from the east or the west. Pontow touched on several Western games that had been successful in Japan. Machinarium was much beloved for its unique art style, while Papers, Please was attractive because of its compelling pixel art and unique gameplay. To the Moon had a 90s aesthetic going, and was a story-driven RPG.

(See: How China will make gaming better for everyone)

Pontow also had his colleague (whose name we didn’t catch, sorry) go through a case study of the game Unholy Heights, a tower defense, RPG, and management sim game that was the number one Xbox Live indie game in Japan last year, selling more than 40,000 from launch till time of presentation. For 2014, Unholy Heights was ported to Android and iOS, but it wasn’t possible to do a wholesale port for several reasons.