Inafune says Japan's hidden talent could save its industry

"I think there needs to be a system that allows them to be more creative in their work; that would help them a lot."

- Keiji Inafune, on the Japanese industry. While Western developers take for granted that working on games will allow them to express their creative talents, it's not the same in the Japanese industry. In a new interview, Mega Man creator and former head of Capcom R&D says that the Japanese industry's practices bury talent, but he hopes that he can shine a light on it. "There are a lot of very talented creators in Japan, but often they aren't in a position to use that talent, or the developer they're working for hasn't noticed that talent," says Inafune. In Japan, many independent studios have their entire game designs dictated by their external publishing partners, and have little say into the way the games they're contracted to make are developed -- which has a side effect of hiding talent. Many of today's developers, he says, also aren't even aware that Japan once dominated the global game industry, either. "The Japanese game industry used to pull the entire business forward, something a lot of people aren't even aware of anymore, and I think the experience I've gained through those years [at Capcom] can help pull people who aren't familiar with those times out of the woodwork," Inafune says.