Japan, the West, and Videogames

For roughly 5 years now, the Japanese gaming industry has been experiencing a decline in its overall share of the video games industry worldwide. Numerous developers, creators, and directors have weighed in on this trend, including Tomonobu Itagaki who laid the blame on Japan's 'humorlessness.'

Bear in mind that the most iconic stars of the video game universe are still predominantly Japanese: Mario, Link, Sonic to name a few. But the last decade has seen a seismic shift in the buying patterns of consumers all over the globe. At the turn of the century, the pattern of demand was inverted, with Japanese games being highly demanded in the west, while western efforts, or gaika, went largely ignored in Japan. But much is being made today of Japan's shrinking presence in western consumption habits, even as the video game industry as a whole grows exponentially. And, while Mr. Itagaki is entitled to his opinion, it seems to me Japan has always been a niche market in the west.

The Tyler Cowen

1. A conservative changes sides.
2. US debt visualized. Via Gawker.
3. Dense essay on how we under-expect our own extinction. Via Marginal Revolution.
4. Emotional x-ray specs.
5. I wish I had thought of this blog first. Up there with Kim Jong Il looking at things.

The Tyler Cowen

1. Great Bad Men. Via The Browser.
2. Kim Jong Il likes Big Macs.
3. Should US journalism take a page from our British counterparts?
4. Revolutionizing charities.
5. Cyber warfare is more widespread and terrifying than we previously thought.
6. Algorithms. Via The Awesomer.
   

The Tyler Cowen

1. Datadatadata
2. The Killing Fields, revisited.
3. An economist on the recovery. He's not very happy. Via The Browser.
4. Funny...and funny.
5. Clever stuff about energy. Via Marginal Revolution.
6. Extremely persuasive critique of geekdom. Via...uh...Facebook...I guess.

The Tyler Cowen

1. Our government is in shambles...but thankfully (?) we're not alone.
2. Panoramas from New York at the turn of the century. Via The Browser
3. Entertaining hatchet-job on Thomas Kinkade. Also via The Browser.
4. Unexploded bombs still litter Germany. Via Marginal Revolution.

The Tyler Cowen

1. NK defectors heading for the UK.
2. The American Conservative's obsession with Israel is pure fantasy. 
3. The American Conservative's obsession with gay marriage is un-American. Via The Browser.
4. Video games helping society by providing valuable services as 'tragedy simulators.'

The Tyler Cowen

1. Pink and Blue as gendered colors is more recent than you think.
2. We all know it's bad. Still, the graph manages to shock. Via The Browser.
3. Bill Maher not pulling any punches. 
4. Beautiful animation of one soccer player's recounting of New York's 1977 black out and attendant riots. Via Gizmodo.
   
   

The Tyler Cowen

1. The future of photography? They're going to need to be a little more intentioned I daresay.
2. Simple, beautiful post on the act of dying. Via The Browser.
3. Heaven help us. If we're continuing to kick this ball down the road, I'm afraid the end to the Recession is not even in sight. Via Marginal Revolution.
4. Nationalism as the most powerful force in the world.
5. Amazing, Goldsworthy-esque art. Via The Awesomer.

The Tyler Cowen

1. I can't imagine it will do much but surprising nonetheless.
2. US-China relations taking a hit.
3. Great infographic about how to use which type of sunscreen depending on your skin tone.
4. Fantastic essay by Barbara Ehrenreich on the future of war with a subtle but convincing undercurrent of war, itself, as the catalyst for our evolving social structures. Via The Browser.
5. Our Earth continues to terrify and amaze. 
6. ...To say nothing of our universe...
   

The Tyler Cowen

1. Fantastic article about the history of secretive Korean diplomacy.
2. We are never safe on the internet. Via Infosthetics.
3. Insight on Murdoch's nightmare. Via The Browser.
4. Also from The Browser, a damning critique of America's economic situation.

The Tyler Cowen

1. Fantastic, terrifying article about the state of American psychiatry. Perverse incentives abound from the pharmaceutical bed-fellows to the Supplemental Security Income on an individual basis. Via The Browser.
2. Neat infographic charting the rise of Foursquare.
3. Beautiful, sad travelogue of a former military advisor returning to Iraq.
4. North Korean meth production and addiction. Via NKEconWatch.
5. The Daily Show takes Fox to task...again.
6. Incredible levels of customization in Halo: Reach. Via The Awesomer.
   

The Tyler Cowen

1. Beautiful photos of our subterranean lives. Via Marginal Revolution.
2. Shifting economies viewed through the lens of per capita GDP.
3. Brutal article about the people who work at US military bases around the world. Via The Browser.
4. Infographic of what happens in 60 seconds on the internet. Via Gizmodo.
5. I really do love the internet. Ask and ye shall receive in spades. Literally the exact video I originally commented on gets the stationary-sky treatment.
   
6. The FUTURE!

The Tyler Cowen

1. Two different views of the Republican primaries in New Hampshire. One takes them somewhat seriously, questioning whether the Republican Party is putting its George Bush years of Foreign Policy behind it. The other...well...the other's a clip from The Daily Show so you take a wild guess.
2. An amazing series of photos of Russia's disparity, framed through the lens of their car culture.
3. Terrifying portents of the future. Via, where else, Gizmodo.
   
4. We've been Sean Bean fans since GoldenEye but getting stabbed and then ordering another pint raises our admiration to a whole new level.
5. The true purpose of our higher faculties. 

The Tyler Cowen

1. Airplanes taking off from Logan. Those little bastards don't seem to wait long enough before jumping the queue.
   

The Tyler Cowen

1. An unsurprisingly graphic account of what happens when you're shot in the head.
2. After so many awful quotes from all sides of every aisle, it's genuinely shocking to hear an articulate politician. Via Gawker.
   

The Tyler Cowen

The flood of Osama news continues. Might as well embrace it.

1. Funny user reviews of Bin Laden's compound.
2. Colbert's routine celebrating Bin Laden's death isn't particularly funny until the end. And then you realize how long it's been the world has been hunting this guy.
3. Uhhh...conservatives can't predict anything. (Hides.)
4. Imagine you'd never seen any of the movies used to create the fake trailer. Via the Awesomer.
   

The Tyler Cowen

1. The use of honorifics in Japan and it's impact on the national psyche. Via Marginal Revolution.
2. The power that is Google.
3. Great interactive infographic for all you US tax-payers out there.
4. Mario propaganda. Via Kotaku.

The Tyler Cowen

1. Smart phones in North Korea.
2. Yellowstone...still scary. (Scarier still after seeing 2012.)
3. When diplomacy and humanity clash.
4. US-Saudi relations are worsening. Somewhere, Michael Ruppert is planting his organic crops, waiting for the collapse.
5. Capitalizing on the Arab Spring in positive, economic ways. 

The Tyler Cowen

1. Breakdown of which parts of the government should be permanently shut down.
2. Japan's Chernobyl.

Awesome

Alan Simpson, a former Republican Senator from Wyoming, goes after the less attractive parts of his party. Ah catharsis is a beautiful thing.