I can be pretty snarky and quick to retort to pounce on being misrepresented, but honestly I don't want you getting worked up over this. If you're dealing with stress right now forums aren't the place you want to be.
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Kojima: Death Stranding Had Stronger Criticism in the US, Possibly Because It Flies Above Shooters
- Thread starter Shakerovic
- Start date
Ironically, it seems like at this point Death Stranding had a better launch in the US than in the UK. I wonder how it did in the rest of Europe.
Again, this isn't true. Why do people keep defending something that has no basis in reality? Look at the average review scores. Americas are right in line with the rest of the worlds.
It's not really about bad or good answers, rather that you should recognise that whilst he may have said something to this effect, simultaneously he may not have, that his actual answer in Japanese may have been far more nuanced or even entirely different, as per the many examples in that Kotaku thread.
What isn't true? CoD will outsell DS and likely every other release in NA this year.
They're referring to sales, or that's what I assumed from their comment.
The negative reviews that exist are part of the overall reception. I prefer him acknowledging them than just ignoring them.
Stepped in what? Only the people most obsessed with him are mad.
I've enjoyed every second of the game so far, Almost connected Mountain Knot to my highway system. I always knew right away this would become a divisive game from the very first gameplay vid. I wonder how much of the divisiveness is this really weird disdain for Kojima and from those who wanted him to stick in his lane like the other Japanese devs who left big companies similar to Iga, Kamiya etc..?
Survival/sim games are a dime a dozen on PC so I knew right away I was going to be interested in this game as this was the first AAA survival sim, all it needed to do was work. So far this game is bug free, all the systems are elegantly design and stuff just works, all in a AAA big budget package. Kojima has literally made the first Survival Sim genre game that isn't in early access.
The devs at KojimaPro are wizards.
Survival/sim games are a dime a dozen on PC so I knew right away I was going to be interested in this game as this was the first AAA survival sim, all it needed to do was work. So far this game is bug free, all the systems are elegantly design and stuff just works, all in a AAA big budget package. Kojima has literally made the first Survival Sim genre game that isn't in early access.
The devs at KojimaPro are wizards.
Considering the market size difference, it would need to be a catastrophic failure in the US. EU sales would be more telling than a single country.
Nah. There are plenty of legit reasons to not like the game, and a lot of reviewers went out of their way to explain their reasoning.
so what's your point? how would you have preferred people to react?
the information is there, and unless they're going to provide raw transcripts or audio of the interview it's all we have to pass judgement on. if you want to receive the quote with a level is scepticism that's your prerogative, but don't go around wagging your finger at people claiming he was mistranslated when you don't have more context for this than anyone else
Man, with all the toxic, nasty sentiment toward Kojima in this forum.. maybe I should stop coming here
I know Americans will get offended by it, but most of the criticism I've seen by american media is how boring it is. Now I haven't played it, and I do want to (when I get paid ;_;) but maybe they are onto something. Kinda like the Bioshock Infinite box art. We got offended by it but it probably did help a ton with sales. And why Marvel posters are so god awful, marketing people might know more than we forum lurkers do
CoD outsold DS in the UK, too. What does that have to do with anything?
He wasn't talking about sales, and even if he was I bet money DS sells more in the U.S. than any other country on the planet.
I mean, if your entire identity is wrapped up in being a Kojima fan, maybe? Otherwise how does it effect you?
It's been pointed out at several times in thread that American criticism has been in line with the rest of the world. But nice drive-by post.
He's not talking about reviewers. He says, "Americans are great fans of first-person shooters...", so he's clearly talking about the consumer base. His comment proceeding that are about reviewers and are misguided on his part since he didn't specify examples and gave an empty generalized statement.
I made the David Cage comparison first in Jim Sterling's thread, and then lo and behold, Kojima comes out with this pearler.
You're probably right about that and I admit I was to quick to be snarky myself. Frankly I just didn't interpret this quote as maliciously as a lot of others in this thread seem to.
I guess I viewed it less as "the US is to stupid to understand my game" and more "taste vary by region and this isn't you're average game so it might not be as easy to get."
I guess I'm just always thrown off by how extreme some of the reaction in Kojima threads are. Some people seem to genuinely just hate him as a person and I just don't get where such extreme feelings come from.
even if you seperate them it doesn't make either quote better
Pretty much every game developer would have responded without weirdly bringing nationality into it. Every game developer has responded to questions about mixed or even negative reviews. Most of them respond in a way that acknowledges the faults in their games, others simply answer with the pride that they and their team have in the final product. Any time a developer turns it into some kind of strange ad hominem about the reviewers not appreciating their game for whatever reason, I roll my eyes. As most people do.
The funny thing is that you probably think I'm one of those ohh so bad and scawy "Kojima haters." But the reality is that expressing my opinion that his shitty response to criticism was, indeed, shitty, is probably the most I've ever spoken about the man in my life. I frankly don't understand how anyone could fail to find his attitude laughable. But it doesn't mean I hate the man, or that I spend undue effort trying to bring him down in some weird, conspiratorial manner.
No one's telling him to shut up. But he's definitely coming off as whiny. People ask questions like this all the time, and 99% of the time people manage to come off as respectable. Sometimes people act like arrogant shitters, and that's okay.
Based GODjima-sama's experiences (I personally don't call them games) have clearly transcended the limitations of the medium and its fanbase, so it's logical so many people would lack the artistic sense and sophistication to properly apreciarte the masterclass narrative in this game.
It's mostly just toxic and weird that people are allowed to shit on someone who really hasn't done anything wrong.
It doesn't make it better, but it brings his statement closer to a point of understanding. Americans do love first-person shooters. CoD has been a Top 10 selling game probably since CoD4MW. His comment remains pretentious & a gross generalization.
Just finished the game and really liked it.
Personally the low reviews scores I attest to the poor marketing. Idk why Kojima tried to sell this game as some never before seen thing when it fact it fits perfectly into the survival genre of Subnautica, Forest, etc.... with multiplayer function and AAA budget story added.
I feel like that would set expectations correctly, cuz this game definitely achieved what it has set out to do.
Personally the low reviews scores I attest to the poor marketing. Idk why Kojima tried to sell this game as some never before seen thing when it fact it fits perfectly into the survival genre of Subnautica, Forest, etc.... with multiplayer function and AAA budget story added.
I feel like that would set expectations correctly, cuz this game definitely achieved what it has set out to do.
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Hell, didn't Edge end up not reviewing it because they couldn't get through it?
Like they straight up said they aren't going to review it.
I know it might shock some of you, but Edge is based in... the UK.
Yes. Take a minute. Let it sink in.
Breath of the Wild reviewed well and sold well here. So did games like Katamari Damacy, Celeste, Witcher, The Witness, and Minecraft.
This is the same game where you can take a shit, the game gives you an ad for Norman Reedus' motorcycle show on AMC and then you get a poop grenade for it.
CoD's popularity (and shooters in general) are not exclusive to the US. This is the point, lol.
"Perhaps it is a difficult game to understand for a certain type of critic and audience."
It's a 40+ hour game with a gameplay loop that is very slow and methodical. Surely you can see that getting a bit...tiring to some people?
Yeah. The sheer amount of times the game outright spells out the metaphors to the player certainly makes it feel like "cerebral" was the furthest thing from Kojima's mind while making it.
