異文化間における日本ゲームの受容：日・独プレイヤーの体験比較
ステファン・ブリュックナー
慶応義塾大学大学院 政策・メディア研究科

Game Reception Across Cultural Boundaries
A comparative Analysis of German and Japanese Player Experience
Stefan W. Brückner
Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University

Abstract
Digital games are an integral part of global entertainment culture. New forms of digital distribution
and the spread to different platforms have contributed towards a high and growing number of frequent
users and correspondingly high market revenues. The games market has become global and theJapanese games industry has played a pivotal role in this development, by contributing towards theglobal popularization of games. However, game consumption and production are still situated within
local cultural contexts and differ across regions. While games, produced by Japanese developers areavailable across the world, their reception in other regions can vary greatly from their reception in
Japan. This paper examines whether such differences are evident on the micro-level of player-gameinteraction. It presents selected results from a qualitative analysis of German and Japanese online
user reviews and recorded play sessions with nine German and eleven Japanese players, interactingwith Japanese games. First results show differences in the way certain aspects of a game are evaluated,but also showcase fundamental similarities in the way the selected games were received.

緒言
デジタルゲームは、グローバルなエンターテインメント文化で、不可欠な要素である。新しい形式のデジタル配信とさまざまなプラットフォームへの拡散により、頻繁に利用するユーザ
ー数が大きく増加し、それに応じて市場規模も増加している。ゲーム市場はグローバルとなり、日本のゲーム業界はゲームのグローバルな普及に貢献することにより、この発展において極めて重要な役割を果たしてきた。
しかし、ゲームの利用と制作は、依然として地域に根ざした文化的な背景の中にあり、地域性がある。日本の開発者が制作したゲームは世界中で利用が可能だが、日本以外でのゲームの受容性は、日本とは大きく異なる。
本稿では、地域間の受容性の差が、オンラインゲームでの相互作用において、マクロレベル
で明確かどうかを調べた。ドイツと日本のオンラインユーザーレビューの定性分析から選択した結果と 9 名のドイツ人と 11 名の日本人プレイヤーが日本のゲームをオンラインでプレイセッションした記録を示す。最初の結果は、ゲームの特定の側面が評価される方法の違いを示したが、選択したゲームが受け取られた方法の基本的な類似点も示した。
11. Introduction
In 2018, digital games, i.e. games mediated by digital devices, have generated more than
137 billion US-Dollars in revenues (Newzoo 2018). Games have become an integral part ofglobal entertainment culture, with more than 2.9 billion frequent users worldwide as of 2019
(Statista 2019). The global success of digital games is closely linked to the Japanese games
industry, which proved vital in (re-)invigorating the North American games market, after thecrash in 1983 (Dillon 2016, Wolf 2008, Wolf 2012), with the launch of the NintendoEntertainment System.
However, in recent years global market shares have dropped as competition intensified andplayer preferences developed differently across regions. Such differences are empiricallyevident in differences in game charts and appear most salient between Western and East
Asian countries (cf. Game Refinery 2018, Uchiki and Xu 2018). The perceived “decline” ofJapanese games in the global market has been attributed to potential cultural barriers within
the contents of Japanese games (Byford 2014, Richey 2014), i.e. their “Japaneseness” (cf.
Consalvo 2016). This supposed “Japaneseness” is hard to define, but arguably encompasses
aesthetic, narrative and ludic (i.e. “gameplay”) elements (Navarro-Remesal and LoriguilloLópez 2015, Schules 2015).
Directing attention towards the micro-level of player-game interaction, this paper presents
some selected results of a research project, focused on answering the question of whether
the experience and evaluation of playing a (Japanese) game differs between German andJapanese players. The paper concretely reports on the results of a comparative qualitative
analysis of 420 German and Japanese online user reviews on 18 Japanese games and on thefirst results of a series of recorded play sessions with nine German and eleven Japaneseparticipants, utilizing think-aloud protocol. The project contributes towards a better
understanding of how Japanese games are received outside of Japan. It also highlights
differences and similarities in the way German and Japanese players interact with digital
games and the cultures resulting from this interaction.
2. Method
The main research question guiding this paper is the following: What kind of differences(and similarities) are there in how German and Japanese players experience and evaluate
Japanese games? To answer this question, a first step lies in the clear definition of theterminology used in this question. “Japanese games” refers here to games, produced by aJapanese developer and by largely Japanese staff, as indicated in the game’s credits. For the
purpose of this study, “German and Japanese players” are defined as game users withGerman or Japanese as their native language. The last remaining concepts to define are then“experience and evaluation”.
Digital games are interactive media, “to the degree, that it is tautology to use the expression‘interactive games’” (Mäyrä 2008:6). One way to conceptually frame the quality of player2

game-interaction lies in the concept of player experience (PX). According to Wiemeyer,
Nacke, Moser et al. (2016:246):[PX] denotes the individual and personal experience of playing games. Player experiencedescribes the qualities of the player-game interactions and is typically investigated during
and after the interaction with games.
The analysis of PX is however fraught with epistemological difficulties, as it heavily relies
on different forms of self-reports. In their examination of how games are experienced,
researchers therefore rely on reports and evaluations by players, that is, they are limited bydata on the game as reported (Howell and Stevens 2019). In practice, data on the experienceof games is therefore arguably most easily accessible in players’ evaluations of games. Thishas for example led to increased interest in online user reviews as a source of data forresearch on games (e.g. Zagal and Tomuro 2013).
This paper draws on two sources of data complimenting each other. User reviews, which are
surprisingly content rich, easily accessible and available in high quantity (cf. Koehler,
Arnold, Greenhalgh et al. 2017), but written after the actual experience of playing a game,and think-aloud protocols, resulting form more than 200 hours of recorded play sessions withGerman and Japanese players, with data being taken during play, but limited in the numberof participants and by the high expenses of time and effort.
For this paper, 420 (210 German and 210 Japanese) user reviews, collected from the German
and Japanese Amazon Stores and written in concern to 18 Japanese games (see Table 1) wereanalyzed through an inductive coding analysis, following a Grounded Theory Approach(Strübing 2014). Furthermore, nine German and eleven Japanese players, aged between 18
and 30 years, were recorded in a series of play sessions, using think-aloud protocol (VanSomeren, Barnard and Sandberg 1994). Participants were asked to play four theoreticallyselected Japanese games (see Table 1) for 2.5 hours each (i.e. 10 hours total per players).
During play, they were instructed to constantly voice their thoughts on the game they played.
The participants’ utterances and the gameplay footage were recorded, leading to a total ofmore than 200 hours of data. At the moment of writing, this data is still in the process of
being transcribed. Below, selected results of the analysis of user reviews and from the thinkaloud protocols are presented.
3. Results and Discussion
The user reviews were analyzed following an inductive Grounded Theory approach(Strübing 2014). Text segments in the user reviews, were coded (i.e. labeled) bases on theircontent. In a first step, open coding, that is coding close to the text, generating codes of highgranularity was used. These were then sorted into categories (axial coding) based on theconstant comparison of the meaning represented by the codes. Coding is continued, until thecategories are saturated, meaning that the inclusion of new data does no longer warrantchanges in the code system (Aldiabat and Le Navenec 2018).
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The cycle of open and axial coding resulted in a system with the following top-level thematic
categories:•

Meta/Context•

Gameplay/Rules/Mechanics•

Story/Narrative•

Audio/Visual•

Technology

Additionally, the sentiment markers Positive and Negative were used, to signify the context
in which other codes were used. Each of the thematic categories contains various subcategories, which in turn contain codes and sub-codes. This code system allows for thecomparison of German and Japanese user reviews on varying levels of granularity.
The results show several differences in the German and Japanese reviews. First, theevaluation of games appears markedly more negative in the Japanese reviews, signified bya significantly higher frequency of Negative markers. Second, negative markers frequently
intersect with text segments, that were also coded with codes belonging to the category
Story/Narrative. This indicates a more negative reception of the games’ narrative and story
elements by Japanese users. Third, Japanese reviewers appear more critical in concern toother elements of a game, if they negatively evaluate its story, while German players are
more focused appear more focused on gameplay elements. Fourth, the “Japaneseness” ofthe selected games is discussed and negotiated within the German reviews, but also, to alesser degree, within the Japanese reviews. German players frame “Japanese” elements
within a game either as positive, because of their perceived uniqueness and “differences toWestern games”, or as negative, because by seeing “ Japaneseness” as a barrier for
immersion, for example because a game’s art style. Japanese reviewers mostly contrast
Japanese and Western games and discuss their differences. One comparatively widespread
opinion is that Japanese games are now technologically inferior to big-budget Western
productions.
A last core difference lies in the specific frames of reference, German and Japanese players
use to describe games. They frequently compare games to other games or media, but theconcrete object of comparison differs greatly. While both, German and Japanese players,
compare the selected games to other Japanese games, which games are used in thiscomparison differs greatly, hinting at the existence of different game canons. German players
frequently compare the selected games to Western games and franchises, which is far lesscommon for the Japanese players. At the same time, both groups compare games to othermedia contents, for example Japanese players liken some of the games to light novels or
manga, while German reviewers have compared them to Western franchises and dramas,such as Star Trek.

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The results from the think-aloud protocols supplement the analysis of user reviews. By
selecting German participants with different levels of experience in Japan (i.e. from playerswith no experience to German players living in Japan), it becomes possible to observe someof the influences that changes in the cultural context of a player can have on their receptionof a game. While transcription and analysis of the play sessions is not yet complete, the first
results show, that differences in the experience and evaluation of the selected games arelargely dependent of the following factors. First, the concrete type of player in concern tohis usual preferences and prior experiences with games. Second, their exposure andexperience with Japanese cultural products, such as Anime and Manga. Third, values andnorms.
For example, “hardcore” (Kapalo, Dewar, Rupp et al. 2015) players of role-playing games
show many similarities in their experience and evaluation of a game’s mechanics andgameplay elements across culture. However, differences are apparent in their preferences
towards a game’s artistic style, with German players often favoring a more realistic design,
while Japanese players favor designs close to anime. German participants that regularly
watch anime are however less likely to perceive the art style of the selected games as
negative. As such, more than (national) culture, it is concrete game and media preferences,that shape the patterns of similarities and differences across the observed groups. However,
one salient difference that was observed between German and Japanese players was inconcern to the depiction of female characters in the selected games. While all German
participants noted for example the revealing attire of the character Velvet in the game Talesof Berseria (Bandai Namco Studios 2017), albeit not necessarily as a problem, none of theJapanese participants even mentioned this.
4. Conclusion
This paper briefly presented selected finding of a study aimed at examining differences inthe experience of German and Japanese players, interacting with Japanese digital games.
Based on an inductive analysis of 420 user reviews and think-aloud protocols of more than
200 hours of recorded play sessions with German and Japanese players, differences andsimilarities become evident. In the examined user reviews, a tendency for Japanese players
to be more critical on the narrative elements of a game were observed. There are also
indications, that a negative evaluation of narrative elements influences the evaluation ofother game elements. On the other hand, German players appeared more focused on
gameplay elements.
As also hinted at in the think-aloud protocols, differences between German and Japaneseplayers are evident, but often appear to be the result of different media environments.
German players and Japanese players use different frames of reference (i.e. different scales)
to measure and compare the games they play. Story elements, praised in German reviews as“innovative” or “unique” are arguably less “unique” if compared with other Japanese media
contents, less accessible in the West, such as light novels. The concrete media environment
in which German and Japanese players are situated is arguably one of the deciding factors
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for the overall evaluation of games. This is also substantiated by German participants of theplay sessions, that frequently consume Japanese media contents, such as anime or manga,
being less critical and overall, less cognizant of culturally specific game content. Whilecurrent research has focused on cross-cultural comparisons on the national/regional level(Brückner, Sato, Kurabayashi et al. 2019, Lee and Wohn 2012, Santoso, Schrepp, Hinderks
et al. 2017, Zagal and Tomuro 2013), the results of this project suggest the necessity to moreclosely focus on the cross-cultural analyses of players within their respective media contexts
and environments.
Table 1 Overview of games selected for this study, with highlighted games used for the recorded play sessions.

DMC5
DQ11

Published
(JP)
2019
2017

Published
(DE)
2019
2018

DD

2017

FF15

Judgement (PS4)

Title and Platform

Abbrev.

Developer

Publisher

Devil May Cry 5 (PS4)
Dragon Quest XI (PS4)
Dragons Dogma:
Dark Arisen (PS4)
Final Fantasy XV (PS4)

CapcomSquare Enix

CapcomSquare Enix

2017

CapcomCapcom2016

2016

Square Enix

JUD

2018

2019

Kingdom Hearts III (PS4)

KH3

2019

2019

Square Enix
Ryu Ga Gotoku
Studios
Square Enix Business
Division 3

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant
Kingdom (PS4)

NK2

2018

2018

Level-5

Nier: Automata (PS4)

NA

2017

2017

Octopath Traveller (Switch)

OCT

2018

2018

Platinum Games
Square Enix Business
Division 11/Aquire

Persona 5 (PS4)

P5

2016

2017

P-Studio

Atlus (JP) /Deep Silver (DE)

RE7

2017

2017

CapcomCapcom

Sek

2019

2019

From Software

From Software (JP) /Activision (DE)

SRR

2018

2018

O-Two

Sega

Tales of Berseria (PS4)

ToB

2016

2017

Bandai
Studios

The Legend of Heroes:
Trails of Cold Steel(PS3/PS4)

ToCS1

2013/20182016/2019

Nihon Falcom

ToCS2

2014/20182016/2019

Nihon Falcom

Nihon Falcom (JP) /NIS America (DE)

ZBotW

2017

2017

Nintendo EPD

Nintendo

YAK

2015

2017

Ryu GaStudioSega

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard(PS4)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice(PS4)
Shining Resonance Refrain(PS4)

The Legend of Heroes:
Trails of Cold Steel II(PS3/PS4)
The Legend of Zelda: Breathof the Wild (Switch)
Yakuza 0 (PS4)

6

Namco

GotokuSega
Square Enix
Level-5 (JP) / Bandai
Namco
Entertainment (DE)Square Enix
Square Enix

Bandai
Namco
Entertainment
Nihon Falcom (JP) /NIS
America,Marvelous
Europe(DE)References
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