The Genesis Of Japanese Gaming and Gaming Art Styles
Since the creation of video games Japanese culture and aesthetics have continued to influence mainstream culture. Japan did not come up with the idea of video games in the first place, that honor goes to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA in 1962. However, Japan has adopted video game culture with passion and devotion. So much so, that it has paved the way for what the video game industry has become, today. It all started with the creation of Space Invader by the Japanese company Taito. The game was developed by Tomohiro Nishikado, inspired by the pop culture and hit movies of the time which were Star Wars, Breakout, and The War of the Worlds. Space Invaders played an immense and influential role in the newly formed video game industry. It opened a gateway to the golden age of arcades and coin-op gaming. Many other gaming titles after Space Invaders followed suit, cashing in the success of the arcade gaming hype.
Following the success of these video games, a Japanese company by the name of Nintendo started working on plans for an entertainment system with swappable cartridges to play video games at home. It was released as a Family Computer or better known as a Famicom in Japan in 1983. However, it was remodeled and sold internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES, that we all know and love from our childhood. It highlighted several revolutionary games like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo developed a business model where third-party developers could create games for their system. This business model is now common with the newer consoles that we see today.
Another key player in the history of video games is Sega, yet another Japanese company, currently based in Tokyo. Originally known as Service Games of Japan because it aimed to entertain military personnel on bases. However, it was acquired by American businessmen and rebranded as Sega Enterprises. The company gained fame with the success of Sega Genesis especially due to Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991.
3D OOH ads have a strong retention rate, increased engagement, and unique creative capabilities. Brands have started to realize the potential of 3D ads and how they can be leveraged to reach a more receptive audience. Famous companies like Amazon Prime and Netflix have harnessed the power of animated billboards technology to capture people’s interest in the shortest window with the most compelling digital story. In fact, according to the statistics published by The Neuron Intelligent Connection, the OOH digital billboard market is expected to grow to $50.42bn by 2026. Nielsen also mentioned that after seeing a 3D digital ad, 69% of the viewers “took some sort of action”.
Of course, with Japan being a major influencer in the video gaming world, their art style and some cultural elements were bound to spread with this global gaming phenomenon. Many games and electronic media from Japan were created in Japanese manga and anime art styles. This became very popular internationally and the art style is even more popular today with newer and interesting storylines. The characters in Japanese art display unique elements and are greatly detailed which gives the viewer a full story about the nature of that character.
Pokémon is one of the hit anime TV series that had a global outreach, created in the Japanese art style. Anyone today can tell you how massively popular and influential this franchise has been for decades. Not only with the TVs show but with playing cards, toys, and much more. In 2016, Niantic, Nintendo, and The Pokémon Company released an augmented reality smartphone game Pokémon Go which gained a lot of popularity throughout the world. Millions of people went out catching virtual Pokémon on their smartphones. Some other worth watching anime titles today include One Piece, Attack on Titan, and Naruto, etc. Formerly limited to only Japan, nowadays anime is also created outside of Japan for example Avatar, The Last Airbender was created in the USA and was wildly popularized throughout the world.
Japan is still a major influence in gaming and entertainment today. Who knows what they will bring next? The developers and enthusiasts here at Blunt Action take great interest in the world of gaming and are really inspired by Japanese art. We have even designed a mobile game called Battle Snakes that takes inspiration from Japanese styled game graphics. We realize that Japan has made great efforts to bring the video gaming industry to where it is today. Hence why we try to incorporate different elements of Japanese culture in the art we create. Check out our website for projects on VR, AR, 3D graphics, and video games.