The State Of Serious Games In Japan - John Andersen

Last November, Toru Fujimoto hosted a one-hour lecture at the Serious Games Summit (SGS) in Washington D.C. focusing on serious games that originate from his home country of Japan. Fujimoto presented some interesting topics dealing with serious game development. Surprisingly, a lot of what he discussed focused on how current consumer video game products can be used in education, athletics, and even rehabilitation. Summit attendees learned how both Japanese corporate and education sectors are carefully observing the benefits of serious games within Japan and their use in other countries as well.

Fujimoto, a PhD candidate and graduate assistant currently studying at Penn State University, has an interest in learning and education reform. With assistance from the Serious Games Initiative, Fujimoto started Serious Games Japan, a Japanese-language mailing list and website in 2004.

Thus, we had many questions for Fujimoto stemming from my own two-year experience living in Chiba, Japan and working on JET (The Japan Exchange & Teaching Program) from 2003 to 2005. I experienced firsthand how Japanese junior high school students were forbidden to visit video game arcade centers in Japan by their teachers and principals, and also observed a lack of basic multimedia use in classroom instruction, which I found astonishing since many outside foreigners may view Japan as being on the cutting edge of technology use.

Video games may be seen as just entertainment or toys to many in Japan, but Fujimoto has confidence that the Serious Games movement in Japan will prosper.

 

John Andersen: The Serious Games Japan website and mailing list has been operating since May 2004. Has it gotten a lot of positive attention within Japan?

Toru Fujimoto: Yes. From my understanding it’s gotten some good attention. It’s also informing a lot of Japanese people about the serious games concept from Western society. For example, the news about West Virginia implementing the Dance Dance Revolution program and their collaboration with Konami. They are going to use DDR in the PE program in junior high schools there. The website is providing news about what is happening in the U.S. and Europe, so Japanese people are realizing the serious game developers are really putting forth the effort.

We are forming a really good community; we have over 70 people on the mailing list, it’s only in the Japanese language. They consist of game developers and people from the educational field.

JA: In your opinion, does Japanese society feel that video games are toys only for children?

TF:Well, I don’t think so. I can provide an example: anime and manga, it’s really part of the culture. Manga and anime are now used to educate people. These are entertainment media, but it’s used just like serious games. Manga and anime are embedded in Japanese education culture. Nowadays people are just arguing if video games are harmful for kids. Manga and anime have also been argued over if they are harmful, but that’s not even argued anymore. Gradually, Japanese peoples perspectives on video games will be changing.

JA:Last year, the Japanese news media began reporting that some youth crimes were inspired by violent video games. One such incident, in which a 17-year old boy went on a stabbing spree at an Osaka prefecture school, was blamed on his obsession with video games. The boy was later found to be mentally competent to stand trial, yet local Japanese governments were left shaken by the incident.

In Japan, there have been a few recent incidents in which crimes committed by young people have been blamed on video games. Video games are now being blamed on Japanese social problems. Some local Japanese city governments have even had to ban the sale of violent video games to minors. Have such incidents damaged the reputation of video games and the overall development goals of serious games in Japan?

TF:The serious games are acting as a counter-argument for those kinds of things. We don’t really address those issues. Serious games are proposing a way of how we can cooperate and use games wisely.

Those kinds of arguments, such as “Game Brain”: The pseudoscience theory, if you play the games continuously it will harm the brain, it’s proposed by one scientist. People like parents and teachers believe this psuedoscience theory and then the game industry is really harmed by that idea. Nowadays people are just arguing.

JA: You presented an interesting fact to your SGS panel attendees last November, concerning an educational product previously released for Nintendo's first video game console. Beginning in 1991, the Benesse Corporation of Japan released a series of educational games called Study Box for the 8-bit Nintendo Famicom (NES). Almost one hundred different titles focusing on science, math and English were released; they targeted children in the third through sixth grade levels. In all, over one million total copies of product were sold, yet Benesse discontinued the product in 1994.

Study Box seemed successful on the Nintendo Famicom, why did the Benesse Corporation stop the production of this particular product?

TF:They (Benesse) have a huge customer base for children, they are the biggest education publisher in Japan. They are selling their distant learning services for K-12 children. The 1 million software copies sold is not very big business for them, they released several games on the Nintendo Famicom, and one million is just an accumulated total of all different copies in the series. They thought it wasn’t successful compared to their main business and wasn’t as effective as their other material (books, workbooks, etc).

JA :Personally speaking, I was an assistant language teacher in Japanese junior high schools. During a school assembly in the gymnasium, I was shocked to hear the Kocho-sensei (Principal) warning the students to stay away from game centers. Why is this?

TF: Teachers think that game centers are not really a good environment for the kids, with older people smoking and other things.

JA:What do you think is the real reason that Japanese schools are not accepting serious games in education?

TF: They consider games as entertainment, not an interactive tool, which is the major reason. They consider games to be too addictive to students - too much stimulus for them. They think if the kids play games, it will be hard to teach them.

JA:Do you think overall, the Japanese education system uses old methods in teaching? For example, the classrooms I worked in were old and did not use video projectors, PC’s or any other multimedia devices during lectures. Why is it that Japanese schools are not using more multimedia?

TF:Financial reasons are one. It's difficult to implement technology in each classroom. The financial risk is one reason, and the other reason is that the teachers are not good at using technology. Professional development also costs tremendously, teaching them is much harder than teaching kids. I think most of the teachers cannot use PowerPoint, they prefer to use overhead projectors.

JA:You mentioned that Japanese schools used educational manga and anime in the classroom and library. In your panel discussion last November you emphasized that Japanese schools could accept serious games, such as Oto-ge (music video games) in the future. You cited such games as Beat Mania, Drum Mania, Donkey Konga, and Guitar Freaks in your presentation. What other kinds of serious games could be used in Japanese public schools?

TF:That’s a good point, music games could be used in music classes in the public school environment. The DS games could be one possibility, because it’s very portable, and there are some educational games already developed.

JA:You also mentioned Sega’s Mushiking in your presentation about serious games. How is Mushiking a serious game? Do you think it's educational and allows Japanese children to learn about the different kinds of insects?

TF:The subject knowledge, beetles, is embedded in the process of the game, and those are real. The player is really having an experience with the beetles, learning what they look like, and how they understand the statistics since the game uses a lot of numbers. They are also learning decision-making skills through the game.

JA:In your presentation you reported that Koei and Ritsumeikan University are using a MMOG research project – Daikoukai-jidai Online (Uncharted Water Online). What kind of serious game is this?

TF: This will be my dissertation study. One of the professors at Ritsukeiman University is interested in my idea, which asks the question: What kind of effect will be found when we use this game as an educational tool?

This game simulates 15 th and 16 th century Europe, and the player will be one of the merchants or travelers that explores the European environment. This is a good simulation of the economic aspect, and also the geographic, and cultural aspect. We want to let children play this game and observe what is happening.

JA:You mention you will be observing children playing the game, what ages will they be?

TF:We are thinking to use the middle-school students, because they are learning history and geography. We are thinking to use this as a collaborative tool.

JA:Will you conduct this project in an actual Japanese junior high school PC room?

TF:We are in the process of designing the research right now, and maybe we will use some junior high school students and allow them to play in a summer workshop.

JA:What are your favorite Japanese serious games?

TF:Recently my favorite is Daikoukai-jidai Online. It was released last year. It’s becoming one of the most successful multi-player online games, it was also released in China, Taiwan and Korea.

JA:Unknown to many outside Japan, game developer Namco actually operates a series of elderly day-care facilities known as Kaikaya alongside its business sectors of video game development and amusement park operations. Namco has been in the welfare business since 1985 in its home country of Japan. The company has expanded its welfare business to also accommodate not only the elderly, but handicapped individuals as well through a concept they call "rehabilitainment" (rehabilitation + entertainment).

In Fujimoto's presentation at the SGS last November, pictures of elderly day-care patrons could be seen playing Namco's own Taiko Drum Master as a physical rehabilitation method.

Is it true that Namco has owned and operated facilities for the elderly during the past 20 years? Is it also true that Namco has placed its own Taiko drum master and other games to help the elderly in physical therapy?

TF:Yes, they have a welfare business division, and they are operating elderly daycare centers. They are seriously doing that. At last summer’s CEDEC conference we had one of the developers from Namco discuss this.

JA:You also discussed Namco's own serious games project at Waseda University. Can you explain what this project is and what its goals are?

TF:They are doing research on the effects of using games to find positive elements of games through scientific studies. I got a message from one of the project members and they said they’ll have a conference this summer to announce their findings and they will continue the project for a while.

JA:It seems important that larger Japanese video game developers such as Sega, Taito and Namco get involved in the development of serious games. Overall, do Japanese developers see serious game development as a financial or business risk?

TF:Currently I think they just noticed what serious games are. They realize that serious games could be one way to develop their business. Serious games in Japan are not a huge business theme, because it’s a smaller percentage of the market. I keep hearing many of the big companies want to promote serious games as part of their business.

 

JA:You also discussed "tie-up" games and "advergames", such as Tokyo Bus Guide 1&2 and Yoshinoya: Video games created as simulations through corporate partnerships. While these games are not used in actual training situations for Japanese bus drivers or Yoshinoya employees directly, Fujimoto emphasized the importance of how corporate sponsorship may play a role in serious games development at his panel discussion.

In your Serious Games presentation last November, you mentioned that Japanese developer Success worked with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Traffic Bureau to develop Tokyo Bus Guide 1 & 2 for the PS2. Do you know if the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau uses these games to train their own bus drivers or employees?

TF:No, I don’t think they use a training simulation. It’s more of an advertisement and marketing tool for them, used to educate and inform the general audience.

JA:Success also released a game called Yoshinoya for the PS2, which is a business operation games based on the beef-bowl restaurant chain of the same name. Yoshinoya partnered with Success to develop the title. Did you play Yoshinoya? If so, how can you describe the Yoshinoya business operation game?

TF:Yes, I did play it. Basically, this game simulates what the restaurant operation looks like. This is more like an action game, not a serious game. When the customer came into the restaurant, you are the waiter, you serve to the customer by hitting the button, and each customer orders a different piece from the menu. You have to press a certain button so that you can get the correct item from the menu.

JA:Why has Success chosen to do these types of games (Tokyo Bus Guide 1&2, Yoshinoya)?

TF:They are very creative. The producer is very creative. We had a discussion at the conference last summer, they are very open to any ideas. Some of the top management thought it could be a great promotion for them.

JA: Japan's transportation industries have publicly come under-fire due to a wide array of incidents. In one such tragic case, speed was blamed on a train derailment involving a Japan Rail train crash in Amagasaki, Western Japan, that left 107 passengers dead and 500 others injured last April. It was Japan's worst train crash since 1963 according to ABC News.

Japan Airlines (JAL), has also endured a number of highly publicized safety and administrative problems throughout 2005, and announced last week it will spend 60 billion yen on safety measures in a bid to win back more customers, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

In 2005, both Japan Rail and JAL have come under fire for its numerous operational problems, which have been highly publicized, many of which have resulted in transportation delays, injuries and even death. Do you know if Japan Rail or JAL use serious video games in training their staff?

TF:No, I don’t think so. They may use a traditional simulator, but not really like a video game-like training simulator.

JA: Do you think they should?

TF:I think serious games could be a great training tool for them, especially for the younger workers. They are more familiar with the video game and interactive media environment. For them, the traditional training approach is less serious and useful for them. I think it could also work for the older workers, but for the younger people it could be more effective.

JA: As mentioned in your presentation, Japan has always been very well known for using celebrities to promote video game software launches through press conferences, as well as TV and print advertising campaigns. Takafumi Horie, a young business entrepreneur became an instant celebrity with his brash business negotiation methods involving the operation of Livedoor, a company he founded. Horie's face was put on such products as board games and even soft drinks.

Horie and Livedoor now face accusations of altering annual company earning reports and criminally inflating stock prices, accusations that garnered international headlines after he and a number of Livedoor executives were arrested. They are soon to be indicted on such charges and a delisting of Livedoor from the Tokyo Stock Exchange will soon take place, according to Associated Press reports.

Japanese celebrities, and the highly publicized woes of Horie and Livedoor prompted some final questions on how both will play a role in the future of serious games.

Will it be important for Japanese celebrities to help promote Serious Game content in the future?

TF:I don’t think its necessary to use them to promote serious games itself, but products could still be promoted with them. For example, in Japan there is a huge boom on the DS Brain Exercise game. The game will be released soon, so you will get to see what the game looks like. That game expands the market, the DS is really having good sales. On the TV commercials there are Japanese celebrities playing that Brain Exercise game.

JA:Takafumi Horie, a Japanese entrepreneur who started Livedoor has recently been arrested on numerous allegations of stock and earning report violations. Do you think this will inspire a Japanese developer to make a game about proper business operations?

TF:(laughs) Some people may think about that soon. That is a very good example of corporate governance and also compliance management. It’s no doubt that some creator may think about that. If I’m a game designer I may think about that.

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Fujimoto is hard at work on a number of translation projects, one of which will be a Japanese translation of the book "Digital Game Based Learning", authored by Mark Prensky and originally published here in North America by McGraw-Hill. Fujimoto is currently in negotiations with several Japanese publishers to showcase Prensky's own findings on successful digital-game based learning programs.

Fujimoto continues his dissertation work at Penn State focusing on how serious game development can be used in educational settings. He continues to carefully observe how Japanese developers will integrate serious game design into their future products, with hopes that the genre will continue to grow in his home country of Japan.