>>23257587Frankly, it seems like Japanese game developers too often get sugarcoated feedback and softball interviews. It's gotten really bad recently.
It's one thing to be modest and not rock the boat, but it's another when no one wants to be "mean" and offer some genuine constructive criticism when it'd still be useful, ESPECIALLY when project heads seem the type to not get out often.
Remember Final Fantasy XIII? THAT. Playtested it too late to really improve anything; nobody tried hard enough during development to tell the guy heading it how he could be less stupid about things; head guy acknowledges negative feedback one time, dismisses it because every +1 Western critic = -2 Japanese critics; claims they listened to fan feedback for the sequel, and the story was STILL SHIT.
I don't like what I'm seeing with Masuda and Game Freak lately. They need to double down on the smart changes (Destiny Knot, Dex Nav), and ask themselves and playtesters whether, hey, if they "put enough work into it and, if not, how to fix it? Be honest, now! You won't hurt our feelings, promise."
