An expert explains why Japanese companies like Nintendo and Capcom are healthier than their Western counterparts

Coached by Aamir Satwat l’ASGC Game Industry Layoffs Tracking Report in 2022 The number of layoffs was analyzed through official sources and internal company sources.

According to his prediction, 57,628 developers laid off from 2022 to 2026but employed almost the same number of people during the same period, adding only a few thousand employees. The real question is where: 96% of layoffs occurred between North America and Europe.

Japan’s gaming industry is healthieron the contrary. Satvat explained why in an interview with Edge.

Savat’s comments on the situation in Japan

“There is one 12-18 months period Which I estimate exceeds Half of the world’s layoffs happen in California”, Satwat explained to the newspaper.

He then added: “I think the current situation As serious as the crisis of 1983 For video game developers working in traditional AAA studios in North America or Western Europe. It was ground zero for destruction. ”

“Everyone mentions Nintendo, but look at Konami or Capcom: these companies have a huge market share. Employee loyalty is over 97%he continued. “From what I’ve heard, Japanese teams in general tend to be smaller and leaner. They haven’t gotten carried away with the instant service trend or these big blockbusters with 500-person teams.”

Satvat further emphasizes how “manager salary” represents a point of view in the Japanese industry: “Their income is still very high, but we are talking about two to three million US dollars, not 30 million US dollars.” To give a specific example, EA boss Andrew Wilson’s income in the last fiscal year was US$38,649,984, which is approximately 305 times that of ordinary employees. During the same period, Nintendo claimed that its president Shuntaro Furukawa’s total compensation was US$2 million.

To sum upThe reasons why Japanese companies are in better health are:

• smaller team
• Fewer layoffs
• Senior executives earning less than 10 million