Newly departed game maker Ryan Payton has told Kotaku that Japanese game developers are increasingly feeling the heat from their Western counterparts, and are more and more having to look West in developing new games.

Payton quit Kojima's team for reasons and is now back in States seeking local employment.

He tells the blog: "The Japanese public seems to be disinterested in next-gen and high definition gaming. There is a stigma still attached to western technology there."

He pointed to the failure of top-notch games as an example of this.

Next-generation is really struggling in Japan, it would seem. "It’s apparent, everyone knows it in Japan. The developers here feel the pressure. They’re starting to develop more with the West in mind and the tech is in the West now. I’m surprised at how many titles have been produced on the Unreal 3 Engine," explains Payton.

More soon.

By Luke Guttridge