Several prominent figures in the Japanese games are concerned that the country's developers are rather 'narrow' and could become marginalised on the international scene, something might argue against, having announced plans to open a game studio of their own in Tokyo.

Epic big wig Mike Capps was on hand at the Tokyo Game Show to announce the maker's plans, revealing that staff are now being hired for the branch.

While the studio is clearly a major undertaking, we aren't about to see it churning out J-RPGs featuring fictional animals and amazing hair-cuts, rather the new office will support local developers licensing the firm's Unreal Engine 3 middleware.

Capps is enthused about the potential of the Japanese games industry, describing Epic as 'fanboys'.

By Luke Guttridge