Platinum Games has been taking a lot of flak with the decision to make Bayonetta 2 a Wii U-exclusive, and they’re dishing back a little heat of their own. Specifically, they’re tackling criticism of Japanese developers.

In an interview with UK gaming magazine Edge, executive director Atsushi Inaba talked about people’s tendency to lump Japanese game developers into a single group, as if they all hang out in their own club.

According to Inaba, it’s borderline offensive, especially when people make statements that the Japanese gaming industry is “dead” and “far behind” their competition in America and Europe:

“Think about Western developers. There are many Western developers making terrible games, and then you see one like Infinity Ward making a game that sells 20 million and everyone goes, ‘hey, Western developers are amazing!’

“There are tons of terrible Western developers, just like there are tons of terrible Japanese developers. To lump studios together in great masses misses the point.”

Looking all-time critical reception and sales, it’s hard to argue that Japanese or Western gaming developers are really “better” than each other, no matter how you dice up the data. Ataba’s actually making a fair point—besides, trying to justify either statement in an age where mobile games are changing the industry is tough, especially with so much crossover between regions.

Source: CVG