LogInThere are apparently technical issues.
Kojima Productions
Hideo Kojima is a Japanese game designer, but you rarely see his countrymen in his projects, and there is a reason for that, according to the developer.
The freshly released Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has a bunch of Western actors, like Norman Reedus, Lea Seydoux, and Elle Fanning. However, Kojima also chose the Japanese actor Shioli Kutsuna to play Rainy.
In an interview with IGN Japan (via VGC), he explained that Kojima Productions shoots footage for its games in a studio in Los Angeles, so it might be a problem if actors don’t have native-level English skills.
"I searched for someone who could speak Japanese and also native-level English, but it was difficult. Kutsuna grew up in Australia, can speak English, and when I met her, I found her to be a nice person, so we decided to work together."
He said he'd like to cast more young Japanese actors, but there are technical challenges when it comes to scanning them for games.
"It’s difficult to make Asians look like their real-life counterparts," he said. "Women and young people in particular have such beautiful, smooth skin. Asians, and not just Japanese people, are known for their beautiful, smooth skin, so it ends up looking like CG."
At the same time, it’s easier to recreate details in older people or those with lots of freckles: "I’ve tried to use Japanese people in the past, but it’s hard to make them look like their real-life counterparts. However, this time I used new technology, and I’m quite satisfied with the results."
Kojima added that he would like to continue working with Japanese actors and might even set a game in Japan one day.
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