Kusoge

In Japanese video gaming, a kusoge (クソゲー, kusogē, pronounced [kɯ̥soɡeː] ⓘ),[1][2] lit. 'shitty game', is an unenjoyable or poorly made video game. Though the label is usually applied disparagingly, there is a subculture of celebrating kusoge.

Etymology

The term kusogē is a portmanteau of kuso (クソ or 糞, lit. 'crap') and gēmu (ゲーム, 'game'; a loanword from English). Though it is commonly attributed to illustrator Jun Miura [ja], and occasionally to Takahashi-Meijin of Hudson Soft, it is unclear when and by whom it was popularized – or whether a single source can be attributed in the first place. By the language used in video magazines of the time, it appears that the word was nascent in 1986 and a common expression by 1987. In 1985 and 1986, a variety of other, less codified terms were sometimes synthesized at the author's discretion, usually combining a pejorative with the word "game" or "soft" (a wasei-eigo abbreviation of "software") – examples include dame-soft (ダメソフト, lit. 'no-good software'), suka-soft (スカ・ソフト, lit. 'scat software') and kasu-gēmu (カスゲーム, lit. 'dreg game').[3]

A variety of similarly constructed terms exist to describe other subjective attributes – for example, kamigē (神ゲー, lit. 'god game'; used as 'amazing game'),[4] bakagē (バカゲー, 'stupid game'),[5] and kigē (奇ゲー, 'uncanny game').[6] The same manner of portmanteau is also used for something more akin to genres, such as kakugē (格ゲー, 'fighting game') and eroge (エロゲー, 'erotic game').

Culture

"Kusoge" is in essence a disparaging term, and is typically used to recommend against a video game. Nonetheless, a subculture that celebrates kusoge and seeks them out has established itself. This is similar to paracinema or camp appreciation of works of art: often but not always ironic; reveling in what is incoherent, odd, absurd, flawed, or broken.[7][8] This counter-cultural appreciation of kusoge can at the very least be traced back to the Bishoku Club Bakagē Senka [ja] (美食倶楽部バカゲー専科, lit. 'Gourmet Club Stupid Games Course'), a regular column in the video game magazine Used Games (later known as GAMESIDE), which started publication in 1996.[8] In the fighting game community, kusoge typically refers to fighting games that are severely unbalanced for competitive play through design mistakes or bugs, which can lead to ridiculous strategies, and thus these games are considered funny and not just bad.[9]

In later years, the word "kusoge" has occasionally been embraced by video game companies. Taito described Takeshi no Chōsenjō as "that legendary kusoge"[a] in marketing for the game's 2017 smartphone re-release.[10] Sunsoft similarly used the word in the marketing for the 2023 video game Ikki Unite[11] – a sequel to noted kusoge Ikki – stating in a press release that "It only makes us happy to still today hear people say that 'Sunsoft were the original kusoge makers'."[b][12].

See also

Notes

  1. ^ あの伝説のクソゲー, ano densetsu no kusogē
  2. ^ 今でも元祖クソゲーといえば「SUNSOFT」とお声がけいただき大変うれしい限りです。, Ima de mo ganso kusogē to ieba Sunsoft to okoe ga itadaki taihen ureshii kagiri desu.

References

  1. ^ Bolding, Jonathan (August 12, 2022). "A retro publisher is updating Ikki, which literally defined the bad yet fun game". PC Gamer. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  2. ^ Handley, Zoey (February 22, 2021). "Meet Spelunker, one of Japan's most treasured bad games". Destructoid. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  3. ^ Tiny-P (September 18, 2018). "「クソゲー」という言葉の起源は、みうらじゅん？ 高橋名人？ 徹底的に探ったら、意外な人物やあの雑誌が急浮上！" [Who Coined the Word "Kusoge"? Jun Miura? Takahashi-Meijin? Exhaustive Research Turned Up Some Unexpected Names as Well as a Certain Magazine!]. Denfaminico Gamer (in Japanese). Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "【6万票突破】「神ゲー・オブ・ザ・イヤー 2022」は『ヘブン・バーンズレッド』に！ 『Ib』が平均リツイート数TOPなど最終結果データを公表" [[Over 60,000 Votes] The Kamigē of the Year Is Heaven Burns Red! Ib Received the Most Retweets. This and More in the Newly Published Final Results]. Yahoo News (in Japanese). January 27, 2023. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  5. ^ "サンソフト『いっき団結』のクローズドβテストが10月7日より3日間にかけて開催。伝説の"バカゲー"『いっき』の令和版をひと足先に体験しよう" [Sunsoft's Ikki Danketsu Commences Three-Day Closed Beta Test on October 7. Experience the Reiwa Version of the Legendary "Bakagē" Ikki In Advance] (in Japanese). October 5, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  6. ^ ""3大奇ゲー"の一角と言われる『ガラージュ』がSteamで本日発売。生体機械と呼ばれる異形となった主人公が精神世界からの脱出を目指すアドベンチャーゲーム" [Garage, One in the "Kigē Trinity", Released on Steam Today. Adventure Game in Which the Protagonist, who Has Metamorphosed into a Grotesque Form known as a "Living Machine", Must Escape from the Mental World]. Famitsu (in Japanese). July 8, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  7. ^ Navarro-Remesal, Víctor (March 3, 2017). "Museums of Failure". Fans and Videogames: Histories, Fandom, Archives. Routledge. ISBN 978-1138679672.
  8. ^ a b Flynn-Jones, Emily (January 14, 2015). "Bad Romance: For the Love of "Bad" Videogames". Game Love: Essays on Play and Affection. McFarland & Company. p. 258. ISBN 978-1476618784.
  9. ^ Infil. "Kusoge". The Fighting Game Glossary. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  10. ^ "たけしの挑戦状VR" [Takeshi's Challenge VR] (in Japanese). Taito. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  11. ^ "いっき団結" [Ikki Unite]. Steam (in Japanese). Sunsoft. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  12. ^ "元祖"クソゲー"メーカー「サンソフト」が復活宣言" [Sunsoft, the Original "Kusoge" Makers, to Be Revived]. Yahoo News (in Japanese). August 12, 2022. Archived from the original on August 12, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2023.