kusoge
{{Short description|Bad video game in Japanese gaming culture}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
In Japanese video gaming, a {{nihongo|kusoge|クソゲー|kusogē|{{IPA|ja|kɯ̥soɡeː|pron|JA Pronunciation - Kusoge.ogg}}}},{{r|PC Gamer Ikki|Destructoid Spelunker}} {{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 {{nihongo|kuso|クソ or 糞||{{lit.|crap}}}} and {{nihongo|gēmu|ゲーム||{{gloss|game}}; a loanword from English}}. Though it is commonly attributed to illustrator {{Interlanguage link|Jun Miura|ja|みうらじゅん}}, 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 videogame 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 {{nihongo|dame-soft|ダメソフト||{{lit.|no-good software}}}}, {{nihongo|suka-soft|スカ・ソフト||{{lit.|scat software}}}} and {{nihongo|kasu-gēmu|カスゲーム||{{lit.|dreg game}}}}.{{r|Denfaminico Gamer etymology article}}
A variety of similarly constructed terms exist to describe other subjective attributes – for example, {{nihongo|kamigē|神ゲー||{{lit.|god game}}; used as {{gloss|amazing game}}}},{{r|Yahoo News Kamige of the Year}} {{nihongo|bakagē|バカゲー||{{gloss|stupid game}}}},{{r|Famitsu Ikki article}} and {{nihongo|kigē|奇ゲー||{{gloss|uncanny game}}}}.{{r|Famitsu kige}} The same manner of portmanteau is also used for something more akin to genres, such as {{nihongo|kakugē|格ゲー||{{gloss|fighting game}}}} and {{nihongo|eroge|エロゲー||{{gloss|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.{{r|Museums of Failure}}{{r|Bad Romance}} This counter-cultural appreciation of kusoge can at the very least be traced back to the {{nihongo|{{Interlanguage link|Bishoku Club Bakagē Senka|ja|美食倶楽部バカゲー専科}}|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.{{r|Bad Romance}} 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.{{r|Fighting Game Glossary}}
In later years, the word "kusoge" has occasionally been embraced by video game companies. Taito described Takeshi no Chōsenjō as {{nihongo foot |"that legendary kusoge"|あの伝説のクソゲー|ano densetsu no kusogē|group=lower-alpha}} in marketing for the game's 2017 smartphone re-release.{{r|Takeshi VR}} Sunsoft similarly used the word in the marketing for the 2023 video game Ikki Unite{{r|Ikki Unite Steam}} – a sequel to noted kusoge Ikki – stating in a press release that {{nihongo foot |"It only makes us happy to still today hear people say that 'Sunsoft were the original kusoge makers'."|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.|group=lower-alpha}}{{r|Yahoo News Sunsoft article}}.
See also
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{reflist |refs=
{{cite web |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/a-retro-publisher-is-updating-ikki-which-literally-defined-the-bad-yet-fun-game/ |title=A retro publisher is updating Ikki, which literally defined the bad yet fun game |last=Bolding |first=Jonathan |website=PC Gamer |date=August 12, 2022 |access-date=February 6, 2023 }}
{{cite magazine |url=https://www.famitsu.com/news/202207/08267809.html |title="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 |trans-title=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 |language=Japanese |magazine=Famitsu |date=July 8, 2022 |access-date=February 6, 2023 }}
{{cite web |url=https://www.taito.co.jp/takeshi_vr |title=たけしの挑戦状VR |trans-title=Takeshi's Challenge VR |language=Japanese |publisher=Taito |access-date=February 6, 2023}}
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Category:Concepts in Japanese aesthetics
Category:Japanese words and phrases