next.games is a channel where we introduce overlooked Japanese games to players abroad, one title at a time. In English we publish it under the name Uncut, with a Japanese version alongside it. This article is about how we keep quietly growing it: why we don't stop even though it isn't flashy, and one small sign, the Steam wishlist moving by about 0.36% the other day.
The games we cover sit on Steam yet sink into the sea of search results without ever reaching ten reviews. We find those rough gems, put them into words, and offer them up to the world. That's really all we do.
What do we actually do on next.games? Find one title, put it into words
We look for a game that has sunk, write it up for players abroad, then go looking for the next one. The work itself is very plain.
First, we search for games that have sunk. Relying on taste and genre, we dig up a title with few reviews that no one has found yet. We center on genres for the discerning: deckbuilding roguelikes, turn-based tactics, logic puzzles. We pick the one that makes you ask, "This should be fun, so why is it unknown?"
Once we've picked it, we turn its appeal into a piece written for a global audience. What makes it fun, where it differs from the rest, who it will land with. We write one title's worth, then go looking for the next.
Nothing goes viral, and no numbers leap. We find them, put them into words, and line them up. We stack this plain handwork one title at a time.
Why don't we stop, even though it isn't flashy?
Because we believe there is meaning in the keeping itself. Introducing one title doesn't change anything dramatically the next day. We keep at it anyway.
In running this site, we value quality over quantity. We've decided not to mass-produce thin pieces just to pad our update frequency. next.games follows the same policy.
We don't force ourselves to add titles every day. But we don't stop, and when there's enough worth writing, we line them up, one title, then another. Instead of flashiness, we want to keep stacking the fact that it's still going.
This isn't limited to games, either. pleasewatch.passed.jp, where we recommend manga, anime, and other works, runs the same way. When there's enough worth writing, we line the pieces up, one at a time.
The Steam wishlist moved by about 0.36%: a small sign
The other day, the Steam wishlist was up by about 0.36%.
I'd like to think it's because we kept adding titles. I honestly cannot say for sure. It might be chance, or some other reason.
So I don't intend to puff my chest and call it a result. A number moved a tiny bit, in the hands of something we've kept up quietly. That's all it is.
We'll keep adding titles, one at a time. Find the rough gems that have sunk, put them into words, and offer them up to the world. We mean to keep that loop going, calmly. If you like, take a peek at next.games.passed.jp.
