Mecha games are, at their core, not aimed at the western audience (Europe and America) and trying to aim a game at a market different than the one you're in and familiar with is fraught with failure.
There are numerous examples of this. Everyone expects that Shadow Warrior to offend Asians, but I've talked to Bioware people who said that Jade Empire did too. Part of Tabula Rasa's reboot was because their original art style was attempting to aim at the Asian market, but was missing horribly (they have since stopped trying to aim for both at once).
If you aren't part of the culture, you end up making something that leans on widely known cliches, and avoids the subtlety. What you end up with often is something that feels like a Chinese Restaurant in America - exceedingly fake feeling to anyone who has actually been over there.
Re: Game Design challenge, for everyone
Mecha games are, at their core, not aimed at the western audience (Europe and America) and trying to aim a game at a market different than the one you're in and familiar with is fraught with failure.
There are numerous examples of this. Everyone expects that Shadow Warrior to offend Asians, but I've talked to Bioware people who said that Jade Empire did too. Part of Tabula Rasa's reboot was because their original art style was attempting to aim at the Asian market, but was missing horribly (they have since stopped trying to aim for both at once).
If you aren't part of the culture, you end up making something that leans on widely known cliches, and avoids the subtlety. What you end up with often is something that feels like a Chinese Restaurant in America - exceedingly fake feeling to anyone who has actually been over there.