Independent Japanese developer PlatinumGames, the studio behind MadWorld, has recently launched their English website (platinumgames.com) with an ambitious goal of building a strong vibrant community with the West, a rare move for a video game company from the East.

In order to build a more personal relationship with them, PlatinumGames is taking advantage of today’s popular social media tools. Instead of just delivering a normal website, the company is going straight to their online hangouts with Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Delicious. Short summaries of these posts are displayed on their homepage so everyone will know what the company is up to recently.

They want Facebook and the rest of the others to give people more options to gain access to their content, wether at home or on an iPhone. This also opens the door wider for more fans to get involved to share their opinions and questions to them; this way the company can return the favor with better, quicker feedback. Furthermore, they will not just not socialize on the web with their fans, but will update about upcoming community get-togethers located in either LA, London, or Leipzig.

The website’s three main features will be blogs, video podcasts and a forum, all of which will be participated in by the company staff. On his first blog, PlatinumGames CEO and President Tatsuya Minami called 2009 a “turning point” for his company since their first titles will be released this year; he is confident the recession will not lure people away from innovative video games. As for the company’s Executive Director and Producer, Atsushi Inaba, the developer behind Okami, he blogged about MadWorld, summarizing the game as “Comical Violence.”

All of these ambitious undertakings for just a company website came about because PlatinumGames intends to send a clear message to everyone that their goal is global entertainment. They promise they won’t be another one of those Japanese gaming companies who struggle to establish a strong business and community in the West. The main message on their homepage included this explanation:

“Japanese game companies are notorious for not “getting it”. They are thought of as slow moving, orthodox, and out of touch. One of the places where Japanese companies seem to not “get it” is community. Sure, you may have an American branch leading a great community effort, but it is very rare for a Japanese company to reach out in a meaningful way to its Western users. PlatinumGames.com is our attempt at getting it right. It isn’t simply a translation of our Japanese webpage.”

In order to succeed, PlatinumGames may need the West to have a strong response to their first game critically and commercially, especially during this recession when video game studios are closing right and left. Minami is right about this year being crucial for his company, and the first signs of how it will go for them will be soon enough as MadWorld comes in March.

Right now they made a smart decision to give the game more attention from their new community-based website. It makes sense to have one built from the ground up for America and Europe, since MadWorld has plenty of Western appeal, with a comic book style reminiscent of Sin City, a story similar to The Running Man, and lots of fistfights, weapons, and blood. It will be interesting to see wether their vision for a better relationship with the West can depend on their efforts in the online world. To help their cause, at least MadWorld is easily the one Wii game people are looking forward to play.