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Fedos
04-01-2005, 00:02
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/03/31/news_6121414.html

Here's some info on what these three have in store for us future Xbox gamers. I personally found the info about Sakaguchi's games to be most interesting, as I am anticipating his efforts the most, and definately hope he'll have something at E3.


The Japanese creators talk about their reasons behind joining Microsoft and give hints on their respective game projects.

In the beginning of March, Microsoft announced that Yoshiki Okamoto, former Capcom executive and current president of Game Republic, will be developing an unspecified number of exclusive next-gen Xbox games. In an interview published in the latest issue of Famitsu magazine, Okamoto hinted that he is currently developing two games for the next-gen Xbox, one of which will require a good network infrastructure but not too many hardware specs. The second will be an extremely large-scale project that requires a lot of funding from Microsoft and a lot of hardware specs.

Okamoto commented in the interview that he decided to develop for Microsoft because one of the projects being created by Game Republic matched perfectly with the infrastructure of the next-gen Xbox. He revealed that the untitled project falls in the party game genre and is being developed with Xbox Live in mind. It's said to present an extremely amicable atmosphere, which is a major change from the action and survival horror games that Okamoto often gets associated with due to his history at his previous company. Okamoto also revealed that he was offered jobs from different companies to develop fighting games but declined all of them since it made no sense to repeat what he was doing in his previous company.

Okamoto added that his aim for the next-gen Xbox is to create a game like the Nintendo 64's Super Smash Bros., in the sense that the game sold an extremely large number of copies when compared to sales of the hardware. He also commented that he hopes his game will boost the sales of the next-gen Xbox in Japan.

Famitsu also interviewed Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who revealed that his game in development for the next-gen Xbox could be categorized as an action one. However, Mizuguchi hinted that his next-gen Xbox title might surprise gamers in the same way as when he released Space Channel 5 after he made Sega Rally Championship. Mizuguchi commented that he was inspired to create a game for the next-gen Xbox after hearing of its hardware specs, which brought a vision of a game to his mind. But he also stated that Microsoft's views on the future of gaming matched many of his own, which made him lean toward making a game for the company’s console.

In terms of the next-gen Xbox hardware, Mizuguchi commented that he sees the machine's high-resolution and HDTV support as its main appeal, since it allows for more-detailed graphics. He also said that Microsoft thought into the sound system for the console and that it is definitely a machine he wants to develop a game for. Mizuguchi also gave high praise to the Xbox Live, commenting that it was a well-thought-out system with a good infrastructure. However, he did not reveal whether his game in development would make use of Xbox Live.

In the latest issue of Dorimaga magazine, Sakaguchi talked about his upcoming role-playing games for the next-gen Xbox. Sakaguchi stated that his interest continues to lie in storytelling and that storytelling is an essential factor when he's giving his best effort in a game's development.

One thing that gamers shouldn't expect from Sakaguchi are games that play like watching a movie, which is exactly what he criticized about recent console offerings. Sakaguchi commented that modern games let bystanders get as excited as the player. But considering they're interactive, Sakaguchi believes that games are really supposed to be something that only the person who's playing should be able to completely understand and enjoy, which is what he expects his games on the next-gen Xbox to be like.

Chaotic_King
04-01-2005, 02:25
Sakaguchi really should stop making such general statements. He hasn't had much involvement in a game since Chrono Trigger, and even then, it wasn't all him. His movie was god-awful, and FFIX's (I beleive he wrote that) story wasn't great at all.

The rest of it sounds good.

Fedos
04-01-2005, 02:55
Well, if Sakaguchi wrote FFIX then I'm definitely looking forward to his new games.

[spoiler:b559259b00]For one, the section of FFIX where Bahamut and Alexander square off and where Garland is revealed is my second favorite scene in the FF series, right behind where the Weapons are released in VII.[/spoiler:b559259b00]

And I don't think there was much of anything wrong with what he said. Basically, he wants the game to be much more personal in terms of how the gamer interacts with the gameplay, and not a game that possess the interactivity of say a Xenosaga Episode 1. That's a perfect example of what he's trying to avoid. That game was a movie through and through.

muchuukuri
04-01-2005, 05:56
Yeah, that's fine but I think its kinda like he's insulting games like Xenosaga 1 (as you noted) because they are awesome games. There's nothing wrong with a movie going experience, besides not that many games even do that. Xenosaga and the Soul reaver 2 are the only ones I can think of. Also, I think Sakaguchi needs to watch what he says, considering how GOD AWFUL spirits within was. I don't know how many months of ribbing I took from my friends about the FF series after they saw that movie.

Chaotic -- Sakaguchi only supervised Chrono Trigger, what are you talking about? Maybe you meant FF6? Though he was just producer then as well... you know...

Sakaguchi's work

FF1: Original Concept Designer
FF2: Concept design, director
FF3: director
FF4: director
FF5: director
FF6: producer
FF7: co-author to story, producer
FF8: producer
FF9: concept (wanted to fuse previous FFs into 1... that's the concept), producer
FF10: NOTHING
FF10-2: NOTHING
FF11: I actually don't know... never was in to MMOs sorry. However, I don't believe Sakaguchi had anything to do with it.

Hope that helps.

12-04-2006, 16:52
I think I can get an interview lined up now with the makers of Heavenly Sword.

Anyone have some good ideas for questions to send them?

ps3 Wanna be
12-04-2006, 17:46
Why PS3 exclusive?

When is it going to be released?

Downloadable content?

Online modes?

(Hopefully will give you a few ideas, but obviously make sure you send proper questions)

KlawHammer
12-04-2006, 20:08
Will it play in 1080p?

Does Heavenly Sword utilize the large amount of disk space that Blu-ray supports?

Will it be multiplayer split-screen or single player only?

12-05-2006, 05:41
On a side note, where is this mysterious "Final Submissions" forum located?

luxurys
12-05-2006, 06:27
dont worry about it....just post it in the interviews section.

Rebon
12-05-2006, 12:34
On a side note, where is this mysterious "Final Submissions" forum located?

I need to update the text. No-one ended up using that (people much prefered the tags in the title i.e. [RAEAD]).

Seb
12-08-2006, 15:11
Will there be any demos downloadable from the PS Network?
How has development progressed from E3?
Have there been any significant changes in the story/gameplay since E3.
Can you tell us a little more about the combat system?
Will this game be available as a launch title in Europe>?
How have you found developing with CELL? How does development compare to the early days of PS2?