2006-07-12 04:35:50 Interview With N3's Tetsuya Mizuguchi, and director SangYoun Lee

XE: So what about Lumines on Xbox Live?

Mizuguchi: Originally it was a PSP game of course, and it did well, so the concept was attractive because it was a puzzle game, because you could play it anytime. It also has the music and you can enjoy the music and play it at the same time. With Xbox 360 you can play your own music, and that is great also. Besides that we wanted to make an online game and we want you to be able to customize the game as well.


XE: What do you think about gamers’ reactions to N3 in Japan?

Mizuguchi: I am satisfied with it, the Japanese market for Xbox 360 is sort of chaotic, and I hope it changes for the better of Microsoft. I just wish there were more 360 gamers in Japan, I hope the marketing team makes more of an effort in the future.


XE: So you don’t think they have been making enough effort?

Mizuguchi: I think it is getting better in Japan, and of course I would hope titles like Blue Dragon will help, that is something I think Microsoft is betting on. I think the console is something that if advertised right to the Japanese they will want to buy it, because of the console itself, but not just that but the content. The announcement of the Windows Vista link to Xbox 360, I think, will make an impact in Japan.


XE: When designing N3 did you design it specifically for the Japanese in mind or are you hoping to have better success in the west?

Mizuguchi: We wanted it to work for the Japanese market first but it was also designed for the world market, and I think Phantagram has done a good job. So yeah I think we tried. We just hope the results are good in United States.

SangYoun: If you look at the characters they actually don’t look American but more Japanese but that is expected. We paid great attention to how the game plays and we wanted to make sure it translated well for all people, but we also wanted to make sure people knew that this was a game tailored specifically to the Japanese and Korean markets.

XE: Besides English translations will anything different be done to the game when it hits US?

Mizuguchi: No it will be the same product through and through.


XE: So how has it been working with the Xbox 360?

Sang Youn: Well I don’t think the TGS showings for 360 were all that great! The only real weakness was initially the developing tools were weak but now that the final Xbox 360 tools are out there, there is so much more that we can do now and I hope to show these capabilities in future Xbox 360 titles.


A gentlemen from IGN chimes in: Why not make it for multiple platforms?

Mizuguchi: Well it’s published by Microsoft so—uh yeah. (laughs).


XE: When you guys were looking for a publisher did Microsoft approach you guys, or did Microsoft give you a bag of money and say “have fun”? I mean how did Microsoft end up becoming the publisher?

Mizuguchi: Well we got offers from Microsoft, as they needed to have something to show off there next-generation console, and show the next-gen of action games. They said it had high-def, true 5.1, and all this other stuff and that’s great you know? Gameplay though is a physical thing; we needed to show it off with these high resolution visuals like this epic battle in a war. Phantagram is of course known for action/strategy and they worked with Microsoft in the past, so the relationship from the start was fantastic. So when we first started out we thought what can we do to bring physical emotion into these games? So let’s make a good story and mix action with strategy and drama. Then we make this a war game, and we have you feel for the people, and put in great A.I.

XE: What do you think of the other consoles, think you will make games for the Wii?

Mizuguchi: Well we just had an announcement for DS, a Disney themed Meteos which I think will be fun for kids.


What do you think about the PS3 and Wii?

(Mizuguchi just shrugs, asks SangYoun Lee what he thinks)

SangYoun: Well they are both interesting systems, but we have not been given that much information about them, and the great thing about working with a company like Microsoft and Xbox 360, is we already have a lot of tools that will work with their machine, and besides that I am to busy with current projects to be even thinking about working on projects for PS3 or Nintendo Wii.


XE: When producing N3 what were your inspirations?

Mizuguchi: Well I had aspirations to make the game dramatic, and show the hardships of war. I think after 9/11 and we started seeing people in war, we could now in today’s age watch war anytime, anywhere, and it seems to not affect us all that much. So with this game I hope that we have shown the hardships of war, and make it seem real, and harder than most action-strategies.

SangYoun: I think that our past games helped as a foundation, but mostly Chinese war movies, one is called “Kingdom of Heaven”, there are actually a lot of scenes in the movie that are reflected in the game.


XE: Will you have downloadable content with the game?

Mizuguchi: It depends on the market reaction, so we will see, depending on the reaction we could make content.

http://xe360.com/article/Ninety-Nine_Nights/3534.html


They seem to love 360, which is great news. And, I kind of find it funny that hes making fun of the dev kits! Lets see them try out the PS3 kits. ;) lmao And, its funny how he just shrugged at PS3. heh

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Wii60!

2006-07-12 05:02:56

I see youve been busy neo.

2006-07-12 05:05:45 In reply to Shawnzee (2006-07-12 05:02:56)

Busy with what?

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Wii60!

2006-07-12 05:18:42

Busy not being on xbl.

2006-07-12 06:57:22

Mizuguchi is the man :)

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[b] Never judge a game too harshly via screenshots or videos, because they are in no way capable of properly representing what the game truly looks like were you to see it running in front of you on a 360 [/b]

2006-07-12 07:26:26 In reply to Optimusv2 (2006-07-12 06:57:22)

damn skippy! i hope he continues to support the 360. He and Mistwalker are a breathe of fresh air that i think the japanese gamers will enjoy. ofcourse, with games like Blue Dragon and Lost Odysee (sp?), we will all be happy.

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If you can kneel before GOD, you can stand before anyone.

2006-07-12 08:38:40 In reply to Shawnzee (2006-07-12 05:18:42)

I was on playing LOTR: BFME II for like 4 hours. lol

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Wii60!