Gamasutra: What do you think it will take Microsoft to succeed in Japan, not necessarily financially, but in terms of really winning over the audience?
RN: Online. I don't know what's going to happen to PS3, so its (up in the air). Right now, in Japan, the Nintendo DS and the Wii are very successful, so many developers and publishers in Japan are focusing on the DS and the Wii, and very little on the PS3 and the Xbox 360. So eventually, most of the Japan-made games will be on either handhelds or the Wii.
They were ready to invest in the PS3, but the PS3 wasn't as successful as people thought, and it's expensive to develop PS3 games, so a lot of publishers now only do a couple of PS3 games, and many DS and Wii games. Then a little Xbox 360, because the 360 is successful in the United States. But its presence in Japan is small.
That was one of the reasons AQI started: to be uniquely positioned as a new publisher and developer. We invested heavily on 360, when no one else was doing that in Japan. Were a 360-heavy company now. Back then, AQI thought the system would be more successful in Japan, but of course it wasn't actually successful. But, it turned out to be quite successful in North America, so our positioning is still OK. We make games for 360 not so much for the Japan market, but for the global market. Not many people do that.
Capcom does that, and does it successfully with titles like Dead Rising and Lost Planet. But very few companies invest in the 360 and very few do PS3 games. So what Im saying is that you'll see a lot of Japan-made DS and Wii games in the next few years, but very few high-end games from Japan. For those high-end users, theyll have to buy more Western games, even in Japan. I think they will start to get used to Western games more, if they want to play high-end games.
I think most of the Japanese gamers will go to casual games on the DS and such, but there will be a high-end gamer market. For those gamers, because of a lack of Japan-made games, they're going to start playing U.S. games. Then, I think the Xbox 360 will have a better chance.
Also, gamers will start using the Internet functions. Xbox Live is so sophisticated on that point I think even Sony is behind, even after their most recent announcements, like Home. I think their infrastructure is still behind. If Microsoft has a chance to succeed in Japan, I think the Xbox Live services and new entertainment fully using Xbox Live are important.
Gamasutra: Your comment about Japanese developers working mainly on Nintendo consoles is interesting, because I wonder if it will make the next-gen knowledge base build up slower in Japan. Is that a concern for you, for the industry's future in Japan? Or do you think Nintendo will be enough to sustain it?
RN: Its a big worry. The gaming industry is global, so as long as the global industry is healthy, it should be fine. But if you consider the Japanese economy with the Japanese industry only, it's a concern. I think Japan will position itself toward more classic-styled games. Its similar to how Korea and China (are known for) PC online games, and high-end beautiful games are done by American or European publishers. There will be a little bit of a positioning difference, but overall, I think the global gaming industry will be healthy. I think Japan will be very, very behind in terms of technology, though.
Rest des Interviews:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070507/sheffield_01.shtml
