Lost Odyssey Interview
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I know that with the bigger projects, you have to really make sure that you appeal to a Western audience, because that's where it has the possibility to sell well at this point -- how are you doing that? How are you trying to figure out what the mass western market will want? Or are you?
RN: Well, I guess, of course we have to make games that are accepted in the Western market, but we also have to stand out, so we just can't mimic those games that are already out there in the States.
So, we try -- when we start up the concept of the game, we really don't think too much about Western users or Western market; we just focus on what we would want to make. So that's something to start with, then that's, in the concept design stage, that's how we do it.
Once we figure out overall plot, like the design ideas and world plot, then we start consulting with European and North American agencies. Like story agencies, story writing agencies, or marketing agencies. But the core concept is something that Japanese people came up with.
I was thinking about, in the old days, like in the NES era, Japanese games were really popular here, but that was just because they were the best-made games at the time. And I wonder where that shift was, that the next-gen games, the highest end games that were the most fun, weren't coming out of Japan anymore all the time. Do you have any idea how that shift might have happened? Or maybe you don't agree...
RN: I think one big factor is that in Western gaming market there is a long history of PC games. A long and big market with the PC games, so I think there are a lot of great developers and creators who kept making PC games, and I think this generation of consoles, finally those people started showing up in the console game arena. I think that's one big reason. Also that's one big reason that Japan also seems to be a little behind in that arena.
