Exclusive: Wanda team on PlayStation 3 and the end of the series
And much more inside...
Last Friday, we were invited to a cosy central London hotel lobby to interview the team behind current critical darling and sequel to ICO, Shadow of the Colossus.
Thanks to the magic of hired Japanese translators, we were able to get a word in with the warm and sincere Kenji Kaido and the quiet but personable Fumito Ueda. A Japanese Sony product manager was also on hand for additional comment.
SPOnG: What was the hardest experience you had when making Colossus?
KAIDO: Because it took so long to make, it was very hard keeping team motivation. Of course there were many technical issues they had to conquer, but the main issue was motivation.
SPOnG: What was the most pleasant part of making the game?
KAIDO: Because you create a game with a group of people, if I have got something that I want to create, I will then ask a programmer to make it, but then when the programmer returns something which is more than I expected or something different but better than what I wanted, that’s very pleasing.
SPOnG: What was one of the elements that came out better than what you wanted?
KAIDO: There were many elements I was happy with, but in terms of the space, after adding the mist, that gave a significant atmosphere change so if that was the same as the previous game ICO, seeing the game before we put the mist and then after, made a big impact.
SPOnG: Why did you choose this new set of characters rather than use the boy from ICO for this game?
KAIDO: There are many reasons, but the biggest reason is that ICO, sales-wise, was not great, but reviews-wise it was great. So there was a fear that it would not be easy to make another one, so either I kept the sequel ICO 2 and 3 then I can make another game with the same characters, same pictures but I didn’t want to take the risk of creating the same one. I wanted the challenge of something different and also I wanted to stimulate the creativity of the team as well.
[This was transcribed as is from the translator’s mouth. We can only assume the statement she passed on from Ueda meant a number of things:
A – He could’ve done an ICO 2 and 3, but the team may have lost enthusiasm for it after working on the same world for so long
B – Doing another ICO was too big a commercial risk, so they went for something new, yet familiar
C – There is a possibility of an ICO 2 and 3]
Ueda: Because we work for the development platform company, unless we challenge with a new thing, then first party will not be able to challenge as well, so our objective is to creativity and always challenge with a new [concept].
SPOnG: So you’re saying your objective is to lead by example?
KAIDO: [nods]. There are some smaller companies who can’t afford to take any risks, so in ICO Team’s case, we have to take a risk to create a new challenge for them.
SPOnG: So how do you wish to lead by example on PlayStation 3?
KAIDO: [laughs and posture closes slightly]
Ueda: It is very difficult to say because we haven’t finished the game and we are still developing the European version, so we haven’t decided what we’re going to do next, yet.
And also in terms of PS3 hardware testing hasn’t been completed so…
KAIDO: Maybe visual testing can be done, but what we can say is maybe we will try to create visual experience.
SPOnG: What is your opinion of the Nintendo Revolution?
[mixed laughs and noises exclaiming discomfort with question]
PR chimes in: “I’m not sure it’s their place to comment on Nintendo’s Revolution. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to”
KAIDO: I get strength from different kinds of game so I don’t see Nintendo as rivals, as in Japan the game industry is reduced nowadays so I think it’s better that it becomes more developed…
Product Manager: We will get a lot of attention from the users and the general people [makes a gesture suggesting ‘everybody’] can enjoy this in the near future, whereas now…
SPOnG: You mean you’re aiming to appeal to the ‘mass market’
Product Manager: [Nods] So we can appeal the system of games for us as well…
[His gesture suggests he is talking about co-existing side by side with Nintendo’s Revolution console]
SPOnG: So you see it as a positive thing, because you will be focusing on one audience while Nintendo focuses on another?
Product Manager: Nintendo creates and we gonna create.
SPOnG: It’s interesting you say that, as a lot of people on forums and the like have said they’re going to get both those systems, not just one.
SPOnG: The ending of Shadow of the Colossus is quite open, will we see a sequel?
KAIDO: There is no plan. For us, that is the end.
We’d like to thank the SotC team for generously lending us moments of their time.
Thanks to the magic of hired Japanese translators, we were able to get a word in with the warm and sincere Kenji Kaido and the quiet but personable Fumito Ueda. A Japanese Sony product manager was also on hand for additional comment.
SPOnG: What was the hardest experience you had when making Colossus?
KAIDO: Because it took so long to make, it was very hard keeping team motivation. Of course there were many technical issues they had to conquer, but the main issue was motivation.
SPOnG: What was the most pleasant part of making the game?
KAIDO: Because you create a game with a group of people, if I have got something that I want to create, I will then ask a programmer to make it, but then when the programmer returns something which is more than I expected or something different but better than what I wanted, that’s very pleasing.
SPOnG: What was one of the elements that came out better than what you wanted?
KAIDO: There were many elements I was happy with, but in terms of the space, after adding the mist, that gave a significant atmosphere change so if that was the same as the previous game ICO, seeing the game before we put the mist and then after, made a big impact.
SPOnG: Why did you choose this new set of characters rather than use the boy from ICO for this game?
KAIDO: There are many reasons, but the biggest reason is that ICO, sales-wise, was not great, but reviews-wise it was great. So there was a fear that it would not be easy to make another one, so either I kept the sequel ICO 2 and 3 then I can make another game with the same characters, same pictures but I didn’t want to take the risk of creating the same one. I wanted the challenge of something different and also I wanted to stimulate the creativity of the team as well.
[This was transcribed as is from the translator’s mouth. We can only assume the statement she passed on from Ueda meant a number of things:
A – He could’ve done an ICO 2 and 3, but the team may have lost enthusiasm for it after working on the same world for so long
B – Doing another ICO was too big a commercial risk, so they went for something new, yet familiar
C – There is a possibility of an ICO 2 and 3]
Ueda: Because we work for the development platform company, unless we challenge with a new thing, then first party will not be able to challenge as well, so our objective is to creativity and always challenge with a new [concept].
SPOnG: So you’re saying your objective is to lead by example?
KAIDO: [nods]. There are some smaller companies who can’t afford to take any risks, so in ICO Team’s case, we have to take a risk to create a new challenge for them.
SPOnG: So how do you wish to lead by example on PlayStation 3?
KAIDO: [laughs and posture closes slightly]
Ueda: It is very difficult to say because we haven’t finished the game and we are still developing the European version, so we haven’t decided what we’re going to do next, yet.
And also in terms of PS3 hardware testing hasn’t been completed so…
KAIDO: Maybe visual testing can be done, but what we can say is maybe we will try to create visual experience.
SPOnG: What is your opinion of the Nintendo Revolution?
[mixed laughs and noises exclaiming discomfort with question]
PR chimes in: “I’m not sure it’s their place to comment on Nintendo’s Revolution. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to”
KAIDO: I get strength from different kinds of game so I don’t see Nintendo as rivals, as in Japan the game industry is reduced nowadays so I think it’s better that it becomes more developed…
Product Manager: We will get a lot of attention from the users and the general people [makes a gesture suggesting ‘everybody’] can enjoy this in the near future, whereas now…
SPOnG: You mean you’re aiming to appeal to the ‘mass market’
Product Manager: [Nods] So we can appeal the system of games for us as well…
[His gesture suggests he is talking about co-existing side by side with Nintendo’s Revolution console]
SPOnG: So you see it as a positive thing, because you will be focusing on one audience while Nintendo focuses on another?
Product Manager: Nintendo creates and we gonna create.
SPOnG: It’s interesting you say that, as a lot of people on forums and the like have said they’re going to get both those systems, not just one.
SPOnG: The ending of Shadow of the Colossus is quite open, will we see a sequel?
KAIDO: There is no plan. For us, that is the end.
We’d like to thank the SotC team for generously lending us moments of their time.
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Comments
ann0uk 7 Nov 2005 14:52
1/9
It would seem that they are reluctant to comment on the Nintendo Revolution.
I can understand that they will focus on the console that has most processing power and ability as Shadow Of Cololssus needs such a system. You cant blame a developer for trying to get the most they can out of their game.
The fact is we still dont know anything about the Revolutions power.
I can understand that they will focus on the console that has most processing power and ability as Shadow Of Cololssus needs such a system. You cant blame a developer for trying to get the most they can out of their game.
The fact is we still dont know anything about the Revolutions power.
king skins 7 Nov 2005 15:43
2/9
ann0uk wrote:
It would seem that they are reluctant to comment on the Nintendo Revolution.
I can understand that they will focus on the console that has most processing power and ability as Shadow Of Cololssus needs such a system. You cant blame a developer for trying to get the most they can out of their game.
The fact is we still dont know anything about the Revolutions power.
I can understand that they will focus on the console that has most processing power and ability as Shadow Of Cololssus needs such a system. You cant blame a developer for trying to get the most they can out of their game.
The fact is we still dont know anything about the Revolutions power.
Or maybe it was due to the Sony product Manager being their and they probably have a very close relationship with Sony
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ann0uk 7 Nov 2005 17:29
3/9
True, their close relationship is probably due to Sony's direction in the high specification console market.
Revolution will not be as graphically capable as PS3.
Revolution will not be as graphically capable as PS3.
shmmeee 7 Nov 2005 20:00
4/9
To be fair, no-one knows anything about the Revolution's graphical capabilities. There's been one retracted quote from a marketing bod saying 2-3 times the power of the GC. And Iwata's said you won't be able to tell a difference on a SD TV.
I can see why they're sticking with the PS3 though, it's the safe option and they obviously like Sony's hardware.
I can see why they're sticking with the PS3 though, it's the safe option and they obviously like Sony's hardware.
TigerUppercut 7 Nov 2005 22:34
5/9
shmmeee wrote:
To be fair, no-one knows anything about the Revolution's graphical capabilities. There's been one retracted quote from a marketing bod saying 2-3 times the power of the GC. And Iwata's said you won't be able to tell a difference on a SD TV.
I can see why they're sticking with the PS3 though, it's the safe option and they obviously like Sony's hardware.
I can see why they're sticking with the PS3 though, it's the safe option and they obviously like Sony's hardware.
No one likes to develop on Sony's hardware.
The do however, like the sales of Sony's hardware.
Also, the "ICO team" and related properties are wholy SCEJ owned.
Joji 8 Nov 2005 01:39
6/9
Good luck to them on whatever they do next. SotC looks great and I'll be investing in a copy, to do their hard work justice since I missed Ico.
While the power behind the Rev is widely unknown, I get the feeling that in Japan, there is less of a war between Sony and Nintendo now MS are about. And while both are also enemies of sorts they both want a japanese company to lead the market. To lose the market to MS would hurt the japanese pretty bad.
I'll give them kudos for at least saying something positive about the Rev, whereas MS struggled to say anything good.
While the power behind the Rev is widely unknown, I get the feeling that in Japan, there is less of a war between Sony and Nintendo now MS are about. And while both are also enemies of sorts they both want a japanese company to lead the market. To lose the market to MS would hurt the japanese pretty bad.
I'll give them kudos for at least saying something positive about the Rev, whereas MS struggled to say anything good.
LUPOS 8 Nov 2005 04:53
7/9
Joji wrote:
I'll give them kudos for at least saying something positive about the Rev, whereas MS struggled to say anything good.
Xbox VP Peter Moore has praised Nintendo's "innovation with the new [Revolution] controller", and reiterated the need for the industry to grow into new markets.
"I want to give kudos for Nintendo for its attempt at innovation with the new controller," Moore commented, saying that the new device would -"bring people in that, as Iwata-san said, are either lapsed gamers or gamers that are intimidated by the complexity of the controller."
"I want to give kudos for Nintendo for its attempt at innovation with the new controller," Moore commented, saying that the new device would -"bring people in that, as Iwata-san said, are either lapsed gamers or gamers that are intimidated by the complexity of the controller."
he doesnt seem to be struggeling to me, and Mr. Allard...
"Remote control, that's great," Allard said. "Let's take it one step further and do a simple controller. We've talked about it. I like the idea."
so peter loves it and J commends them for doing it but says his market reserch says its to risky for MS, hardly a condemnation.
now where is the quote from sony's heads praising ninty?
_____
tyrion 8 Nov 2005 13:23
8/9
LUPOS wrote:
so peter loves it and J commends them for doing it but says his market reserch says its to risky for MS, hardly a condemnation.
Ahem "attempt at innovation"? Not exactly glowing praise from Pete either.
LUPOS 8 Nov 2005 13:30
9/9
what exactly constitutes praise in your eyes when in refference to a major competitor?
"its totally bitchin yo!!"
this is still competition and MS managed to have some fairly positive and encouragign things to say about it, which as i stated, was more than sony. and since joj- commented on how japan's companies where sort of sticking up for each other against MS i felt these comments from the top guys at MS where valid contradictions to the ideas he put forth.
i don't think sony is pretending to be anyones friend. MS (and this is juts how i see it) sees the benefit they can reap from playing the "hey we love nintendo too!" card. takes away a bit of the evil giant corporation image they have in the eyes of many gamers.
________
"its totally bitchin yo!!"
this is still competition and MS managed to have some fairly positive and encouragign things to say about it, which as i stated, was more than sony. and since joj- commented on how japan's companies where sort of sticking up for each other against MS i felt these comments from the top guys at MS where valid contradictions to the ideas he put forth.
i don't think sony is pretending to be anyones friend. MS (and this is juts how i see it) sees the benefit they can reap from playing the "hey we love nintendo too!" card. takes away a bit of the evil giant corporation image they have in the eyes of many gamers.
________