I have launched VS Studio. Built on the knowledge and passion we have cultivated over many years on the front lines of game development, we are now beginning a new challenge. VS Studio を立ち上げました。 私たちは、長年ゲーム開発の現場で培ってきた知見と情熱をもとに、新しい挑戦を始めます。 vs-studio.com/

But since we’re on the subject, I have a confession to make. About 15 years ago, I was having drinks with someone and spent ages passionately explaining the differences between German and Japanese cars. The whole time, he just kept nodding with this incredibly warm, almost saintly smile. I remember thinking, “Hmm, that’s a strangely patient reaction…” Turns out, he was an engineer who worked on German cars. That was the day I personally experienced the Japanese expression “Shaka ni seppō” — literally, “preaching to the Buddha.” I had basically been teaching the Pope how to pray. RIP me.

It’s not so much that I’ve noticed those differences—I’m already very familiar with them, of course. In fact, I just addressed that very point in my response to his latest reply. xitter.cf/harada_tekken/status/2… I hope this helps him understand my point a little better and realize how far the discussion has drifted from the original topic.

I’ve actually seen a photo of a community that framed his “Don’t ask me for shit” post and hung it on their wall…

え、俺、そんな壮大な話した!?

I honestly can’t imagine him going out of his way to block someone… It might’ve just been an accidental tap (I’ve actually done that a few times myself). Or maybe you said something so incredibly weird that he felt the need to block you. Now that would make me curious! 😂 What on earth did you say that got you blocked??

Wait, are you, by any chance, trying to give me a lecture?? You even went so far as to explain some of the technical aspects of game development to me… There are actually quite a few points I could challenge there, but technical arguments tend to become rather unproductive, so I’ll deliberately leave those aside. Well, how should I put this… Okay, then. Let me address your arguments head-on, not as a matter of personal opinion, but from the perspective of someone who has spent over 31 years working at major game developers and publishers, and offer a few general observations. I think your interpretation of the facts is somewhat influenced by personal assumptions, possibly due to a lack of firsthand industry experience or a relatively narrow range of information sources. (1) Oversimplifying the issue as “executives only care about numbers.” Considering profitability and respecting the passion of creators are not necessarily opposing concepts. (I understand that this might be difficult to reconcile on an emotional level, though.) (2) Overgeneralizing that the mid-market largely disappeared after 2008. You’re attributing a complex structural transformation of the market to essentially a single cause. (3) Citing the success of NieR:Automata while underestimating the importance of the business decisions and financing that made that success possible in the first place. (Incidentally, Yoko Taro-san, like me, is a former Namco employee.) (4) Treating “the passion of fans” and “corporate business decisions” as fundamentally opposing forces. Even to continue delivering the games that fans want, a business needs to remain economically sustainable. That said, I did notice that you explicitly qualified your argument with “from an outsider’s perspective,” so I understand that you’re at least aware that you’re commenting on the industry’s internal workings without actually having firsthand knowledge of them.

Oh damn, you’re right! I forgot I had that signature move in my arsenal! (Guess I’m getting rusty from not using it.)

I see. I can understand how you feel. From this point on, I’m not going to give you my personal opinion. Instead, I’ll talk about this from a general perspective, based on my experience working at a major game company. If the company that owns the rights to that IP analyzes the business potential and concludes that it could generate profits commensurate with the company’s size, then a remake, sequel, or reboot is certainly possible. The phrase “commensurate with the company’s size” is actually a pretty important keyword here, so I can’t leave that part out. Timing is another factor, of course. For example, as Producer Ono has mentioned in interviews in the past, there was a 10-year gap between SF3 and SF4. During that period, people were saying things like “the fighting game boom is over.” But in reality, namco had been consistently releasing fighting games for both arcades and home consoles throughout that entire period, and was essentially enjoying a complete monopoly on the market. The scale of that market was actually quite substantial, averaging around 5 to 6 million units in home console sales. And in the arcade business, the revenue generated in the year a game was released was equivalent to the revenue generated during the first two years of its home console release. Ono-san thoroughly researched those figures and apparently used that data as one of his convincing arguments to get the SF4 project approved. In other words, finding the right moment when you can identify both a business opportunity and a realistic chance of success in a particular genre is extremely important. So it’s possible that the rights holder is simply waiting for that moment. What’s interesting about timing is that it’s not just about the competitive landscape or the overall state of the genre. Sometimes, the longer an IP has been dormant, the more excitement its eventual revival can generate. (Although I have no idea whether Bloody Roar would fall into that category.) Another factor is whether someone will emerge within the organization that owns the IP who has the confidence to BET on that IP, the authority to make it happen, and the willingness to take that risk. The reality is that even when market conditions and business circumstances are favorable, an organization ultimately needs someone to take the lead. And unless that leader has genuine passion or affection for the IP, the project isn’t going to get off the ground in the first place. (Or, in the worst case, even if they have absolutely no passion or affection for it, there at least needs to be a very strong business case with a high probability of success.) When you look at it this way, getting all of these circumstances and conditions to align might sound relatively simple, but in reality, it’s quite difficult, especially when you factor in timing. On the other hand, there have also been cases in the past where things were actually moving behind the scenes while everyone had pretty much given up hope. A recent example would be DOA. After DOA6 was released in 2019, there was a long period during which DOA fans were lamenting the fact that there had been no announcements of new games or even updates. But behind the scenes, Producer Hayashi was actually carefully watching for the right timing and developing his strategy. How can I say that with such confidence? Well, that’s because Hayashi himself was regularly coming to me directly for advice, so I knew what was going on. He would ask me about the market conditions for 3D fighting games, the state of the community (I was still on the front lines at the time, attending FGC events and observing the community firsthand), and what factors he should be taking into account if he were to start planning something new. He was surprisingly passionate and thorough in the way he sought advice, and he was genuinely serious about bringing DOA back. And as a result, we saw the announcement this year, didn’t we? The same thing happened with VF, didn’t it? Everyone had pretty much lost hope, but that despair eventually turned into hope. As for Bloody Roar, I genuinely don’t know anything about it. That’s why all I can offer is this kind of general perspective. But if you’re going to make your voice heard, I’d recommend making sure that your message reaches the company that actually owns the rights to the IP. I’ve personally witnessed several cases where feedback like that became the catalyst for a producer to start seriously considering an idea, which eventually led to an actual game being made. Or maybe one of the fans could even get a job at that company! In any case, telling me what you want from Bloody Roar isn’t going to change anything. So if you want to create even the slightest opportunity for something to happen, you need to communicate your wishes directly to the company that owns the IP, and do so “in a positive and friendly manner.” (This is really important, by the way. If you start your request with something like “I know you guys probably won’t listen to anything we say anyway, but…” remember that the people receiving those messages are human beings too. A lot of people would simply get irritated by that kind of opening and end up disregarding the request entirely.) I also wouldn’t recommend online petitions. (Of course, it depends on the scale of what you’re asking for, but even if you manage to collect tens of thousands of signatures, they generally don’t carry much weight. Anonymous online petitions are so easy to participate in that they tend to lack not only credibility but also any real sense of significance or commitment.) Instead, figuring out how to communicate your genuine passion and enthusiasm directly to the people who can actually make decisions would be far more effective. Well, that’s about all I can tell you. I realize this is all pretty general advice, and you might be thinking, “Yeah, I already know all that.”

Holy.......

I've been wondering about this for a while…..well, for about 10 years now. Why are some people asking me about, talking to me about, or suggesting Bloody Roar? I’ve absolutely nothing to do with it, though.

This photo was taken during the filming of the Patlabor movie. I can’t remember why I got punched. Maybe because I got punched.

I remember you! I remember thinking you looked like someone who could pull off a Reppuken!

もはや凄いとしか言いようがない（笑）

This photo was taken at San Diego Comic-Con, when Mike Tyson joined us for a panel discussing how real-world martial arts techniques and experiences have influenced combat in video games, and how fighting culture has shaped gaming and entertainment. Believe it or not, he was the first person to arrive in the backstage green room! He was incredibly calm, kind, and gentlemanly. He happily took photos with me, even signed my hat, and had a smile on his face the entire time. Even after the panel ended, he stayed backstage for a while, chatting with us. He truly is a superstar, especially for people of my generation and my parents’ generation.

If that place manages to make a comeback, maybe I’ll add the signatures of a few more creators who couldn’t make it the other day to this autograph board and send it over to them… Not sure if it would make any difference, though…

Maybe living in a peaceful society has made me a little naïve, but I’m struggling to understand this. I believe everyone has the right to protest or speak out about anything they feel strongly about, but is this really what it ultimately comes down to? Is this really the way to express that, or the outcome they were hoping for? Maybe this was driven by emotion, but if that’s the case, I can’t empathize with it at all, even on an emotional level. And from a logical or ethical standpoint, I find it even harder to understand.

Oh no….everything was so peaceful when I was in France back in August…

Oh, that’s Micromania! They’ve been incredibly supportive of us over the years. I’ve even visited this very store in Nice! What on earth is going on here…?