One thing I've been wondering is that in Japan, there hasn't been a lot of D3's budget line, the Simple series, released on the DS. But it seems like Simple series-type stuff could be brought over to the U.S. on the DS format -- much easier than on the PS2 or something like that.

YT: Yes.

Have you mentioned that to the Japanese side at all?

YT: I'm waiting for playables of those games they're making. They're making quite many games on the DS.

Are they now?

YT: Yeah. They are.

There have only been like five or ten released.

YT: I know, but it's the choice of format in Japan. You only have to make games on the Nintendo format today. Sony PlayStation 2 is pretty dead already, and PlayStation 3 has not really made any ground, and 360 is Microsoft, and people don't buy it in Japan. It's too bad, because it's a great system to me.

So we are shifting things to the Nintendo format, all those in the Simple series. We do have some more PlayStation 2 coming out, but I am curious to find what kind of games will be coming out from the Simple series, and if they are making a new sort of game -- a DS unique game -- that would be great.

Do you happen to know off-hand if they're using the same developers as they were before, like Sandlot, Vingt-et-un, Tomcat, and those types?

YT: As for DS, I don't know. I have no idea what they're using. I have nothing to do with Japanese development.

Yeah. There's not a lot of back-and-forth between you. You're mostly autonomous, right?

YT: I am in charge of worldwide business except Japan. In Japan, we have my counterpart over there. He has been working for the company forever -- since the start -- so we kind of respect each other. He'll show me when he's ready.

Some of D3 Publisher's money in Japan comes from pachinko and stuff, right?

YT: Mm-hmm.

Is that still funding D3P in the U.S., or are you self-sufficient?

YT: We still get investment from our grand parent company, and they support us very well, and we really appreciate it. They have a long term view for us. It's not like, "You have to turn around and make money next year, and give me the money back." Rather, they wait for our growth. I think they have a bigger picture, like I do, for Western operations.

How have they seen your performance so far as a company in the U.S.?

YT: We are hitting our goal, a couple of years in a row, and they're happy. I went back to Japan in June, and I met all those executives there. They're very happy, and they just cheer at our international operation. So I'm very happy with that too.

Good. I've heard a lot recently from Japanese companies of all levels that next-gen development is not only difficult, but too expensive. Japan has really fallen by the wayside in terms of technology for next-gen stuff, because there's no sharing of resources, and middleware is very slow to pick up.

YT: That's part of the culture they have.

Yeah. Which is a shame.

YT: Not to share your stuff with anybody else, right?

Yeah, and I think that's a big reason why you won't see many 360 and PS3 games from most Japanese companies.

YT: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.