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BS: A lot of core users don't really
see Wii Sports and Brain Age as real games.
TT: That's the classic core user, yeah.
BS: There might be a lot more core
users in the U.S. A lot of
them say things like, "Nintendo has abandoned core users." I think
that's interesting, because they used to be kids and played so-called kiddie
games.
Perhaps the casual DS audience in Japan would
become core users if they played more "real" games like Dragon Quest IX.
TT: Well, I think most serious American gamers are playing on their
360s, not on the Wii. There aren't a lot of core users among casual game fans.
I don't know how many core gamers play casual games. By that definition I
suppose Bomberman is a casual game,
but...
BS: In the U.S., you have mothers
buying the Wii with Wii Sports, buy Wii Sports Resort and that's it.
TT: That and music games.
BS: Yeah. But a lot of them just have a
Wii and those two games. It's a worry to me.
TT: You could say that's because it's a fun experience, even if it's not
exactly a game.
BS: Toy-like.
TT: Right. They're using the Wii as a toy, not as a game system.
BS: That's why I think core users are
important. Core users are always on the lookout for new titles; they buy 10 or
so titles a year. One core user may be worth five times a casual user in terms
of money.
TT: They're very important, of course. Those are the sort of people who
played Bonk and Bomberman and so on back then, and I'd like to think they're the
sort of people who'd be interested in Bonk
and Military Madness today. I'd like
to see those titles generate a lot of buzz.
BS: I really liked Hudson's games
back then. I feel like Hudson doesn't
play up its retro heritage enough -- making its old games into 3D rather than
remake them with a retro feeling to attract those old users back.
KS: The hardware's certainly expanded a lot since then, for one. There's
nothing stopping us from releasing a game with that retro-graphics feel,
definitely. The thing is that if we do that, than no matter how faithful and
nostalgic it is, a lot of users are going to say that it looks cheap and
low-quality, no matter what.
A lot of users are jaded to modern graphic standards. Maybe I look for
gameplay above everything else in the games I play, but a lot of games these
days aren't really games so much as interactive movies. Final Fantasy is pretty much a movie now. I, personally, think
there need to be more novel ideas in games, but you have to attain a certain
standard.
TT: In conclusion, yes, we could make a game like that, but the stores
probably wouldn't buy it from us, currently. We'd have to do it on DSiWare or
somesuch, but it wouldn't show up in stores.
Bonk: Brink of Extinction
BS: Mega
Man 9 was digitally distributed, yeah. Users saw the game and were happy to
see it.
TT: Yeah, but even now -- this is all hypothetical, but let's say that
the PS3, Xbox and Wii never existed. If the Famicom and the PC Engine were the
only consoles in existence, I think there would've been a lot more innovative,
original games out there right now. There'd have to be, because the graphics
can only go so far.
But the thing is, it's like watching an old Disney hand-drawn film like
Dumbo and then immediately watching one supported by computers. You get jaded
visually, no matter what. You can't go back to the old stuff. If you eat a
fancy dinner, you don't want to go right back to ramen.
But... okay, lots of people like ramen (laughs) But that ramen keeps
getting better, and more expensive. That's the difference.
BS: Maybe you can't go back to ramen,
but for example, tomato ramen is an interesting new thing.
TT: I'm sorry, I don't know that much about food... (laughs) I know what
you mean, but...
BS: I know what you mean, too, but Mega Man 9 isn't ramen, it's tomato
ramen -- Ramen plus something else interesting.
TT: Well, Bomberman Live is
the original Japanese Bomberman with some American tastes added to it. I think
that's kind of neat, outside of the controls and all that, and I'd like to see
more of that sort of thing in the future.
When I played Bonk I wondered
why modern tanks and stuff show up in the game, but I think atmosphere-wise
it's just as it was before. If that does well, then I think everyone will
notice and that'll get some momentum rolling, but previous attempts at
retro-style games have not been successful. If we're going to do it, it'd have
to be on DSiWare or WiiWare or somewhere, and it'd have to be inexpensive and
not the sort of thing that you could sell in stores.
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So much low-end budget crap nowadays, built on milking popular trends and genres.
Can't wait for Bonk, though. Hope it will become Sonic of XBLA.
I think that the cell phone systems in Japan are a bit different than America and many other countries, so the capabilities and offerings there are perhaps a bit more varied and robust, not to mention the ease of access, etc. I was surprised that there wasn't a bit more stress on portable systems like the DS and PSP rather than cell phone gaming because I think that the Japanese market for portable gaming tends to use those systems even more than cell phones, at least for gaming. It might depend on what one considers a game, too, but that's semantics.
I feel that the original Hudson games are far superior to other offerings from other companies at the time, particularly on CD-ROM. Audio makes a huge difference to me. Even great games like Phantasy Star really suffered compared to something like Ys or Valis on the PC-Engine due to the audio (the music, not just the speaking characters). The first track being data for the game never bothered me; I still used the game CDs as audio CDs by just skipping the first track because the music is some of the best ever created. I still have the systems and games, and I still play them from time to time.
That brings up my next point: many of those games are far more enjoyable than the latest offerings with fancy graphics. Graphics are merely a visual lure, but they won't matter unless 1) they are aesthetically appealing (and the focus on "realism" today, especially for Western games, really kills the appeal for me and other gamers) and 2) the actual game is enjoyable to play. I'm really not where the comment about older works such as classic Disney films comes from because many classic works of various media are still enormously popular even with mainstream audiences, and not just with collectors. This is why you have constant re-releases of classic works, for example. In fact, many people find that newer works that rely on a lot of CG to be inferior in many ways. There are limitations to CG, after all, just as there are with older techniques. An analogy might be to other crafts such as carpentry - a mass produced chair might be convenient and cheap to buy, but a hand-carved chair made by a craftsperson trained in classic techniques is often far superior in overall quality and comfort.
Aside from these considerations, many of Hudon's older games were far superior in design than current offerings. For example, strategy games such as Military Madness and Vasteel are still some of the best strategy games ever created. Why? Because these products featured elements such as hexagonal map grids and environmental aspects (weather damage/impairment of functions, alien life forms in certain environments that could ruin your plans, etc). This is where modern offerings fall short by focusing on fancy graphics but ignoring the actual game design elements that need to be included for a well-rounded, sophisticated, enjoyable game experience. There's also far too much focus today on the idea of "challenge" as though it is necessary for a game to be difficult or challenging in order for it to be enjoyable. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Of course, a primary obstacle to achieving game content that is appealing is the sales and marketing departments. I think perhaps companies need to take their staff from these departments and force them to play many of the classic games for a couple of weeks in order for them to learn why those games are fun whereas the newer stuff often simply is not, regardless of how many fancy images you put into the game and on the cover in order to lure people to buy the product. In other words, look at releases as a long term sales project rather than look to garner sales within the first three months. You'd get much better games with a long term vision.
Plus, publishers can get away charging 3-4x the price of games on the DS or PSP, Chinatown Wars - DS/PSP $40 initial price. iPhone, same game, $9.99.
I think that sort of thing will take its toll on publishers more than piracy. Why pay $30 more for a game?