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Features
  Big In Japan: D3 Publisher Takes On The U.S.
by Brandon Sheffield
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November 9, 2007 Article Start Previous Page 7 of 7
 

For D3, instead of building up from a place where you start with a low-quality game and then you get to mid-tier and then higher levels, since you have this funding, you're able to go straight for the highest level when you can.

YT: Starting a publisher like this, though, you really have to look at the timing. Two and a half years ago, the 360 was on the horizon. You could barely see the top, and the PlayStation 3 is following, and you really have to catch the wave to get on next-gen. And that's what we did.

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It's very hard to predict when you know these two systems are coming. Which one is going to be on the crest of that wave?

YT: This is like the movie business, entertainment business. It's risky. The thing is in what risk you take. We chose Dark Sector.

It's slightly different, because with the movie business, you have one format. You have film.

YT: I'm talking about hit and miss.

You're in a slightly more difficult position.

YT: It is.

You have to say, "Okay, is it going to be better for Wii, 360, or PS3? And which one of these is going to do best in two years when this game is out?"

YT: That's been a problem in the video game industry.

Forever!

YT: Yeah, forever. Because what you're doing is not developing, but you are constantly researching and developing. Researching and developing is a little bit different from developing, to me. It takes risk.

Naruto I don't know to what extent it's true, but it seems like a lot of it comes from just your personal feeling, like whoever is at the head of a company says, "You know, I feel like based on what I've seen, I feel like the 360 is going to sell well this year. So if we release this game on 360 this year, that's enough. That's good." It seems in some ways like the releasing of games on certain formats -- unless you're EA or Ubisoft and you release on all formats at once -- it's almost like an emotional response to, "This is how I feel. This is going to be the best."

YT: With next-gen, you're talking about 360, PS3, and high-end PCs. The three formats. We'll probably keep covering this area. Dark Sector is not on PC, though. It can be on PC, too. The kids' side, like Ben 10 or Naruto... Naruto is only on Nintendo formats for us. Kids' games can be on Wii and PlayStation 2, and could be PSP and DS, for different games. You can spread your risks, too. If PlayStation 3 started doing really, really well, we are covered, going forward, and I don't think two formats will go down together. Another two formats will compete together, and we're going to have a better scenario next year, I think.

I almost wonder if the two higher-end formats might not merge, but that's kind of a weird thing to think. Sony is behind, Microsoft is losing money. I know that Microsoft has a mandate to make money soon on their games business, but they won't. Not next year, and not the year after that. Sometimes I wonder if PlayStation 4, or whatever, and the next Xbox --

YT: Will run out of gas, or something?

No, if maybe they'll combine and be the same format.

YT: That would be interesting.

It's been a theory that's been going around with a few people, because they both have their own unique problems, and maybe if they combine, they've got one format, and they can solve their problems. You never know.

 
Article Start Previous Page 7 of 7
 
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