Dear Reader:
You are viewing
a story from GN Version 4.0.
Time may not have been kind to formatting, integrity of links, images, information, etc.
Platinum talks quality over profits, loving Nintendo, Bayonetta as a game-changer and more
Platinum Games recently had a sit-down with Satoru Iwata. The interview focused on Platinum as a developer. Within, Platinum reveals some interesting things about their philosophy.
It's quality over profits for Platinum
"I want to achieve as an independent developer what can't be done at a large organization such as a publisher. The model we aim for is the relationship between Western development studios and publishers. The people at development studios in Europe and America are being funded by publishers but won't do everything they're told.
If a large-scale company makes video games, there are all kinds of factors, like when profits need to be made and when something has to be released. Then depending on the circumstances you start cutting corners somewhere and have to hurt the quality somehow. But we couldn't stand that, so for that reason, as an independent developer, I want to make demands and be a group that makes things." - Tatsuya Minami
Platinum's president is a big Nintendo fan
"I'll turn 50 this year, so my memories of my youth are of arcade games. At the time, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong were popular, so I was playing games like that at the arcades. But I was just a player then and didn't link it to an occupation at all.
Then, after graduating from high school, I started attending design school. One time, my peers and I had to work on a group project. They gathered at my house, and one of my friends brought over an NES so we could play with it during breaks. That's when I first encountered the Super Mario Bros. game. Instead of just using it for quick breaks, we got absorbed in it! That's how I encountered home video games, but even at the time, I had no thoughts of getting a job in the games industry." - Tatsuya Minami
Minami's work on Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts kept him from leaving the game industry
"I was thrilled. When I first took it on partway through development, I thought they'd really foisted a chore on me, but after release and the positive reviews, I was extremely thankful to my boss for giving it to me. That's how happy I was. The experience of having players evaluate my work was a big turning point for me. Ever since, I've thought, "I'm going to keep doing this work the rest of my life!"Tatsuya Minami
Bayonetta changed everything for Platinum
"If it hadn't been for that, I think the company would have gone a different direction. If we had made an RPG, I think the image of the company would have been different. That game determined a lot of what is expected of PlatinumGames. I think it needs skilled programmers and staff members who know a lot about action games. I think the enjoyment of action games lies in what the players feel through their hands, but I can't explain it in words very well." - Atsushi Inaba
Check out more interview tidbits here
It's quality over profits for Platinum
"I want to achieve as an independent developer what can't be done at a large organization such as a publisher. The model we aim for is the relationship between Western development studios and publishers. The people at development studios in Europe and America are being funded by publishers but won't do everything they're told.
If a large-scale company makes video games, there are all kinds of factors, like when profits need to be made and when something has to be released. Then depending on the circumstances you start cutting corners somewhere and have to hurt the quality somehow. But we couldn't stand that, so for that reason, as an independent developer, I want to make demands and be a group that makes things." - Tatsuya Minami
Platinum's president is a big Nintendo fan
"I'll turn 50 this year, so my memories of my youth are of arcade games. At the time, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong were popular, so I was playing games like that at the arcades. But I was just a player then and didn't link it to an occupation at all.
Then, after graduating from high school, I started attending design school. One time, my peers and I had to work on a group project. They gathered at my house, and one of my friends brought over an NES so we could play with it during breaks. That's when I first encountered the Super Mario Bros. game. Instead of just using it for quick breaks, we got absorbed in it! That's how I encountered home video games, but even at the time, I had no thoughts of getting a job in the games industry." - Tatsuya Minami
Minami's work on Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts kept him from leaving the game industry
"I was thrilled. When I first took it on partway through development, I thought they'd really foisted a chore on me, but after release and the positive reviews, I was extremely thankful to my boss for giving it to me. That's how happy I was. The experience of having players evaluate my work was a big turning point for me. Ever since, I've thought, "I'm going to keep doing this work the rest of my life!"Tatsuya Minami
Bayonetta changed everything for Platinum
"If it hadn't been for that, I think the company would have gone a different direction. If we had made an RPG, I think the image of the company would have been different. That game determined a lot of what is expected of PlatinumGames. I think it needs skilled programmers and staff members who know a lot about action games. I think the enjoyment of action games lies in what the players feel through their hands, but I can't explain it in words very well." - Atsushi Inaba