Issue 1/23 of Weekly Famitsu celebrate the new year by interviewing 21 Japanese game “creators” who they think will make waves in the year 2009. I always love these interviews, especially when developers explain the thinking behind their games or reveals how difficult it is to make them. Each creator gets a page to talk about 2008, 2009 and their games, so read on if you’re interested. DS and PS3 creators can be read here and here.

Yoshinori Kitase (Square Enix)

2008 was a year when Kitase spent lots of his time making Sigma Harmonics and Dissidia Final Fantasy. Among the things that caught his eye in 2008 are PSP’s strong performance and the popularity of downloadable content (DLC) for home consoles. However, he says it’s not easy to have DLC for games like Final Fantasy because it has to be a full package.

For 2009, Kitase would like to speed up the production of Final Fantasy XIII and hope to see PS3 picking up more steam. The announcement of FFXIII demo is part of that plan. In order to accelerate PS3’s attach rate, Kitase says the system must have attractive games, to which Famitsu says FFXIII is the best choice, Kitase says he certainly hope so. Future news on FFXIII will focus more on actual gameplay footage instead of CG cut-scenes that we have seen so far. Famitsu then ask how far the demo will allow us to play, Kitase says since the actual game won’t be out for quite some time, the demo will only focus on “the basics” of the game and lets players check out the brand new battle system.

Besides FFXIII, of which he says the basic elements are done and he can finally see its completion time coming, he will also spend time on the mobile phone version of The 3rd Birthday (also available on PSP) and PSP’s Final Fantasy Agito XIII, both of which are ongoing. FFXIII is a title that Square nurtured for a long time and 2009 is the year when it comes to fruition. He says we can expect to see plenty of promotion activities for the title this year.

Kenichi Ogasawara (Koei)

In his comment on the gaps between Western and Japanese developers, the producer for Shin Sangoku Musou: Multi Raid (aka Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce) says Western games have high production value and presentation is key to attract Western audience. The most eye catchy game in 2008 for him is Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS). For Multi Raid, Ogasawara says multiplayer is a key feature from the very beginning and hopes it will brings a new kind of satisfaction for players. He says the game’s development is a start from zero and has a heavy focus on action instead of strategy that the series is known for. Among the new stuff for the series is aerial battles in which players can make use of the 3D space to fight. He says the game is developed with Western audience in mind, Shin Musou Kakusei (or Shin Musou Awakening), aerial movements and Quest Battle are things that he hopes will attract them. Finally, he says Koei is making a new game with classic gameplay elements.

Kazuma Kujo (Irem)

Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3 producer Kujo says 2008 was a year of reflection for him. Among the things he would like to reflect upon is the delay of a title that is supposed to be released last year. Although he is aware of the trend to make games more Western audience friendly in Japan, he says he personally think it’s better to make a game that is interesting for Japanese market first.

For Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3, Kujo says although fun is still the main element, it’s a game that has lots of focus on real world situations too, which is why a news reporter specialized in disasters was invited to participate in the development. As for why the game is back to earthquake, Kujo says the series is supposed to focus on earthquake only, but got expanded to other disasters because the second game deals with flooding. Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3 returns to the series’ root with new elements that can’t make it to the first game. Even though the game is on PSP this time, it’s a mainline title in the series and the choices players can make during the game are carefully thought out and as wide variety as possible.

Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3 and the completion of other announced titles are the main goals of 2009 for Kujo. This include the long delayed Poncotsu Roman Daikatsugeki Bumpy Trot 2 (PS3), which Kujo says will be the best title in the series and hope players will check it out.

Youzou Sakagami (Namco Bandai Games)

THE iDOLM@STER SP (Missing Moon, Perfect Sun and Wandering Star) was announced during an event and Sakagami, producer of the game, says he is still surprised with the reaction from the crowd after the announcement. The reason for the game being split into three is there are simply too many fan requested content (voice overs and songs) to include that they won’t fit in one UMD at all. He says right now, they have just completed fine tuning the games, a process that has taken a long time thanks to each idols having her own personality. After the game went on sale, there are plans for downloadable content, one them being costumes. Players of Xbox 360 version (THE iDOLM@STER: Live for You!) can also expect new content for that game too. THE iDOLM@STER SP will also be an important yardstick for which they decide future directions of the series.

Besides THE iDOLM@STER SP, Sakagami also worked on Family Ski: World Ski & Snowboard for Wii and he found plenty of similarity between the two, especially in the simulation part. For future, he hopes he can find a new way for players to experience simulation games.

Ryozo Tsujimoto & Kaname Fujioka (Capcom)

2008 is obviously the year of Monster Hunter for Tsujimoto and Fujioka, both of them worked on Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (MHP2ndG) and are currently working on Monster Hunter 3 (tri) (MH3). Fujioka says TGS2008 was a key period for them because they get to show MH3 for the first time and reveals its all important control scheme. Tsujimoto says he was busy all year round promoting MHP2ndG and also planning MH3’s unveils to gamers.

Famitsu says 2008 is the year of MHP2ndG and asks what do they expect of 2009, Fujioka says it will a year where they concentrate on getting MH3 done and hope it will make waves in the series’ 5th anniversary. MH3 is the first home console game for the series in three years, Tsujimoto says the focus is on how to deliver the Monster Hunter experience for home consoles and the “tri” in the title represents the many new experiments in the game, which he would like to see if they’re accepted by fans.

As mentioned before, 2009 is the series’ 5th anniversary and Tsujimoto says although details are yet to be confirmed, there will surely be a celebration of some kinds. Finally, he says there are a lot more information on MH3 that will be revealed in 2009 and asks everyone to be patient.

Akihiro Hino (Level-5)

Hino says 2008 is a year where he tried many new things, animated TV series and movie are among them. Famitsu congratulates him on the success of the Layton Kyouju (aka Professor Layton) series and Inazuma Eleven. Hino says he never thought Layton will be such a huge hit and he is pleased that Inazuma Eleven is still selling to this day. He is currently working on the sequel of Inazuma.

As for Layton movie, Hino says he already received suggestions of making it a series. As for the game, he hopes it will become the first game in people’s minds when they think about adventure games. If there is a new Layton game, his sales target will be 1 million copies simply because there are not many adventure games that managed to do so.

Moving on to the just released Shirokishi Monogatari: Inishie no Kodou (aka White Knight Chronicles), Hino says three years were spent making this title and everyone in the team is pleased to see the game finally went on sale. This is also the first time that the team has actually made a game with online multiplayer modes.

Dragon Quest IX: Hoshizora no Mamoribito, another high profile game Hino and his team are working on, is currently at its most crucial development stage. Hino says even though he knows the game will be released in 2009, he keeps having the impression that it will go on sale in 2008.

2009 will be a year of “exploration” for him, besides the Layton movie, Ninokuni: The Another World, which Level-5 collaborates with animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli, is a fusion between book and game. He also mentioned PSP’s Danboru Senki, which he says will has plenty of new ideas too.

Saburou Yotsuya (Global A Entertainment)

Chronicle of Dungeon Maker series producer Yotsuya says 2008 was the year where he has many new challenges and ideas but it’s hard to turn them into “figures”. Famitsu asks if that means games nowadays don’t focus on very much on being a game, to which Yotsuya agrees and says it becomes one of the many elements to consider. Yotsuya says he always try to “break” common sense when developing games, which is why his games always have a different feels to them.

The discussion then move on to the recently announced Nanatama: Chronicle of Dungeon Maker, Yotsuya says the game will surprised many people with its longevity. Yotsuay says he is aware of the game’s visuals, which is not so interesting, and invited famous illustrator Katuya Terada to do the character design for the game.

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