April 16th, 2002 (12:00am) - Capcom’s Yoshiki Okamoto was recently interviewed by the Japanese gaming magazine, Degenki. In this interview he discusses about the Resident Evil series being GameCube exclusive as well as divulging some tidbits on upcoming (exclusive) GameCube games.
Here’s the interview:
Dengeki: What’s your impression of Nintendo’s GameCube?
Okamoto-san: They have a good software lineup in development, but they haven’t had a brand title like Mario to push hardware sales yet. I loved Pikmin but it’s not in the same league with Mario.
Dengeki: The GameCube is selling well in America so far, your thoughts?
Okamoto-san: I think that’s because Nintendo had a solid lineup ready for the American launch. In Japan, titles have been trickling out slowly.
Dengeki: Given that slow momentum in Japan, has Capcom decided to change their plans to support the GameCube?
Okamoto-san: No, we have no plans to make any changes. We’re primarily a company that supplies software for consoles with an installed user base, and we realize that it may take longer than expected for us to sell a million copies of a GameCube title.
Dengeki: Capcom has an exclusive development agreement with Nintendo concerning the Biohazard series. What are your thoughts on that?
Okamoto-san: Ideally we’d like to release our titles simultaneously on all platforms. But each console has its strengths and weaknesses, so the market is becoming specialized. In the end, as a developer you have to choose the console which best suits your project. The PlayStation 2 has a large userbase but very limited RAM. The Xbox is a powerful console but it hasn’t sold many units. So we chose the Gamecube because of its potential userbase and large RAM. For a series like Biohazard where you’re constantly moving between rooms, the GameCube is ideal for making fast transitions.
Dengeki: What’s the status of development on Biohazard 0?
Okamoto-san: It’s been very rough. As you know, we started developing the game for the Nintendo 64 and decided to release it for GameCube. However, we’ve basically had to redo everything. The concept is the same but the game is completely different.
Dengeki: We understand you have other GameCube projects in development besides Biohazard. Possibly games from other Capcom series?
Okamoto-san: Yes, but I can’t go into details. [laughs..]
Dengeki: Do you have plans for any other GameCube exclusive titles?
Okamoto-san: Yes, we will release other games exclusively for the GameCube. In most cases they’ll be titles which best suit the capabilities of the console, such as the RAM issue with the Biohazard series.
Dengeki: Capcom recently concluded a successful joint-development project with Bandai. Do you plan any other partnerships in the future?
Okamoto-san: Yes, we’re aggressively pursuing other cooperative projects. As a developer, it’s a dream to work on another company’s hit series. Almost everyone in this business has said at one time ’I’d really like to work on a Dragon Quest game’ or something similar. Working together also puts young developers in the spotlight and shows their potential.
Dengeki: Do you have any plans to work with Nintendo directly on some of their series?
Okamoto-san: Yes, but I can’t go into specifics as to what platform they will be released for - GameGube or GameBoy Advance.
Dengeki: If you could pick one, what Nintendo series would you like to work on?
Okamoto-san: Smash Brothers. [smiles..] I’d also like to try making a Zelda game but I doubt they’d let me. If we had done a cel-shaded Zelda, I think fans of the series would have been very angry. Only Nintendo can get away with making such drastic changes.
