Video Games
Japanese developers share their plans for 2023: Dragon’s Dogma 2, Konami, Fumito Ueda…
Several Japanese developers have spoken out about what’s to come during the next 12 months, revealing plans from some very important studios.
2023 is a year of new promises and projects, and in Japan, some of the biggest game creators have chosen to reveal their plans for the starting year. Through Gematsu, a wide variety of developers spoke about what’s to come during the next 12 months, and there’s some interesting tidbits of information to take from their statements. Konami talks about something “very awaited”, theres news about Dragon’s Dogma 2, Fatal Fury, and more, as well as Fumito Ueda’s new project.
There’s a lot of creators and many statements, so we chose to cover only a few of them. Here they are:
Atlus
Shinkiro Takada: ““The Shin Megami Tensei series celebrated its 30th anniversary in October 2022 thanks to the long-standing support of its many fans! Shin Megami Tensei V has achieved one million sales worldwide, and has caught many eyes in both Japan and overseas. In 2023, which will be the 31st anniversary, I hope be able to give something back to the fans as a thank-you.”
SNK
Yasuyuki Oda: “Alongside updates to The King of Fighters XV, the staff is working as one on the development of the new Fatal Fury and several other titles. Please look forward to SNK in the future.”
Nobuyuki Kuroki: “While we haven’t shared much information about Fatal Fury yet, development is progressing well, so please look forward to it.”
Kazuhiro Fujishige: “This year will mark the start of develompent on a new IP that carries the grand vision of ‘the creation of an AAA title from Japan.’ We are becoming a studio in which the strengths of our teams formed from our diverse pool of talent will be on full display!”
Capcom
Hideaki Itsuno: “I’m currently immersed in the production of Dragon’s Dogma 2, so much so that I’m losing my sense of what season it is. Things are moving along well, so I hope to further our development progress so that we can share an update with you as soon as possible.”
Takuro Hiraoka: “We will release new information [about Exoprimal] next spring, so please look forward to it!”
Konami
Noriaki Okamura: “Keyword “long-awaited””. “Other than [the educational edition of Momotaro Dentetsu announced last year], 2023 will be a year of many announcements! Stay tuned!”
Square Enix
Tomoya Asano:“Compared to the turbulent 2022—which saw the releases of Triangle Strategy, LIVE A LIVE, and Various Daylife; the announcement of Octopath Traveler II; and the 10th anniversary of Bravely Default—2023 seems like it’ll be a year of preparation. Thorough preparation.”
Yoshinori Kitase: “As the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII continues to stir up the excitement with its seven campaigns, I hope to be able to deliver an update on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth when the timing is right. Please look forward to it!”
SEGA
Takashi Lizuka: “This past year was the biggest year in Sonic history, including the release of the movie sequel, new titles Sonic Origins and Sonic Frontiers, and the Netflix animation Sonic Prime. We are preparing a second wave to keep the fans happy and maintain that momentum going into 2023. We already announced additional content for Sonic Frontiers, but there is a lot more outside of that, so please look forward to it.”
Ryousuke Horii: “It’s going to be a challengine year in which many titles are released under the restructured Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, so first and foremost, I would like to produce results with solid works that make people say, ‘The restructure and generational shift were a success!'”
Bokeh Game Studio
Keichiro Toyama: “Production on Bokeh Game Studio’s premiere title, Slitterhead, is nearing its climax.”
Mistwalker
Hironobu Sakaguchi: “I thought I was going to retire (laughs), but I decided to try to give this another go… I’ll never stop playing Final Fantasy XIV. Meet me in Eorzea. I also started writing the scenario for a new title yet to be announced. It will be a dark fantasy.”
Koei Tecmo
Fumihiko Yasuda: “Production on Rise of the Ronin, which I am directing, is entering its climax, so I will be giving it my all.”
genDesign
Fumito Ueda: “All of genDesign is working hard to be able to finally announce something, so please give us your support.”
Source | Gematsu