Ray Tracing: A Japanese Game Market Expose With Ray Nakazato

[Mikhal]

Ray Nakazato has had his fair share of jobs, from the early days of programming PC games in Japan, to his time at Broderbund, then EA Japan, Capcom, and Microsoft Game Studios, all the way through to his current position as president of FeelPlus studio, working on Lost Odyssey with Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.

Nakazato was a speaker at GDC Prime this year, and Gamasutra took the opportunity to interview him extensively about his past and present experience. He offers a refreshingly honest perspective on all aspects of the Japanese industry, speaking plainly about subjects most developers shy away from, diminish the importance of, or dodge entirely. These subjects range from the Japanese perception of the PS3 and 360 and the future of game technology in the region, to the status of notable industry figures such as Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil), Yukio Futatsugi (Panzer Dragoon), and Yasumi Matsuno (Final Fantasy XII).

We also spoke at length about Lost Odyssey, including a few new gameplay details, the problems with Ninety-Nine Nights, and, in brief, a canceled 360 project from Game Republic’s Yoshiki Okamoto.

http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20...field_01.shtml

Saw this over at GAF. This is a really good interview and it covered a lot of stuff.

[NeoZeedeater]

Great interview. I learned a lot of the connections between various developers and publishers that never occurred to me before. Nakazato seems to have a wide variety of experience, and I like how Sheffield isn't afraid to ask questions the hardcore crowd would appreciate in his interviews.

[James]

Now that was an exellent read. I especially like how all the talent is breaking off and forming their own companies so they don't get stuck doing endless sequels.

Good questions, and none of that annoying, vague, and evasive crap that passes for answers in too many Japanese interviews.

James

[x2y]

That was a great read.