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Japanese developer Treasure delighted fans and raised eyebrows among critics with the decision to release the shooting game Ikaruga on the Dreamcast earlier this month in Japan. Originally developed for Sega's Naomi arcade architecture, the game rose to popularity in the waning days of Sega's hardware business. Despite Sega's decision to cease production of the Dreamcast, Treasure decided to release the shooter on Sega's console for technical and sentimental reasons. To explain the process and the company's future plans, director Masato Maekawa recently went on record with ASCII.
ASCII: Ikaruga is just being released on the Dreamcast, even though Sega stopped production of the console long ago. Considering the popularity of the PlayStation 2, the decision to release the game on the Dreamcast is somewhat unusual, don't you think?
Maekawa-san: It was originally released on Sega's Naomi arcade architecture, so a Dreamcast translation was the most natural course. We evaluated developing a PlayStation 2 version, but our early efforts were very difficult. So we postponed plans to release Ikaruga on PS2 and went ahead with the Dreamcast version. Reaction from the hard-core fans has been strong, so I don't think its platform will have much of an effect on sales.
ASCII: Generally speaking, translations from the Naomi to the Dreamcast are said to be fairly easy. What was your experience with Ikaruga?
Maekawa-san: The translation process was very easy. Since the development environments are so similar, we had more time to focus on new elements to include for the home version.
ASCII: Can you discuss some of those special elements in the Dreamcast version?
Maekawa-san: If you play long enough you'll uncover some hidden features in the Dreamcast version. I hope the players enjoy 'prototype mode,' especially the hard- core fans.
ASCII: Lately the popularity of shooting games seems to declining when compared to the likes of the fighting genre. How have sales been for Ikaruga so far on Dreamcast?
Maekawa-san: Luckily the arcade version was very popular, so the Dreamcast version has been well received. I often hear the argument that 'shooting games don't sell anymore' from developers. But there are still shooting genre fans and I hope to continue providing quality games for them. Since the number of companies developing shooters continues to decline, it also opens up new doors for companies like ours.
ASCII: Do you have plans for any other Dreamcast titles? Also, can you talk about plans to bring Ikaruga to other platforms?
Maekawa-san: At the moment we have no plans for any other Dreamcast games. We're working on a translation of Ikaruga for the GameCube. This is mostly for the overseas audience since the sales of Dreamcast hardware and software isn't supported in most stores anymore. We're confident a full transplant on the GameCube is possible.
ASCII: What direction do you think the vertical shooting genre will take next?
Maekawa-san: I think it varies depending upon the company. However, we plan to implement new ideas and styles of gameplay, such as those introduced in Ikaruga. We're still newcomers to the genre relatively speaking, but we plan to do our best and keep the shooting tradition alive.
--Translation Asst. Tsuno Okashi
