Got the interview from this site http://thewiire.com/news/322/1/EXCLUSIV ... th_Natsume
The Wiire: Please give me your impressions of the show, what your experiences have been with past E3s and how well you think Nintendo did this year.
Markay: They did an amazing job this year. They did everything right. They released the name change a week and half before E3. From my experience talking to other people, the name caught other people off guard, but asking them about it today during the E3 show, everyone has changed their opinion; they think the name fits and it's simply amazing.
The Wiire: Do you have any personal opinions towards the name?
Markay: When I first saw the name, it took me aback. After a year of calling it the Revolution, that's what I was accustomed to seeing it be, but just like everyone else, Wii just comes right off the lips now and I don't think twice about it.
The Wiire: Having the games behind the system definitely gives the name that power...
Markay: Exactly, in terms of what Nintendo did for E3, 27 playable titles. From what I understand, there's a line hours and hours long, so it seems the Nintendo booth is the place to be.
The Wiire: We know that Natsume is well-known for the Harvest Moon series, and you did announce that you have a Harvest Moon title coming to Wii in 2007. Are there are details you can reveal about this game?
Markay: Unfortunately, it's still early on, so there's no really concrete details. But the one thing I can say with the unique Wii controller, and if anyone knows Harvest Moon and what you do in Harvest Moon, they seem like a perfect fit.
The Wiire: How long has the title been in development?
Markay: Unfortunately, I don't have that information. It's difficult to say.
The Wiire: So you can you say it's a sequel to a past game?
Markay: It's still a little early on in terms of development, but it's moving along from what I understand.
The Wiire: You've worked on a number of Harvest Moon titles for GameCube, so do you think your experience working on that console has better prepared you for working on Wii?
Markay: That's probably a better question for an actual developer, but when it comes down to it, everyone that has worked on the Harvest Moon games definitely knows what they're doing, in terms of what the consumer likes, what the die-hard likes, and to broaden the kind of genre it is, to capture more fans.
The Wiire: Has Nintendo been very helpful for you in terms of getting set up with Wii, providing development kits and technical support?
Markay: Of course. As much as any other company that they announce information and send us this information when it becomes available. Obviously, their big showcase was E3, so there's not much information forthcoming besides what was going to happen at E3. I'm sure in the upcoming months, more information will become available.
The Wiire: Some people have compared Harvest Moon to Animal Crossing in terms of play style. How would you say the two are different and do you think with Wii the two will split father apart or incorporate new ideas together?
Markay: Well, Harvest Moon was first. It was released in America on the Super Nintendo back in 1997, way before Animal Crossing. But the one great thing Animal Crossing did is it reached out and grabbed more audience. What people tend to find is they have good similarities between the two; they're life simulators. So people are like, "Oh, I love Animal Crossing", then they jump over and play Harvest Moon, and the people who play Harvest Moon tend to go to Animal Crossing. But at the same time, fundamentally, Harvest Moon is about farming, a balance between social and financial, as well as various other tasks you have to do.
The Wiire: Do you have a personal favorite Harvest Moon title?
Markay: Actually, my favorite right now is Harvest Moon: Magical Melody. Not just because it's the most recent release, but I was a big fan of the N64 Harvest Moon, as well as Harvest Moon: Back to Nature. I like those types of graphics and I like how those games played, and Harvest Moon: Magical Melody jumped back to those roots, with lots of festivals, lots of people you could marry, you could play as a boy or girl. And then the added features, with the furniture, buying of property, the rearranging of your farmhouses and things of that nature.
The Wiire: Nintendo also has its DS platform, and I believe you are developing a Harvest Moon DS, set for August release. Nintendo has talked about DS-Wii connectivity? Is that something you think Natsume wants to look into with their Wii version?
Markay: It would actually be something for future titles considering where we are in the development stage of Harvest Moon for the DS. We're just polishing it now and we hope to have it out in mid-August. Going back, it would be up to the development team to see if they can work with what's already existing with the Harvest Moon DS, but who knows with games to come.
The Wiire: Well, is there a personal feature [of Wii], such as the controller's speaker, that excites you most?
Markay: I think it's hard to pinpoint one. I think as Nintendo said in the press conference, it's not just about gaming, it's about an experience, and I think they all work together to make that come true. Just like you said, the speaker in the controller and the movement of the controller, the sky's the limit in terms of what development teams can do. Natsume is also known for its fishing games, as well, and as soon as you see the Wii controller, the first thing I thought of was a fishing game and it seemed that would go hand-in-hand with it. So as an overall package, individually, when I first saw it with the two-handed, nunchuck-style, I thought that might be awkward, but whoever designed it did one heck of a job.
The Wiire: Is there a possibility we might see original titles from Natsume on Wii or DS?
Markay: Of course. A new kind of original title based on Harvest Moon is coming out for the Nintendo DS. It's called Puzzle de Harvest Moon. It's a puzzle game surrounded by the world of Harvest Moon. It's not just an engine, it's not just a puzzle game with Harvest Moon characters, it's built from the ground up to incorporate the whole Harvest Moon spirit into an addictive puzzle game.
The Wiire: How many people does Natsume employ?
Markay: Well, Natsume has a US office, which is here in California, and at the same there's four offices in Japan which are located in different Japanese cities.
The Wiire: Aside from Nintendo, are there any Sony or Microsoft games you've played and liked?
Markay: Unfortunately, I haven't been able to leave the booth, but I've been asking people what they thought. Depending on tastes, some people like shooters, some people like RPGs. Square-Enix's booth is right next to us and I'm a huge RPG fan myself. I'm excited about some of the coming RPGs, but I've heard Lost World over at Capcom's [booth] is one heck of a game you have to try. EA always has great sports games, which I'm a big fan of as well. But a lot of people say if you're going to do anything, you need to go to the Nintendo booth and give it a shot. At the same time I'd like to go over to the Sony booth and get my hands on the PS3 and check out its graphics capabilities and things of that nature.
The Wiire: The Wi-Fi Connection is something Nintendo is trying to implement, and I know Harvest Moon has been mostly a single player affair...
Markay: Most of them except for Magical Melody, which has the slight mini-games, but Harvest Moon is not really multiplayer. The DS Harvest Moon utilizes many of the system's features besides the Wi-Fi. But we're definitely looking into that. The Puzzle de Harvest Moon will have the capabilities of local wireless, one cartridge, four people can play, and we have an original title for the DS, Freedom Wings, also allows local play on one cartridge.
The Wiire: Just in your personal opinion, with the Wi-Fi Connection, might Harvest Moon take on a more Animal Crossing style where you allow people to visit other people's farms?
Markay: The sky's the limit. I know everyone has talked about it, about what we can do to better the series, at the same add new features to it. So there's always talk.
The Wiire: Has Natsume talked about expanding its reach outside consoles and handhelds, such as in the mobile arena?
Markay: It's always on someone's mind. Nothing has been announced, or anything major has been moving forward. But one thing about Natsume, because our products tend to be a bit niche in nature, we let the install base grow. So you'll probably never see a launch [window] Natsume title, but later on we'll join the party. We need that install base to grow so we can aim at that niche market and create some new fans, as well.
The Wiire: Nintendo has been adamant about telling people it's about entertainment value rather than just upping the technical power. What's your take on their position?
Markay: Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to try it. But they are taking a unique position where they are reinventing the gaming industry in terms of bringing back an experience, and I think that's great, it will work well. In terms of graphics, some people love them. I grew up on video games, I remember putting quarters in the Pong machine. Graphics aren't exactly my forte. Now granted, I love watching and playing a Final Fantasy game, but I don't mind playing an old-school RPG, as well. Like back in the Super Nintendo days, where you just throw that on, with little pixels on the screen.
I guess it's the experience that drives it. Like in that example, playing an RPG, it's the story, how it makes you feel, it makes you say to yourself, "I'm only going to play for half an hour more" and next thing you know you play for four more hours. I think Nintendo trying to capture that in its own unique way with experience, with the speaker, and not focusing too much on graphics. I'm sure games will look great on the Wii, but at the same time, they are just saying, "that's not our main focus. Our main focus is we want to reach out to the non-gamers and get them in there." I think everyone in the video game industry wants non-gamers to become video gamers regardless of what company you work for because the more that join us, the more we'll all benefit from that.
The Wiire: Speaking of older titles, Natsume started on the Super Nintendo and of course Nintendo has its Virtual Console service. Are you in talks with Nintendo about offering some classic titles for download?
Markay: Me personally, I know very few details about it. I'm sure in the coming months Nintendo will talk about what's to come. From our side, we have fans that can no longer get Harvest Moon for the Super Nintendo or Lufia 2, or games that are unfortunately out of production because there's no space for them on retail shelves, so I'd love to see Natsume titles on Virtual Console.
The Wiire: Speaking of the Lufia series, are there any plans to continue that on any platform?
Markay: After Lufia returns, the same development group that handled Lufia Returns and Lufia 2 made a project a few years ago for us called CIMA. They are great role-players; they know role-playing games. To be honest, my president, my colleague, is a huge fan of role-playing games, I'm a huge fan of role-playing games, and I know Natsume likes to consistently put out role-playing games. So I do see a future role-playing game coming from us, I don't know if it will be a Lufia game or something of that nature, but definitely some sort of role-playing game will be coming.
