Kotaku: goichi suda

Why Are Suda And Mikami Working With EA?

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:00:00 MDT

Earlier, EA announced that it would be working with Grasshopper Manufacture, the creators of Killer 7 and No More Heroes, and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. EA Partners will publish the Shinji Mikami-produced, Goichi Suda-designed game on the PC, Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and Wii. So why are these two Japanese gaming forces working with EA?

Shinji Mikami: Money. [Laughs]
Goichi Suda: I was really surprised at things such as the size of their studios and their massive marketing and production teams. I've never had the experience of working on such a massive team before. We haven't done voice recording yet, but I know EA would be a huge help in finding talent and getting them to the studio and the motion capture as well. In other cases, I would want to do something before but couldn't, and since working with EA, they've provided everything I wanted. I get tremendous support from EA... Of course I had a chance to present it to different publishers, but EA was the company that understood the game and understood my approach to it. That's why I took the chance to work with EA. Also, EA produced Rock Band, so they understand the "soul of rock."

Shinji Mikami: ...Also, EA has strong marketing power. If Suda just keeps on doing what he wants to do, players might not understand what they're playing. But with EA's strong marketing power, they know what people want from a game, and we combine both their knowledge and his creativity to help create a better game.

This is one to watch.

Mikami and Suda Talk EA Partnership [1Up]

Yes, Have A Look Or Two At Fatal Frame IV

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:00:00 MDT

This week's Famitsu has a look at the Nintendo published surivival horror Zero ~Tsukihami no Kamen~ AKA Fatal Frame IV. The Wii game is being directed by Tecmo's Makoto Shibata and Grasshopper's Goichi Suda. While Shibata worked on the previous Fatal Frame games, Suda was roped in to work on Fatal Frame IV. Hit the jump for another look at the game.

Latest Famitsu [Wii@Everyday]

Fez Music Dude Makes Suda Remix!

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:00:42 MST

All around nice guy Jason DeGroot isn't just one of the dudes responsible for Fez, he's also responsible for other things! He'll be adding his music stylings to the No More Heroes soundtrack in remix form. If you're not familiar with DeGroot's groovy retro music, check out the embedded link above. It's truly fantastic stuff. If you're not familiar with No More Heroes, well.
More Than Fez [Jean Snow]

Goichi Suda, Shinji Mikami Team Up For More Awesomeness?

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:00:17 MST

Word has it that No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami have joined forces for a yet unannounced project. (Previously, the duo worked together on Killer7.) We've been hearing rumblings about this for a while, as has game magazine GamesTM. The latest issue dishes:

UNTITLED PLATINUM GAMES PROJECT
One of our spies informs us that Grasshopper is currently discussing a new game with the ex-Clover studio.

Perhaps it's this, perhaps not. If true, we approve. We very much approve of this. Carry on!

[Thanks, 87th!]

No More Heroes Does OK In America (Probably Better In Europe)

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:20:00 MST

Marvellous Interactive have published some worldwide shipping/sales figures for Suda's No More Heroes. In Japan, homeland of all parties involved? It's done terribly. Only 40,000 copies have shipped since launch. Ouch. How about America, then? Little better: they've shipped around 200,000 copies, and have sold just over 100,000 since launch. Not bad! Finally, however, they announce some European numbers. And while the game's not even out there yet (it's shipping late Feb/early March across all PAL territories), they're expecting to sell 160,000 units across the continent at launch. Could something finally be coming up roses for Suda? Let's hope so!
NO MORE HEROES打上げ [Marvellous, via Alkaline @ NeoGAF]

Suda Wants to Make Xbox 360 Games For Your American Love

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:40:53 MST

Goichi Suda is known for his quirky, cel shaded games like Killer 7 and No More Heroes — both appearing on Japanese hardware. But Suda's ready to expand his game developer wings and try something different. Says Suda:

This originality will always remain, but I also want us to challenge ourselves by working at making realistic visuals as well. The next title will have a very different style, but keep the Grasshopper feeling at the same time... The Xbox 360. Definitely, I want to develop on this platform. It is really easy to work with. It is also quite popular outside Japan on markets that I would like to aim at. Specifically, I think of the American market as the Major League — I would like to go there and be successful.

We're sure that'd make some American Xbox 360 owners very, very happy.
Suda51 Interview [Next Generation]

Watch No More Heroes Lose Gallons Of Blood

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:20:09 MST

Want to see what Wii owners in Europe and Japan are missing out on, in terms of flowing rivers of blood, decapitations and amputations? Then watch xserothx's No More Heroes Death Scene Comparison clips for a study in regional censorship. This is grisly stuff, folks, and not for the faint of heart of virtual murder. Anyone wary of spoilers should skip 'em, as they're essentially every boss fight in the game.

No More Heroes Death Scene Comparisons [YouTube - thanks, Sidepocket!]

3rd Party Titles Not Selling Comment "Misinterpreted"

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:00:52 MST

Remember when No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda said third party Wii games weren't selling? And then we looked at the sales chart and saw that, save Mario Party and Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games, Suda was right. But no, no, no. Suda says that quote was taken out of context, misinterpreted. On his company's website, Suda tries to clear the air:

I am concerned to learn my comments in one interview regarding the success of Nintendo 3rd party titles have been misinterpreted. My point was that "NO MORE HEROES", unlike a lot of Nintendo Wii titles currently available is the kind of product which will attract a different kind of consumer to the hardware. ie. gamers who are looking for a different genre to the products which have been successful on this platform thus far.

Nobody's arguing with that! Heck, who's arguing with the misinterpretation?!
Grasshopper Manufacture [Official Site via GameFront via Go Nintendo]

"Third Party Wii Games Aren't Selling"

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:00:22 MST

No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda says third party Wii games aren't selling. He should know! Even though it faired well critically, nobody in Japan bought his game. (Well, not nobody.) What does Suda think of developing for the Wii? This:

Whilst the sales weren't as high as I hoped, other titles for Wii aren't selling so well either. Only Nintendo titles are doing well. This isn't just because of the current situation in Japan, as this is happening outside Japan... Actually I was very surprised about the reality about Wii, because before I was making this game, I wasn't expecting that Wii would be a console targeted only for non-gamers. I expected more games for hardcore gamers. The reality is different to what I expected.

Does that means the No More Heroes sequel will be on a "hardcore" consoles — say, the Xbox 360 or PS3?
Third Party Wii Games Aren't Selling [CVG via Games Radar]

No More Heroes Censorship Explained...Kinda

Mark Wilson — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:00:44 MST

No More Heroes was supposed to be a gorefest in Europe and the US. But to every Australian Kotaku writer's surprise, the game will have the blood censored for its Europe release. In the theme of pretending we care about markets outside the US, we thought that we should let you know that Grasshopper CEO 'Suda 51' and Marvelous's Yashiro Wada made a joint statement today on the matter that should clear things up a bit:

First, let me say how honoured I am that everyone in Europe is expecting No More Heroes....The sales point of this game is action. Both I and Wada san have concentrated on making the best possible action game for the Nintendo Wii. We have chosen to release in Europe the same version as has shipped in Japan considering the broadly growing Wii market.

In other words, everyone thinks this will be a more lucrative plan. I prefer the subtlety of ash fountains to spurting blood anyway.

Studio boss chose to censor Euro No More Heroes [cvg]

Ubisoft Picks Up No More Heroes For U.S. Release

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 05:40:29 MDT

Grasshopper Manufacture's No More Heroes may not have Halo 3 or Grand Theft Auto IV hype behind it, but we're certainly looking forward to Goichi Suda's next. Fortunately, for us English speakers, IGN reveals that the game finally has a Western publisher who's brave enough to take on the Wii follow up to Killer 7. Ubisoft have stepped up to the plate to bring No More Heroes stateside. The even better news? Travis Touchdown and his cel-shaded mates will be coming to the West in February of 2008.

Killer.

America Has No More Heroes [IGN]

No More Dumps

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 22:00:41 MDT

Bathroom saves, nothing new! Dead Rising has 'em. Silent Hill has 'em. And now it looks like No More Heroes has water closet saves as well — with hot sitting on the throne action. Once again, leave it to game creator Goichi Suda to push the envelope further. Toilet saves are so the new black.

Thanks Thor!

Suda51 Announcing Something Soon to Somebody

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 03:00:58 MDT

Vague, I realize. Goichi Suda, Killer7 creator, tells SEGA brownman Toshihiro Nagoshi that he'll be announcing something in the next few weeks. No More Heroes is a while off, and Suda's got his fingers in several pies, so I'm curious: What is he announcing? Info about his Snatcher project with Kojima? His proposed PS3 game? His unannounced Xbox 360? What? Like I said, I'm curious.

Suda on Western, Japanese Gamers

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 21:00:11 MDT

Some Japanese game developers and publishers really don't care about the international market. As long as the domestic customers are happy, then that's all that matters! And hey, if foreign players buy the games, that's just an added bonus. So old fashioned! But some devs are open minded, forward thinking even. Take No More Heroes creator and Grasshopper Manufacturer bossman Goichi Suda. He wears cowboy boots! Here's his two cents on reaching an international market:

...more than anything we felt that Grasshopper's style is more suited to the foreign than the local Japanese market...
The Japanese fans are very important to me too, but we want to make a big breakthrough with the Grasshopper name someday, and to that end it's not enough for us to just focus on the Japanese market. I can't give you an exact percentage, but the Western market is extremely important.
When I make games, I always put in a lot of effort toward making them with an image of the Western audience in mind. The Western market is that important to me. I don't make games with only the Japanese in mind, I treat it as though people from all around the world are going to play my games.

Is there a difference between Western and Japanese gamers?

...the American and European audiences are more receptive to new games. They welcome change. The Japanese are more close minded and the market is showing signs of rejection towards new games. I think that's the main reason.

Did I ever tell you I think Suda is cool? Well, I think Suda is cool.

Grasshopper Interview [Gamasutra]

Suda Is A Punk

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 03:00:13 MDT

Critics darling and Killer 7 producer Goichi Suda talked about artistry and business at last week's GDC. He explained that there are two types of creators: Business-oriented and art-oriented. For business devs, the client's wishes and expectations are priority numero uno. But the arty-types, it's their vision. (Though, Suda does admit that basically all game developers must be business-oriented, because, well, it is a business!) But at the end of the day, he says that he and his company Grasshopper Manufacture hold art in the highest regard thanks to, and we quote, "punk spirit." Not so much anti-authority, but rather, he's talking about doing something different from others. Take Killer 7, which he made with Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. Suda explains:

There are so many big games and big titles, but most of them are copycat... these games are important, but it's really hard to find a [different kind of] game. ...I really hate doing things that other people do... We need to create that kind of game... I'd like to ask publishers to help us and support us [to make more punk games].

Yeah, 'cause do we really wanna be sedated with pedestrian games? Check out the trailer for Suda's upcoming title here.

Hey! Ho! Let's Go! [Next-Gen]