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]