By Idea Factory president Yoshiteru Sato and Design Factory president Makoto Higuchi recently sat down for an interview on the Otomate brand, where they talked about social games, console games, and the brand’s shift focusing on the Nintendo Switch. [Thanks, Hachima Kikou!]
Here are the highlights:
On the topic of social games:
Yoshiteru Sato, IF President: “We’ve already seen some success with social games, but other hit titles continue to come out as well, so competition is fierce. Even one mobile title is a huge investment, so it’s quite difficult.”
Makoto Higuchi, DF President: “At the very least, maybe because we’ve worked on console titles mainly up until now, we want to make games that leave an impression on players after all. When making a social game, the staff felt that the biggest difference was that you had to make “a story that never ended”. As social games mainly revolve around having players follow a routine of gameplay tasks, you can’t really make players feel strongly in such a “never-ending story”.
As for our biggest task right now, with the precedent of Fate/Grand Order and such games, which focus on the story and managed to take the top share of mobile gaming, we’ve got to dissect how that sort of content is made, and challenge ourselves to make something of that calibre.”
On the topic of console titles:
Higuchi: “Compared to three years ago, the number of console titles being released is near only one-third of what it was. But that also means that the share of Otomate titles has also increased. In reality, while console games have fallen off, social games have increased, and I believe that the female-oriented game market has expanded in the process.”
On the move to Nintendo Switch:
Sato: “As a game company, I think it’s obvious to challenge ourselves by releasing new titles for new hardware. However, there is the dilemma that we can’t just release games for platforms with no market for our titles. Compared to male players, I’d say there are less female players who own all the main console platforms.”
Of course, [among the fans] reactions were mixed, and we received comments about why the games weren’t coming to PS Vita. However, the PS Vita market across the world is shrinking, and if we don’t plant our roots on the Nintendo Switch now, it’ll just get harder for us in the future.”
