‘Dynasty Warriors’ Studio President Says Series “Is Not Yet In A Position To Be Called A Success In The West”, Hopes To Make ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ Musou Game
In an admission that (speaking from personal experience) may come as a genuine shock to fans of the musou video game genre, the President of Dynasty Warriors developer Omega Force, Tomohiko Sho, does not yet consider the historical Chinese beat-em-up series to be “a success” among Western audiences.
Sho, who in addition to his work steering the studio has served as a lead designer and producer on the entirety of the core Dynasty Warriors line, gave his read of the series’ international reception during a recent interview given to Gamesmarkt‘s Marcel Kleffman.
Asked by his host, “How successful is the Dynasty Warriors series in the West? And how important is the Western market for the series, given that almost 70% of user reviews of Dynasty Warriors: Origins on Steam are in Chinese?”, the Omega Force President bluntly declared, “I believe that the Dynasty Warriors series is not yet in a position to be called a success in the West.”
“On the contrary, I believe that there is a great potential for the series to gain many fans in the future,” he added. “With our latest title, Dynasty Warriors: Origins. we were able to attract new fans in addition to those we have had since the PlayStation 2 era. The Western market is very important, and I believe that if there is a next title, we will gain even more new fans.”
Next pressed by Kleffman as to why “you think the Warriors/Musou games are so successful?”, Sho laughed “That is a very difficult question,” before opining, “If I were to borrow a phrase from many people, I would say that it is the ‘exhilarating 1 vs. 1,000 action.'”
“However, I think it is not that simple, because ‘Musou’ has various characteristics, and any of those characteristics will always match each IP that is the subject of the game,” he added, making reference to the entries featured in such spin-off series as One Piece: Pirate Warriors, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors, and Dynasty Warriors Gundam. “Some allow you to simply enjoy the exhilaration without much thought, some allow you to enjoy a large number of characters with simple controls, and some allow you to enjoy the unique ‘tactical action’ that is inherent to the ‘Dynasty Warriors’ series. I think this is the appeal of Dynasty Warriors and the reason for its success.”
Continuing on the subject of the various Dynasty Warrior crossover games, Kleffman inquired with Sho as to whether or not he saw “further potential there, perhaps even with Western IPs such as Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or Marvel?”
In turn, the director once again laughed, “We can’t say ‘Yes!’ on our own, but I personally hope it is possible,” before ultimately asserting, “A new Lord of the Rings game that is unique to Warriors…I would love to create it, and personally play.”
Admittedly, while many may disagree with Sho’s sentiment regarding the overseas popularity of the overall genre, none can argue with the idea that, should his hopes ever come to fruition, a The Lord of the Rings musou – perhaps the easiest Western IP to translate into the traditional, tactical Dynasty Warriors gameplay – would go a long way in bridging that gap.
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