‘Resident Evil 4’ And ‘Devil May Cry 4’ Producer Admits Industry Has Grown To Point Where A Game “Just Being Fun Isn’t Enough To Sell”
In offering an admittedly depressing summary of the current state of the industry, veteran video game producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi says that unlike years past, the success of a given title now depends on far more than it “just being fun”.
Kobayashi, who served as a producer on a number of Capcom titles including Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil 4, and every Sengoku Basara entry before leaving to form his current GPTRACK50 Studio, provided this insight into the modern video game industry while speaking to Tekken franchise director Katsuhiro Harada for the latest entry of Famitsu‘s Behind The Scenes Of Game Development creator-on-creator interview series.
Reflecting on the fact that the ever-growing nature of their industry had led to a similar change in their respective workloads, Kobayashi opined, “In the past, game development often started with a simple thought like, ‘This seems fun!’ If a team had enough development experience, the game would somehow turn into a hit. But nowadays, just being fun isn’t enough to sell.”
“We need to conduct thorough marketing beforehand, analyze which audience the game will appeal to, and clearly define the target,” he explained. “If we don’t, the game won’t be well received. For example, the title we’re currently developing is aimed at the overseas gaming market. I’ll say this now—it probably won’t sell very well in Japan.”
Asked by Harada if this meant he and his team had “made a clear decision from the start” regarding their creative direction, Kobayashi confirmed, “Yes, because if we don’t clarify that upfront, at some point, someone will suggest, ‘Maybe we should make it more appealing to the Japanese market, too.'”
“If we go down that road, the game itself will gradually lose its original focus,” he said. ” That’s why we set a clear direction from the beginning: This game is made for this specific audience. [emphasis Kobayashi].”
Agreeing with Kobayashi’s point, Harada recalled, “The process of shaping a project today is very different from the past. Back when we were young—like in the ’90s when we were developing Tekken—we led with our passion, saying, ‘This is the kind of fighting game we want to make!‘ And a lot of people followed us because of that enthusiasm. But today, with so many entertainment choices available, we have to be extremely precise about who we’re targeting.”
To this end, the Tekken boss would later inquire, “I think many Japanese fans would love for it to be a hit domestically as well. Even if you adjust the look or marketing strategy, is it still difficult to make it more appealing in Japan?,” to which Kobayashi would affirm, “I just don’t think the gameplay will match Japanese preferences.”
“Of course, there will be some people who absolutely love it, but at the end of the day, success is measured by how many copies a game sells,” he clarified. “From that perspective, trying to modify the game to appeal more to the Japanese market would be a risky move. It’s not that I’m disregarding Japan—personally, I would love for it to sell well here—but if we prioritize that, it could negatively impact the game’s success overseas. As I mentioned before, we’ve made a clear decision to focus on the international market. With that in mind, everything—from the world-building to the genre and characters—is designed specifically for an overseas audience.”
At current, Kobayashi and his team at GPTRACK50 Studios have yet to officially reveal their Western audience-oriented title.
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