http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/02/24/itagaki-talks-thq-troubles-devil-39-s-third-and-next-gen-consoles.aspx
Some parts of the interview:
Valhalla Game Studios founder Tomonobu Itagaki is at an interesting crossroads in his career. After building his legacy with the Dead or Alive fighting series and Ninja Gaiden, in the last three years he left Tecmo, started a new development company, and began work on a new THQ-backed project that both hope will break into the hyper-competitive shooter market. His situation is now complicated with his primary funder facing a potential NASDAQ delisting as it struggles to get its financial house in order. If these issues are weighing on Itagaki's mind, he wasn't showing it at D.I.C.E. When we sat down with him, he shrugged off any worries he has over his current project, talked about what differentiates Eastern and Western publishers, and spoke to the challenges facing the next generation of hardware.
THQ has been in the news a lot recently with its financial troubles. Where are you guys at with your relationship to THQ – have they given you assurances that Devil’s Third is safe?
Of course there are some changes but there is no problem. It’s the same as before.
The Devil's Third has been dark for a while now, with only a couple trailers on your website. How far along is the project and when can we expect to see some new info, screenshots, or video?
Right now we think it’s too early.
Is the game still slated for a 2013 release?
Yes.
Now that you’ve been working with THQ for a couple years, what are the differences with working with a Western publisher and an Eastern one?
We’ve been working with THQ for two and a half years, and when I was working in Japan I was at the publisher myself so I can’t really compare because it’s different. The circumstances are very different. I really understand what the publisher thinks because I used to be the publisher myself. The one thing that's completely different between the Eastern publisher and Western publisher is the budget. I’ve made more than 30 games, and if you put a little bit more [money] into the one I’m making now, Devil’s Third, I could make all of the 30 games I made before. That’s the big difference. The budget you use for the promotion is completely different too. Those are the biggest differences.
With Call of Duty, Battlefield, Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, etc., the military shooter genre is overcrowded right now. What is the Devil’s Third going to bring to the table to help it stand out?
It’s going to be a more physical game. Those games you mentioned are specifically about playing and fighting with guns. The close quarters combat is not so good. It doesn’t look that great.
Are you working with a military consultant like the Battlefield and Call of Duty studios do to make sure you’re adhering to realism?
I have friends working in the Japanese army so I can always ask them. Of course you can’t shoot guns in Japan so I can’t do it myself, but I know about it and I have many friends in America too who I can ask about it. My friend is a mercenary.
How are you approaching gun design? Are you going to shooting ranges to get the feel for how different weapons handle when you are stateside or are you less worried about guns handling realistically?
If you don’t have any experience shooting guns and you are making a shooter, that’s going to be awkward. I have had many experiences shooting guns. I have a friend who works in the LAPD. He takes me to their shooting range. It’s a very good place. [Laughs]
One of the big debates entrenched fans have about Call of Duty and Battlefield is frames per second. Call of Duty runs at 60 fps, but Battlefield runs at 30 fps to accommodate a larger scale battle. Where does Devil’s Third fall in this spectrum? Do you think it even matters?
My game runs at 30. Our graphics engine can draw very beautiful images at 30 frames per second like the Battlefield series.
What was the last great game that you played?
I can’t remember which order I played, so I can’t remember the latest one. Probably Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. That was very fun.
How do you see action games improving in the next five to 10 years?
Now the genres are separated between action and shooter – it’s not the same. I think it’s going to be mixed. The one I’m making now, Devil’s Third, is like a mixed game, and I think it’s going to be like that. Future games are going to mix shooters and action.
