Cubed³’s Adam Riley: h.an.d. has been around since the early 1990s. Was your company always involved in videogame development?

Teruaki Matoba, President: At first, rather than games we made multimedia titles. Some examples of these are displays for museums and Edu-tainment games (a cross between entertainment and education).

AR: What are your thoughts on how the gaming industry has changed since you began?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: The difference between large projects and small projects is shrinking. Now even small projects require a large number of staff, so communication is very hard.

AR: Your Company has worked on a wide range of genres. But what particular genre would you say h.a.n.d. is strongest in?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: I have made many mini-games, so I understand the structure of many types of games. Currently I am involved in a wide range of game genres.

AR: Having previously worked on GameCube games, have you found the transition to Wii development as simple as Nintendo said it would be?

Yuzaburo Maruyama, Chief Programmer: The GC and Wii are very similar hardware wise so that obviously helped, but what helped the transition most must be the SDK programme that Nintendo provided for us. Thanks to the shorter production times and improved graphics, complex game structures have been relatively easy to do.

AR: What are your experiences with the Wii hardware so far? Do you think games can be made on Wii that have the same depth and high quality as those on PS3 and Xbox 360?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: It depends what you mean by depth and quality but I believe it is possible to make games that are just as fun and addictive!

AR: Talking about Microsoft’s console, why do you think it has failed to penetrate the Japanese market so far? And, in your opinion, is there still a chance for the Xbox 360 to gain more attention from Japanese gamers?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: There are many people in Japan who like games where you can gradually build up or collect something so if that sort of game is released in Japan I am sure it will receive more attention.

AR: How did you get involved with Square Enix? And where did the idea for a new Chocobo game come from?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: First we are given a few topics from our producer. From that we draw up a plan. It is quite easy to take up many interesting ideas. We then sequence the scenario and take in a lot of advice to make a high quality game that many players will enjoy.

The picture-book idea came from wanting to include many types of play in one game, like a toy box! We wanted a strong distinction between the real world and the toy world so we decided to use a slightly unusual visual style. From there many ideas flowed in and the final game was made.

AR: How closely did Square Enix work with you during the Chocobo project? What was the reason for the various mix of gameplay styles included?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: I secretly discussed many ideas with the producer Yokoyama-san and summarised our ideas. As it is for DS the most important part of the game I believe is the friendly design. Also, we wanted a game which anyone could easily pick up and enjoy Chocobo, even if each play session was only very short.

AR: Overall, do you think the game was as successful worldwide as it should have been? And will h.a.n.d. be working with Square Enix on another Chocobo Tales in the future?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: It was an unusual balance, but overall I believe it was received quite well. I was also pleased that the in-game card game (using Wi-Fi) was a lot more popular than anticipated.

AR: What do you think about Nintendo’s advances in the online world with its Wi-Fi Connection? Were there any problems implementing the feature into Chocobo Tales?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: I think it is a wonderful service! I want to positively challenge what is possible with this service. As for problems, some connection testing was done using trial and error. In the quality assessment department in Square Enix they even took the DS to various places such as the Underground to test the online network!

AR: Many people believe Friend Codes to be very restrictive when playing online. Do you agree? (Please explain your answer)

Koji Yamamoto, Director: As there are many children that play games, I believe this is still the correct approach. However, I do feel there should be a “matching service” made available for adults by Nintendo.

AR: Will you be implementing online elements into your future Wii games as well? Or perhaps making use of the WiiConnect24 service?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: As many of the new services as possible will be included in our games and we hope to include many challenges and different ways to play in all our games.

AR: After seeing Nintendo’s Wii Fit and the Wii Balance Board peripheral, is this likely to be the next phenomena in Japan?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: It already is! *laughs*

AR: And has the Balance Board given you any ideas for the creation of new games in the future?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: The Balance Board is nice, but I still have many ideas for games using the stylus and Nintendo DS…

AR: Considering your work with Square Enix, is your team involved with the Chocobo Dungeon game for Wii?

Teruaki Matoba, President: Yes, we were involved in the production of this game. It was released in Japan on 13th December last year.

AR: Whilst you cannot talk about specific details, are you able to tell us how complete is the Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days project?

Teruaki Matoba, President: I cannot reveal much as this game is still embargoed/confidential, but if you check out the Jump Festival 2008 website there will be some information available on the game. We will be releasing more details closer to its launch.

AR: Finally, what games are you most looking forward to?

Koji Yamamoto, Director: There are so many games I’m anticipating, but I really want to play Dragon Quest IX with my son. there will be some information available on the game. We will be releasing more details closer to its launch.

http://www.cubed3.com/news/9566

especially posted for soriku =P

 i know, but i saw the word kingdom hearts in it, so..=D

That is a nice interview. They are super talented which makes up for having a small staff.