Japanese game makers discuss strategies for 2013

They’re doing it again. Famitsu this week has a feature including interviews with all of the biggest game publishers and developers on their strategies for 2013. Each publisher was asked three questions. Find their answers below.

Questions
1) Keywords for 2013.

2) What will your company do?
3) Other.

Square Enix

1) Shift to online service.
2) Preparing to establish MMO and social games and strengthen IPs.
3) Expect a lot of packaged software and online mobile titles.

Idea Factory
1) We want to liven up the game industry with players.
2) We our investing our energy into multiple titles for home gaming.

Aqua Plus
1) Break boundaries! We want to break down the limits together with everyone and go beyond.
2) Challenge new things, even try challenging a new platform, as well as put our best efforts towards titles already announced.

Atlus
1) Reform.
2) We want to expand the Atlus brand on various stages like media mix, collaborations, etc.
3) Expect development of a new Devil Survivor 2 game project.

Gust
1) We want it to be a year of development
2) As a subsidiary of Tecmo Koei, we want to further improve our existing series while also challenging new IPs.

Kadokawa Games
1) New challenges.
2) To be completely new.

Capcom
1) No answer.
2) No answer.

Tecmo Koei
1) Nobunaga’s Ambition 30th anniversary. A new challenge.
2) To become the number one entertainment content provider in the world. (They touched on Yaiba a little, but platforms are still unknown. Toukiden was not touched upon.)

Konami
1) One new amusement after the other.
2) It’s “top secret,” so it’s not possible to say.

Spike Chunsoft
1) Want to challenge everything and do an unexpected title.
2) Of course we want to grow our existing IP. Also, we want to do our best to localize games in the west. There are a number of new projects just before announcement. There is also a movement to make an anime from the Dangan Ronpa series.

Sega
1) Leap year.
2) A wide range of completely new series, net games, etc. Attract consumers in both the home and arcade games market.

Sony Computer Entertainment
1) A year of great laughter! I think people around the world will smile and be cheerful.
2) The PlayStation platform will expand.

D3 Publisher
1) Unexpectedness.
2) Ambitious new works.

Nippon Ichi Software
1) Challenge and improve.
2) We want to reflect on the drastic things we did as a medium sized company, and raise our abilities. July 12 is our 20th anniversary festival. There is a game that’ll be a consumer version of ZX. Hardware is undecided at the moment.

Nihon Falcom
1) The Legend of Heroes: Sen no Kiseki will be released. The Kiseki brand will see a boost.
2) We want more people to know and play Falcom games.

Microsoft Japan
1) We want existing and new users’ fun to be tied together and spread out across the year.
2) Xbox will create new values that strengthen the brand. Windows 8 and Smart phone coordination is planned. Expect a year where users cannot turn off the Xbox.

Nintendo
1) No answer.
2) No answer.

Namco Bandai
1) Challenge! Evolution! Growth!
2) Develop without being seized by platform or form.

5pb.
1) Even more user expansion and Asian development expansion.
2) Science adventure games are our focus, our core layer, with the exception of sound games. We want to develop original content for multiple platforms especially ports for iPhone.

PlatinumGames
1) Fight the world as a Japan representative.
2) Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, The Wonderful 101, and Bayonetta 2. Although it can’t be shared with the public yet, the action which leads to the following step has already been taken.

FromSoftware
1) New challenges and hangups.
2) It’s Dark Souls 2 development year. There are also plans for a new topic.

Bethesda Softworks
1) Zwei.
2) Zwei.

Marvelous AQL
1) Go further.

Level-5
1) We’re aiming for success in new business involving social games and smartphone games, etc.
2) Fantasy Life is already on sale, but from hereafter it’ll be the first of a larger series, I’m thinking of plans for the next one. I want to liven up the entertainment industry as a whole.

Thanks, Game Nyarth.