Takahashi on Xenoblade Chronicles 2 themes and going all out, interested in smaller projects, more
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 49 Comments
GameSpot has joined other outlets with its own interview with Monolith Soft co-founder and president Tetsuya Takahashi. The discussion features talk about Xenoblade Chronicles 2, including the game’s theme and how it’s a culmination of all Takahashi has done and wanted to do in the past with previous titles. Some general industry topics are tackled here as well, including interest in working on smaller projects in the future if there’s an opportunity.
Continue on below for some notable excerpts from the interview. Head on over to GameSpot for the full discussion.
Monolith Soft on Xenoblade X western changes, Nintendo Europe handling Xenoblade 2, Nintendo’s localization process
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 144 Comments
Kotaku has a very interesting article up covering the localization of Xenoblade Chronicles X, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Nintendo’s localizations in general. The site spoke with Monolith Soft CEO Tetsuya Takahashi, Nintendo’s Genki Yokota, and Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.
Takahashi himself commented on the changes that were made for Xenoblade Chronicles X in the west, like removing a bikini for one of the characters (Lin). We also have confirmation that Nintendo of Europe is handling Xenoblade Chronicles 2 like the original Wii game instead of Nintendo of America. There’s talk here about Nintendo’s localization process as well.
Find comments from Kotaku’s article below. You can read the full thing here.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 message from Takahashi – started while Xenoblade Chronicles X was still in development
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 36 Comments
This message comes from Monolith Soft’s Tetsuya Takahashi…
“A young adult story with a taste of boy-meets-girl. Lately it feels like all I’ve been doing are games full of devastation, like where your hometown burns down at the start, or the spaceship you’re riding crashes(oh wait, that is all I ever do). Sometimes I just wanna try something different!
I want to make something that people can look back on fondly one day as something that really shaped their lives. Something like what I loved as a boy, like Oliver!(by Carol Reed) and Galaxy Express 999(by Rintaro).
— That’s why I started working on this game.
I’ll leave the stories about the solemn old men and hot stylish guys to someone else(even though there’s way more demand for that stuff), and go ahead with this.
Monolith Soft on Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – how it links to the original, Drivers / Blades, Battle Arts
Posted on 6 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 14 Comments
This information comes from Monolith Soft studio head Tetsuya Takahashi…
On how Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is related to the original…
“It’s a completely different world, with completely new characters. It’s a different game.”
“The way I see it. I feel as though Xenoblade 1 and 2 are connected and linked in the sense that they’re linear and story-driven games, whereas Xenoblade Chronicles X was more focused on open world and exploration, and maybe an online aspect. I feel like I’d like to continue to create games separating those two aspects out.”
Takahashi – why Xenoblade X’s data packs exist, wants next game “to look and feel pretty different”, more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 18 Comments
TIME is the latest outlet to have put up an interview with Monolith Soft head Tetsuya Takahashi. Xenoblade Chronicles X’s data packs, western games, and his next project were among the topics discussed.
You can find excerpts for these interview questions below. A couple of additional topics are on TIME’s website here..
More: interview, Monolith Soft, Tetsuya Takahashi, top
Monolith Soft on player feedback, Xenoblade’s future, relationship with Nintendo, more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 21 Comments
Gamereactor has gone live with a new interview featuring Xenoblade Chronicles X senior director and chief creative office Tetsuya Takahashi. Topics included player feedback, where he’d like to take the series next, Monolith Soft’s relationship with Nintendo, and more.
You can find several excerpts from the interview below. A couple of additional questions and answers are on Gamereactor here.
Tetsuya Takahashi on making Xenoblade Chronicles X fun on a budget and more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 22 Comments
Eurogamer published a new feature today about Monolith Soft and studio head Tetsuya Takahashi. You can read the full thing at this link, but we’ll be sharing some of it here as well.
With Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii, the team encountered some issues and were in danger of missing the launch deadline. But Nintendo producer Hitoshi Yamagami swooped in and assisted Takahashi in getting things back on track.
The situation was different with Xenoblade Chronicles X, as Takahashi explained:
“We wanted to achieve something that was more about us as Monolith Soft being able to create an open world system, to implement online features, and to transition into the high definition era. With that game we’d learned how to create locations that are fun to explore on a budget. If we had no restrictions at all in terms of costs, then for example we could easily make a varied and interesting map simply by creating textures and models for four or five different to use in a single 20km squared area. But within restrictions we had the difficult task of creating varied and fun locations using just the textures and models for a single kind of environment.”
Takahashi also mentioned also said that lessons were learned when making Xenoblade Chronicles. Monolith Soft was able to achieve its goals despite certain restrictions it put on itself, such as not using middleware to increase the speed of production.
Head past the break for a few more comments from Takahashi.
Monolith Soft boss on appealing to Japan/the west, “mass” hiring clarified, more Xeno games
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 49 Comments
GameSpot has posted another feature with Monolith Soft head Tetsuya Takahashi. In today’s interview, Takahashi commented on things like making games that will appeal to both Japan and the west, the “mass” hiring the studio had in October (which carries a rather interesting response), the possibility of additional Xeno games, and more.
Continue on below to read up on Takashi’s comments. You should also give GameSpot’s original piece a look here.
More: interview, Monolith Soft, Tetsuya Takahashi, top
Xenoblade X devs – wanted to evolve JRPGs, Xeno name, game is a culmination of ideas
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 25 Comments
GameSpot sat down with a pair of developers behind Xenoblade Chronicles X. The site chatted with executive director Tetsuya Takahashi as well as art director Norihiro Takami. During the discussion, Takahashi and Takami commented on the complex nature of Xenoblade Chronicles X, the Xeno name, how the Wii U game is a culmination of ideas held onto for a very long time, and more.
We’ve rounded up a number of Takahashi and Takami’s statements below. Additional comments can be found in GameSpot’s piece here. Some concept art is also in the gallery below.
Takahashi on why players aren’t given access to Xenoblade Chronicles X’s Skells right away
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 9 Comments
Xenoblade Chronicles X features something known as “Skells”. These mechs allow players to take to the sky and fly across the vast world. You won’t have access to Skells right away, however. They are made available later in the game after players receiving a license.
This month’s issue of Game Informer has a few comments from Monolith Soft executive director Tetsuya Takahashi. Takahashi told the magazine why Skells aren’t handed out at the start, explaining:
“The main reason we didn’t want players to have the Skell from the beginning of the game is that we wanted them to have the opportunity to fully explore the world on foot first. The world starts to feel quiet a bit different once you have the Skell, especially once you experience different layers of the world vertically.”
Xenoblade Chronicles X still has a few months to go before it reaches the west. The overseas release is scheduled for December 4.
