3DS Impressing Gaming Developers

Call it the Cameron Affect, Avatar Navi Blues, but whatever you call it now a days it seems like everything is going 3D. We have 3D televisions, 3D computer games and now the 3DS. Although it was only recently announced, and has only been in the hands of developers for a couple months, what do they think of the Nintendo’s newest handheld?

Greg Zeschuk (via Eurogamer.net):
The co-founder of Electronic Arts’ BioWare subsidiary, said, “We could [make a 3DS title] because we’ve done a DS game before. So imagining it, it’s pretty similar. It will depend. The thing I’m curious about on 3DS is, what else does it bring to the table? Is it going to be wireless? What kind of back-end connectivity are they going to do? That is what excites me. I loved it. I saw it at E3 and I was blown away. I’m not sure if it’ll bring that much more to the table. But that’s going to be enough to reinvigorate the DS market. For us to want to jump in, you largely have to have a lot more online stuff going on there. You’re clearly limited in how flexible you can be on the backend. We always joked about a DS MMO at some point…It would be brilliant. But the problem is it’s not patchable. That’s the thing I’ve learned working on MMO stuff. You have to be able to update. But it would be a pretty cool concept…And that [more online integration] opens up those kinds of windows. And suddenly, even just imagine that.”

Hideo Kojima:
As father of the Metal Gear Series, he’s already knee-deep involved with his work on the E3 demo of Metal Gear Solid 3D. He said, “I wear glasses, so I’m happy that 3D glasses are not needed. I directed the E3 demo. It was based off Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater, but the backgrounds and character modeling were all redone in high polygon. It’s not finalized, but we’re thinking about CO-OPs and other things — elements fitting of a 3D and portable game machine.”

Suda 51:
Although the CEO for Japanese developer GrassHopper Interactive has not yet announced any 3DS games, based on his past history with Nintendo and No More Heroes it wouldn’t be a surprise if he announced a title for the platform.

In an interview with Famitsu: “I was able to feel the speed of progression of video game history, and also the feeling of ‘We’ve come this far.'” Seeing the 3DS made him feel like there is a real touchable world inside the screen. “To express the game I want to make in a word, it’s ‘The Next Game.’ Nintendo 3DS is the arrival of ‘The Next Hardware.’ So, ‘The Next Game.'”

Hideki Kamiya:
The creative genius behind Bayonetta and Okami, Kamiya has yet to announced any 3DS games but seems impressed from what he’s seen from the system so far.

“Games with dynamic scale are okay too, but I personally would like to take a different approach from the large screen and make a 3D game where you can enjoy the feeling of existence given by portable 3D.”

Toshihiro Nagoshi:
Although Nagoshi is mostly known for working with Sega’s Yakuza series, he’s currently working on the next Super Monkey Ball iteration for the system. “If future portable game machines demand that both social aspects and immersion be satisfied for when you play multiplayer and single player for instance, 3DS firmly answers these with Wi-Fi and 3D. I’d like to make a variety of proposals.”

Shu Takumi:
Although the man behind Capcom’s Dino Crisis, Phoenix Wright and Ghost Trick series has yet to announce any 3DS plans, he stated that he’s been a fan of Nintendo’s 3D push ever since the wait for it –Virtual Boy. “We’ve at last reached this point!” “As a creator, I feel that a new challenge has started.” By “new challenge,” he feels that a number of things need to be considered for the first time — interface issues with 3D, new uses of the top and bottom screen, how to handle the cursor/pointer during adventure games, and so forth. “I’d like to show a mystery in a 3D space.”

Atsushi Inaba, CEO of Platinum Games:
“I experienced a strong jolt of the feeling ‘I want to make something.’ When I first saw Wii and DS at Nintendo’s home office, I was also excited. It’s the same feeling here, but the level is completely different this time. Since the start of the game industry, there’s never been a system that better fit the words ‘dream’ and ‘next generation.'”

Keiji Inafune:
As opposed to his fellow develops Keiji Inafune aka, the ‘Mega Man’ guy, kept things in perspective when he was talking about Nintendo’s upcoming DS successor. “Things needed to sell games are concept, technology and marketing. Nintendo 3DS is a showcase of things for selling hardware. While keeping the appeal of portable game machines as is, it offers high processing ability, improved controls, a more appealing design, goggle-free 3D technology, and a robust 3rd party title lineup.”

Takenobu Terada:
Producer of Namco Bandai’s Super Robot Wars series, he feels that with 3DS the true ‘nex-gen’ contender has arrived. Although he doesn’t have anything in the pipeline as of this time, his staff is currently looking at a number of options for Super Robot Wars on the system.

Shinji Mikami:
The man behind Resident Evil stated that the system’s 3D ability has exceeded any of his expectations. Rather than “popping out at you,” the system uses depth to give it a 3D feel.

Tomonobu Itagaki:
While he was away doing God knows what before joining Valhalla Game Studios, the creator behind Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive and Devil’s Third stated that he hasn’t had a lot of time to talk about 3DS development, but that goggle-free 3D is not suitable for home television and sees potential in the handheld. “Today, I have a meeting at a yakiniku place, but I think things will heat up with talk about 3DS.”

Yoshinori Ono:
Super Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono is currently working on Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition. In his interview with Famitsu, he stated that outside of the visuals, that he’d like to expand the fun of the game through the 3DS’s other new features that takes advantage of its portability.

Hiroyuki Kobayashi:
Although the producer of Devil May Cry, Resident Evil 5 and Sengoku Basara doesn’t have any announced 3DS projects at the moment, once he saw Nintendo’s titles running on actual 3DS hardware, he was extremely surprised to find that the images truly do come out from the screen.

[translations provided by: Andria Sang]