Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune recently engaged in a lengthy interview with GameSpot. He discussed everything from the current state of Japanese game development to his thoughts on the Wii U and more. It was a really interesting piece, and I'd recommend checking it out in its entirety. For those of you who don't like reading loads of text, though, check out some notable highlights from the interview here. It's good stuff!
The first thing worth noting is that Inafune stated that he would like to make a game for the Wii U. The gaming industry icon said he looked forward to seeing what the console had to offer and expressed his faith in Nintendo. "If I get a chance, I always want to try out creating for a new platform. So I'm looking forward to that chance," said Inafune.
Fez creator Phil Fish openly admitted how he felt about the Japanese gaming industry, and he was even called a racist for saying that Japanese games sucked. Inafune, while choosing much wiser words, pretty much made the same claim, saying that he felt Japan wasn't taking the business seriously and expressing concern over the lack of evolution. "I had wanted Japanese games to be better. But looking back on the last couple of years, it hasn't changed. I had hoped it would have gone better, but because it hasn't changed, it's probably gotten worse."
One of my favorite sides of the gaming industry is the indie spectrum. Seeing it grow and watching as smaller developers create compelling content has been something that I'm very glad to witness and experience. According to Inafune, the indie side of things is great for business, it allows for more developers to create games, and it pushes major companies to work harder, delivering better content more frequently. "It's a very good thing that there's growth in indie games," stated Inafune. "There are more people playing games, but it also means there are more people creating games. It creates a good competition, so it's very healthy."
The interview ended with some very interesting words from Inafune. When asked how he felt about Capcom's treatment of the Mega Man series, the franchise creator said, "I probably feel the same way as all the Mega Man fans. All I can say is I hope to see the new Mega Man because I've left a lot of people with my DNA [at Capcom]. But if they can't, I'm always open if Capcom asks us to be the developer. We'd take it."
Recently, Inafune announced he was working on an "amazing Vita game." No word on what he could have in store yet. Still, I'm certain there are plenty of fans looking forward to seeing whatever the developer has in store for Sony's latest hadheld.
