Iwata
Thank you all very much. Now then, I’m sure many people out there have the impression that Tecmo’s Team NINJA and Nintendo are as different as any two video game companies can be. What’s the story behind you asking Team NINJA to come on board as your development partners in the first place, Sakamoto-san?
Sakamoto
When I was first thinking of the plans for this Metroid game, there were things that I found difficult to get people within Nintendo to understand. I think my ideas sounded outrageous, or seemed to be pipedreams. Things like wanting to create a steady 3D space, despite the player scrolling horizontally to progress through it, or wanting to have super-long cinematics, but having them seamlessly integrated with the plot so that the player follows the story while playing. I did think it was hard for people to understand such things when I mentioned them.