Interview with, Game Republic founder and Street Fighter II creator Yoshiki Okamoto

“Looking at the way things are right now, it is a fact that first-party Wii games are the only titles selling well. But if the first-party titles are selling, third-party games should be able to sell too, so long as their creators have a good working relationship with Nintendo.

I think the problem is a lack of understanding between third-party developers, like us, and Nintendo, and this relationship needs to improve for the games to improve.

Also, as a developer, when you admit that Nintendo’s games are selling well, you also have to face the fact that the games you’ve made that flopped haven’t been good enough.”

“…actually, and again, and this is those whispering voices saying this, but you’ve started hearing the phrase “Atari crash” pretty frequently. People are talking about how the second “Atari crash” is around the corner. And Nintendo is the one that has to figure out a way to stop it.

In Japan we often say that history repeats itself, and it’s going to take some serious effort to keep it from happening this time.

Japan had its economic bubble in the late eighties, and that burst. I think some of the same things are happening in the American economy right now. Like, they’re going to have to do something to prevent it. It’s foolish to keep making the same mistakes people have already made.

So, Nintendo’s going to need some sort of strategy to deal with this. I think it’s a fact that the market blew up more rapidly than even they thought it would. And the faster something expands, the easier it is for it to deflate again, right? I hope they come up with a way to avoid this with the DS. But for one thing, there are way too many titles out all at once.”

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