Dear Reader:
Nagoshi keen on Wii, Nintendo
The man behind Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz definitely enjoys the Wii, and plans to keep Sega and Nintendo’s relationship strong in the future.
Kikizo: When did you first decide to develop Monkey Ball for the Wii?
Nagoshi: When I first listened to the presentation about the Wii hardware, I started thinking about a good match for what the hardware, and the first thing I thought of was Monkey Ball. The audience is also similar, in terms of gameplay and also in terms of marketing.
Kikizo: So how long ago was that, then?
Nagoshi: I can’t really get into too much detail because of Nintendo’s planning as well, but some point last year.
Kikizo: Your relationships with Nintendo is still strong. Are you still thinking about doing another game with Nintendo?
Nagoshi: Yeah, definitely.
Kikizo: Tell us about the Monkey Ball spin-off from Traveller’s Tales.
Nagoshi: The concept for that game originated in Europe, to take the Monkey Ball characters and try to make a different sort of game. I took a look at the concept and talked to the developer, and I was happy that they could make a different game - a good game - so that’s how that came about. I’m not really managing the day-to-day development of the game, but obviously I’m offering input and advice where I can. From what I’ve seen of the development, I think it’s going in a good direction.
Kikizo: We’ve seen a bunch of portable versions, we’ve seen cellphone versions, there’s Monkey Ball Adventure by Traveller’s Tales, plus the Wii version you are working on. Are you worried there might be a Monkey Ball overkill?