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Tecmo thinks North Americans have stashed the DS away, hopes that Cing-developed 'Again: Eye of Providence' will get us playing, and has no plans to localize Winds of Nostalgio
A portion of a Gamasutra interview with producer Koichi Yamaguchi…
GS: How do you think the DS market is doing? The DS is famous for pulling in non-gamers, but it’s unclear whether many of that audience buys games with a narrative structure, as opposed to just sticking with Brain Age, at least in the U.S. Are you hoping Again will be the title that changes that for you?
KY: We’re very much aware that Brain Age, even in the States, when it was released, was what sort-of triggered this casual gaming audience, and the DS being accepted as not just a gaming platform, but as an entertainment device. It was very similar in Japan, too; once that game came out, every family member was playing that game, and very similar games; you would see people commuting with DSes in their hands.
But it seems like, after that, a lot of people actually haven’t had a chance to play anything that is equally as entertaining, or is equally addicting, so it seems like the DSes are stashed away in their closets. So, hopefully, a game like Again would be something that they would seek out of interest, and from a game concept standpoint, we’re trying to have this mystery-solving, crime-solving series.
It doesn’t have to be a game, but anyone would be interested in that kind of entertainment, whether it be a novel, or a movie, or a TV series. So, you have a sense of comfort, you know, reading through a series of chapters of murder mysteries. So, hopefully, that concept of Again, which it just so happens we are developing on the DS, would make sense for them to bring out their DSes again — this time wanting to play an adventure game.
Also, Tecmo’s U.S. VP John Inadala states that they will not be localizing Winds of Nostalgio…
JI: Well, as far as if it’s going to be published in North America or not, right now we have no plan. We reviewed the game, and we decided that it was not the right game to bring to North America. We might change our mind…