EDGE interview.

http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30146

All I can find right now.
I wonder what their definition of "heavily tweaked" is.

 

guys, i have the magazine with the full interview~ hands up who wants me to scan the whole thing on PC~

they pretty much talk about the intentions of VF5, and how it will live up to the previous series etc~

 

please... /versus/images/graemlins/lol.gif

 

me too me too!!

 

me three

 

Err...Me four

 

As requested by the people, BK__ has lovingly scanned in the magazine and sent them to me. I have hosted them and they're huge files so I zipped them up. Happy reading!

Grab the mag!

 

Very good interview. Wish i were in japan to take advantage of some of the awesome features discussed. *dreams*

 

Did MO just say that VF5 will never reach consoles and will only stay in the Arcades?

 

[ QUOTE ]
Did MO just say that VF5 will never reach consoles and will only stay in the Arcades?

[/ QUOTE ]
No.


Akira Yuki at teamxbox.com posted the entire interview. Here it is:

Part 1.

Fighter’s Evolution

Having acknowledged Japanese gamers’ newfound desire to be recognized, Virtua Fighter is finally tuning in.


The first rule of Virtua Fighter is: you do not talk about Virtua Fighter when you’re playing it. The second rule of Virtua Fighter is: you do talk about it at any other time, whenever you get the chance. This is a club you don’t access via invitation but via the absolute investments of time, energy and money pumped into cabinets. And, if playing out of arcade hours, a top-flight arcade stick. Cobble one of those together like some Sanwa-Branded lightsabre and you’re all set for months, some would say years, of gaming’s highest education. If just getting involved sounds daunting, then imagine what it’s like for the referees and organizers at this phenomenon’s core.

As Sega’s AM2 division readies Virtua Fighter 5 for action, it faces responsibilities that go beyond showcasing the Lindbergh arcade board and bringing Japan out of fake shadows into a shader-based world. For the fans, split as they are into staunch conservatives and proponents of change, every adjustment to VF invites scrutiny worthy of any MMO or vertical scrolling shooter. The new game has to remain politically correct while proving progressive enough to command precious floor space amid increasingly diverse arcade cabinets. As project leader Makoto Osaki, director Daichi Katagiri and planner Taku Kihara explain, that doesn’t mean shepherding the genre’s dwindling coin-op cliques so much as unifying them.

First of all, how would you summarise the direction VF5 is taking?
Makoto Osaki: We wanted to develop the core idea of ‘community that VF4 created. With that game we introduced the concepts of networking. IC cards, team play and collectables, creating in the process a wider network of players. Now we want to bring that idea to another level. In Japan, we don’t have the professional gamers or superstars that appear overseas. We believe that the chance for players to become celebrities ? to appear on some kind of television channel ? will invigorate that community.

February’s AOU Show saw the VF.TV feature touted as VF5’s key innovation. Is such progressive design becoming difficult to achieve in the fighting genre?
MO: In terms of game experience, I think that VF4 was very much complete; we delivered quite an achievement with that game. VF is ultimately about two fighters competing on a single plane ? a model that can be very difficult to escape from. The possibility of free movement is a very delicate issue that we considered with VF5, but realized would offer no improvement. On the contrary, in fact, VF5 is about an ‘impression of realism’ rather than true realism ? you won’t find any hands being broken, for instance. VF5 does, however, introduce actions that you’d consider natural in a one-on-one fight such as sidesteps, placing them on top of the basic single-plane model.
Daichi Katagiri: We try to stay true to the genre’s core concept and arrange things around it to improve the experience. This is how the series has evolved since its debut. The version displayed at the AOU Show was mostly feature-complete, but things such as balance are going to change greatly as we progress towards the final version. For example, the version we have right now is a world apart in terms of gameplay from the show version. If you consider that to be the skeleton part of the game, now we’re putting the muscles on. There you were able to perform some side actions, for example, but they weren’t so significant. They’re now a very apparent and important part. Still, you must always stay true to the core of the game.

When you’re tuning the series’ balance, how important a role do professional gamers and their opinions play?
DK: We never take into account the opinion of one particular person, even if they’re a so-called professional. We do receive feedback during location tests and try to establish general issues with the game, but we don’t want to focus on individual opinions that might not be representative of everyone. Analogue controls, for example, don’t suit a fighting game particularly well and introduce too great a margin of error in the game’s balance. So we try to base everything on our own experience.

What possibilities does the Lindbergh offer the experience that previous boards did not?
MO: Well, more dots on the screen, really. The Naomi 2 was VGA; with Lindbergh we can render and output in high definition and widescreen. Additionally, Nvidia’s graphics chipset has allowed us to use HDR [lighting], which is a great improvement. Looking at the specifications, of course, Lindbergh seems to be just like a PC. In terms of game experience, however, the larger screen gives players greater room for maneuver.

DK: Lindbergh isn’t changing the core concept of the series: simple actions with significant ramifications. But it does allow us to pursue a goal of offering a better sense of realism.
MO: We had a glimpse of HDR technology when working with Chihiro. We experimented with it and learned a lot while developing Virtua Cop 3, OutRun 2 and Ghost Squad, all of which provided useful experience. In Japan, the majority of programmers come from the console and arcade worlds, while overseas many more come from a PC background. We were very much behind in terms of knowhow and experience with the PC-based technologies we’re now heavily using. VF5 has helped us fill some of the gaps and I’m pretty proud of the visuals we’ve managed to achieve. Until very recently, this was an unusual line of work in Japan and we’ve had to greatly adapt our working methods.

What’s been the most difficult issue you’ve faced so far?
MO: Networking. We’re not only developing a game this time, but a full range of complex services that includes recording video and uploading it to a server from which other users can then download. As our main programmer likes to say, we’re developing the equivalent of three games. You can’t imagine how heavy the workload is when developing an entire environment. To be honest, we’re doing too many things at the same time and the thinking process behind managing all these tasks is exhausting. The visual improvement alone is daunting enough.
Taku Kihara: We have to consider ways for people to enjoy the game when they’re not playing. Such a complete environment is something we have to create from scratch.
DK: We’re touching things that we’re not used to or simply not supposed to do as a game developer. Simply showing replays [in VF.TV], for example, is unsatisfactory and will in no way bring us closer to our objective. So we have to decide what would be fun in that regard and what details, such as the right lengths of each program that we broadcast, should be. These are basic issues we had to confront before even starting to think on a more advanced level.

How well do you think you’re making use of the Lindbergh board’s resources?
MO: I’d say we’re pushing the board almost to its limit. It’s hard to estimate the precise level, but I’d say somewhere around 95 percent. VF5 is the perfect title to use the board’s power.

There have been some comments regarding the fighters’ skin looking plastic ? what’s your response to that?
DK: Initially we drew the skin very realistically but when we watched the game in motion we realized that the characters were difficult to spot. So we opted to rather keep to our ‘sense of realism’ approach.

If developing a sequel solely for your fans runs the risk of reducing your audience, how do you find the balance between pleasing them and finding new players?
MO: This is a very difficult issue, and it’s why we’re developing the community concept. If VF.TV looks entertaining, it will convince new users to try the game and get involved.
DK: We’re certainly not changing the game balance to give newcomers a better chance against veterans. We need to ensure we can please the fans and then create a more appealing environment for new users to enter. To have a successful and dynamic community you need the supply of new users to be constant; we’ve designed the entire VF5 project accordingly. That said, there are a few new features we’ve yet to announce that should appeal to everyone

 

Part 2

Did other new ideas emerge from the innovation of VF.TV?
MO: You know, VF.TV is itself the result of experiments we conducted with another game and a local TV show. At AM2 we have a networks Mahjong game named MJ which has a large following. You add to this the concept behind a popular TV program n Japan where someone commentates on the game in progress and you have something unique. And we wanted that feature. However, it required the installation of a live monitor cabinet in arcades and the operators didn’t like the sound of this at all. It meant losing one cabinet, which meant losing revenue. We conducted a trial, however, and the results were immediately apparent. People would gather in large numbers in front of the live monitor. Usually, if all the satellites of the MJ were occupied with players, people wouldn’t wait and would instead just leave the arcade. With a live monitor, however, they would stay while being entertained and would then buy a drink or go play another game for a short time until a satellite became available.
Suddenly, operators were enthusiastic about our new cabinet and where even our sales department had been unsure of its approach, that success changed everything. In the past, Japanese users were very shy and never liked to expose themselves to others. Today, they’ve changed and are more open. DDR is one example. I thought that game would never be accepted, but it met with huge success and surprised us.
DK: We don’t speak of DDR players as ‘gamers’ but as ‘performers’ in a live show.

Both VF and Fighting Vipers attracted their share of stars ? players such as Ikebukuro Raxel and Bunbunmaru. Does VF5 seek to encourage every user to achieve the same level of reputation?
MO: Indeed. We don’t want our game to just be localized to Tokyo, for instance. We want a community that will expand throughout the entire country, so great players can emerge in any part of Japan, even in the countryside. Where VF.TV is available at home, people will see new starts emerging in other parts of the country. I’m pretty sure that people will start talking online or via their mobile phones about the great players they saw on VF.TV that day.

Why do you think the popularity of the fighting genre appears to be in decline?
MO: Compared to the time when VF and Tekken were released, the market capacity has indeed shrunk. But in Asia the genre still has strength. The VF name remains very popular and the business is very much alive.

With more and more fighting games being developed for the consumer market, often skipping arcades entirely, how do you see the coin-op side of the business developing? Will VF ever become console-exclusive?
DK: VF is VF and will keep running in arcades until the company tells us otherwise. We welcome any other games that enter the arcade market and help to make the fighting scene more dynamic.
MO: We’re designing VF5 for and arcade-only configuration. The services and community we’re building couldn’t be reproduced on consoles. Those platforms favor directions which are totally different from the ones we’ve chosen. One of our philosophies since the very beginning has been that if a game doesn’t perform in the arcades, then there’s no demand for a port. That hasn’t changed. We’re making VF5 for today’s Japanese arcade scene and I believe it suits it very well.

With this being the series’ fifth iteration, does VF still have room to expand, or are you starting to consider new IP?
MO: I think we had the same question in mind while making VF4.
DK: Indeed, we designed it thinking: ‘Let’s do one last Virtua Fighter’. It met with great success and gave us new ideas to make this next one. We’re doing all we can to ensure that this new game delivers on that potential.
MO: There are other issues, too. For instance, when developing VF4 and its network features, we were limited to the technology available at the time. We had to work with ISDN, for example ? quite a narrow band compared to what we have today. With ADSL, cable and optical fiber, we have a totally different environment to work in, placing new possibilities in front of us that give us new ideas. Arcades were reluctant to get ISDN connections for the benefit of our game: “Why should I buy your expensive cabinets?†they’d say, “only to then pay for an expensive internet connection as well?†That was the basic reaction. But the success of VF4 and its new network features changed their minds.
It’s like the success of the iPod Movie. This would have never happened without broadband. One new technology can have an impact that reaches far and wide. To stay with that example, the podcasting revolution is another consequence of broadband being introduced. For our VF.TV replays, several dozen megabytes would have required hours to be transferred without a broadband connection. Users might wait for ten or 20 seconds, but they won’t wait that long.

Were there potential additions that you shied from making for fear of the audience’s reaction?
MO: None, I think. There’s a formula that we maintain from one Virtua Fighter to another. If we have to break it then we develop a different game, a new series. Fighting Vipers is an example of us doing just that. The time fans get angry with us is the time that we announce the next Virtua Fighter as an FPS.
DK: That’ll never happen, incidentally!

 

Does anyone else find it offensive to hear things like:

[ QUOTE ]
To have a successful and dynamic community you need the supply of new users to be constant; we’ve designed the entire VF5 project accordingly.

We wanted to develop the core idea of ‘community' that VF4 created. With that game we introduced the concepts of networking. IC cards, team play and collectables, creating in the process a wider network of players. Now we want to bring that idea to another level.



[/ QUOTE ]

knowing that this game, by their own admission, is intended only for Japanese people? Saying it bold faced to western interviewers... why even bother interviewing them? so we can hear all the details about the game and systems that we'll never be able to enjoy if we don't live in Japan?

I can't believe no interviewer asked them about this, in the face of statements like this:

[ QUOTE ]
There are other issues, too. For instance, when developing VF4 and its network features, we were limited to the technology available at the time. We had to work with ISDN, for example ? quite a narrow band compared to what we have today. With ADSL, cable and optical fiber, we have a totally different environment to work in, placing new possibilities in front of us that give us new ideas.

[/ QUOTE ]

that's right, now that almost every country in the world that would have VF5 at all also has sufficient cell phone and internet technology, how about providing at LEAST the level of support you gave Japanese gamers with VF4, 5 years ago? Let alone matching what Namco did with the foreign release of Tekken 5.

[ QUOTE ]
To have a successful and dynamic community you need the supply of new users to be constant

[/ QUOTE ]

perhaps following the above suggestions might help with this concept?

some more arrogant shit:

[ QUOTE ]
We don’t want our game to just be localized to Tokyo, for instance. We want a community that will expand throughout the entire country, so great players can emerge in any part of Japan, even in the countryside.

[/ QUOTE ]

As if VF4's community exists only in the Tokyo area? Forget for a sec the slap in the face this is to all of us at VFDC, everyone in Asia (including strong Korean players, one of whom beat the ASS of Japan's best in the VF3 official Sega tourney) etc. While we're talking about official Sega tournaments, to the best of my knowledge, Napolean and Minami Akira are both from the "countryside", which is what people from Tokyo like to call any part of Japan that isn't Tokyo. There are hundreds of strong players from all parts of Japan, and the rest of the world.

[ QUOTE ]
We’re designing VF5 for and arcade-only configuration. The services and community we’re building couldn’t be reproduced on consoles.

[/ QUOTE ]

more bullshit. I don't see why the even the Xbox and PS2 w/ hard drive couldn't provide the same content, let alone the next gen systems. People who have a 360 have already seen these kinds of things in action, people can watch live matches changing camera etc on the fly, let alone replays. Anyone with a 360 connected to a PC can already watch these VF5 replays through a 360 on a TV in HD, or transfer them via a USB memory device.

[ QUOTE ]
We’re making VF5 for today’s Japanese arcade scene and I believe it suits it very well.

[/ QUOTE ]

When Sega releases VF5 on console worldwide, remember this statement. Remember how Sega refused to give any service (as far as we know, LITERALLY, since it's looking like VF5 won't see arcade release outside Japan) to anyone who's not Japanese. Remember that console versions of VF4 sold much better outside Japan. Then realize that you're getting a console port not because AM2 cares about you, at all, because they don't. They just want your money, and they'll use your money to make things nicer for the Japanese players. Companies like Namco and Tecmo at least put SOME work into making things nice for all their fans.

to me, it's not really a good interview if there are no tough or compelling questions asked. It's just a series of prompts that allowed AM2 to brag about how creative and ambitious they are. The TRUTH is that everyone who's PLAYED VF5 has expressed disappointment with how similar to VF4 FT it is, and how there's little innovation or change to the system.

I'd like to see someone ask AM2 about that. It's pathetic that they're buying their own bullshit when, from what we've heard, many of the hardcore fans in Japan have expressed that 5 is the same old game.

I don't care how many bells and whistles they put on VF5, from what I've seen so far, the innovation in the series died with 4, and the departure of Yu Suzuki (btw, anyone hear that Psi-Phi was canned?).

Bryan

 

[ QUOTE ]
akiralove said:
RARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHH

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I agree, AM2 needs to give us all that crazy shit the Japanese players get! I mean, seriously, there are arcades ALL OVER THE PLACE here in the states and I'm positive those $25,000 cabinets + network infrastructure would recoup all the costs involved for both Sega and the arcade operators (who obviously have BUCKETLOADS of cash to throw around, right?). Seriously.

Jesus Christ, man, if they were really all like "BAH! FILTHY AMERIKKKAN SWINE DOES NOT DESERVE THE FULL LIFE-ALTERING EXPERIENCE OF VIRTUA FIGHTER" they wouldn't even DO a VF5 console port (announcement any day now guys srsly), much less let Fishie and I have a candid talk with the guy in charge of the whole arcade division at Sega.

But why do they focus so much on the JP side of things? Because the overwhelming chunk of VF's profits and popularity come from Japan. Simple, hard fact. The console version did sell better in the west, yes, so of course they're going to keep on making those, perhaps even with us more in mind. I'm sure the next-gen VF5 port will have some pretty neat features, just like the VF4 ports before it.

I'm reminded of the time way back when FF fans where complaining about the US FF8 since they couldn't play the Pocketstation minigame to get certain exclusive items. Sony hadn't released the unit stateside (probably because it sucked), but fans were quick to put the blame on Square for something they had no control over. It's a similar situation here. It's no fault of Sega's that the arcade situation here blows donkeys and having a full-fledged VF.net system here isn't economically feasible. Nor is it their fault that arcade operators are wary to dump a huge chunk of money on an expensive game that isn't anywhere near as popular as Tekken or Soul Calibur. (Remember the VF3 fiasco? The machines were hideously expensive and the game not too popular in the US, resulting in arcades either charging $1-a-play or selling off the machines after a short while to try and recoup some of their investment.)

Now let's stop complaining about situations neither we or Sega themselves have any real control over and instead F5 the Sega Road to E3 page every 5 minutes or so /versus/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

I read the article it was interesting. Then I read the afterthoughts. My answer to it all would be to make VF5 with more than one language allready built into the machine. That way say some arcade owner in Germany could order it with German, U.S. with English, Mexico with Spanish,etc,. That way the whole world could enjoy VF5!!!

 

I've got a feeling these guys have two major issues (besides soleley catering for the J market):
1. They have no idea what XBox live looks like and
2. even if they did they couldn't copy MC's work in this since the mechanics differ in arcades and consoles. So they had to build an entire networking mechanic like that from the ground up.

Maybe if Sony provides a similar network behind their PS3 they could port what they've learned from the arcade to the consoles as well. That would probably be a new release of VF5 (or VF5.NET as I'd ironically call it). But Sony will have to make the first move in this, and its probably a pipedream any way.

The more of these kinds of articles I read about VF5 the more I think I'll not be getting a PS3 after all. (And just pray for a VF4FT port to PS2...)