use it to make the dev work easier. We haven’t used it yet, but hopefully we will in the future.
Koei Tecmo is a global company, but it retains a Japanese identity in the games it produces. Is that something that has become easier or harder to maintain over recent years? It is hard to say. A lot of people [in the company] come from various backgrounds and countries. We make games based on Japanese history, and this is probably how we retain our identity. We sense that, today, people are more open and interested in Japanese culture and history.
Ni-Oh was PlayStation exclusive on consoles, but Wo Long has seen great success as a multiplatform title. What is the reasoning behind going back to a Sony exclusivity deal for Rise of the Ronin? Rise of the Ronin is our biggest title to date. We wanted to have a proper release and for that, we decided to work with someone. Sony was here to help with the challenge we had when we worked on Nioh, it was natural to work with them for this new challenge that is Ronin. Wo Long comes from our Nioh experience, so it was
not a completely new challenge. Ronin has a bigger scale, and bigger challenges, so this is why partnering with Sony was a good choice.
Koei Tecmo is also no stranger to licensed game partnerships, between its anime games and its Zelda and Fire Emblem games made in collaboration with Nintendo. How do those games come about? Did Koei Tecmo have to pitch? Something very unique about Koei Tecmo is that each of the managers from studios or teams can approach IP holders with ideas or suggestions and pitch them. Koei Tecmo is a very developer focused company,
where a lot of managers come from the developer side, and we use that strength when pitching our games.
Several companies around the world are starting to leverage ‘generative AI’ in the development of their titles. What is your perspective on that at Koei Tecmo? Koei Tecmo is looking at that topic. We are examining new ways to
38 | MCV/DEVELOP February/March 2024
Speaking of a Japanese identity in games, Nobunaga’s Ambition came out last year from Kou Shibusawa. How does Koei Tecmo keep a ‘history simulation’ game that has been around since the NES/Famicom fresh? The latest Nobunaga’s Ambition title incorporated recent technologies in the game to improve the officers and offer a more realistic experience. Incorporating new technology helps continue to keep the series fresh while we remain faithful to the series identity.
How does that differ from the approach the company takes with something like the Musou or Dynasty Warriors series? For the Musou series, or Dynasty Warriors series, as the technology is evolving, we want to express more options and do more things. We’re looking for the right timing or evolution.
Remasters are more popular than ever. Would Koei Tecmo be keen to go back to something more obscure these days like Ar Tonelico, or are the teams not working on new intellectual properties and licensed games more interested in doing sequels to more established series, like with Atelier Sophie 2? Gust has a huge potential. There’s potential to grow. We want to get more users familiar with the team first. After that, there will be opportunities to remaster games. We want more people to be aware of our titles, and working on new IP is the best way to achieve that.
Has the success of Atelier Ryza expanded Koei Tecmo’s approach to game development? The Atelier series was focused on the
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