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[Tain]

I love that one of the key things Itagaki took from Devil's Third criticism is that the aiming was jacked up. And it's true. The game had some real strengths but that was one of the things holding it back.

Dude knows what worked and doesn't in his game, always nice to see.

 

[Leonidas]

Really happy to read that the online portion is coming to the US on PC soon.

 

["God's Beard!"]

A new James Mielke Itagaki piece makes me nostalgic.

 

[TGMIII]

What's there to localize beyond the menus? Isn't the multiplayer from the console version already "localized?" Just slap the voice-overs from there in? Or are those locked behind Nintendo-money reasons?

Unless... he's bringing the single-player over as well? o__O

Localization for F2P online shooters is more than just text and voices. It'll include finding a distributor, the backend server infrastructure, F2P monetization plans for regions (Chinese F2P games typically have "pay2win" styled cash-shops which is far more excepted there than in the west) and general licencing.

From what Itagaki said, the game will also be undergoing changes in regards to the mechanics.

 

[likedamaster]

Always loved and thought this guy was a genius, this article reaffirms that.

As for Polygon, they lost me at: "...the media takes its integrity very seriously."

 

[Regiruler]

He seems a bit overconfident regarding the sales thing. Publishing it in NA was a waste of Nintendo's time, and he seems to have a completely different picture of the demand for the game in his head considering how off he was on the ebay price.

 

[fernoca]

The reality is that the game was just average. It was fun, if had some cool moments, but there wasn't much that Nintendo could've done in any region to make it better, outside of releasing it for $20.

Mielke seemed too focus on trying to blame Nintendo/NOA too much during the interview, that he either forgot or ignored to bring the allegations of Valhalla running out of money multiple times, which is why Nintendo seemed to not care as much.

 

[massoluk]

Mielke REALLY want to throw Nintendo under the bus.

 

[The Boat]

He said Nintendo didn't arrange for journalists to play online, but at least in Europe that's false, they set specific dates and times for people to meet up online.

 

[Labolas]

Battle Angel Alita, that name keeps popping up.

I've never read the manga it's based on, I really should sometime.

You should read it. Last Order (Mars Chronicles)is good especially the art but the OG series is a must.

 

[Fluxdyne]

He said Nintendo didn't arrange for journalists to play online, but at least in Europe that's false, they set specific dates and times for people to meet up online.

I think he meant that Nintendo didn't set matches with hundreds of people.

 

[rockman zx]

Good interview but they should have asked more stuff, Itagaki interviews are rare this days.

Knowing that DT was commercial failure, I wonder where they get the money to keep going. I always liked Itagaki and his games, I hope he gets the chance to make a mid-budget game at some point.

 

[The Boat]

I think he meant that Nintendo didn't set matches with hundreds of people.

He specifically says Nintendo didn't set up matches for reviewers which is false, at least in Europe.

 

[a Master Ninja]

It's good to hear his perspective on all of this.

 

[Cleve]

heh, i remember some folks on here clamoring to get retail copies because they thought it would be rare and sought after.

Turns out there were plenty of copies after the first week, and no one interested in buying them.

That said, the game had some real rough hurdles to get over. it's not a surprise that it wound up the way it did.

 

[King Gilga]

Itagaki says he actually pitched James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment on the concept approximately 10 years ago when Cameron was deciding whether to make "Alita" or "Avatar" as his next film. But Cameron went with "Avatar" and everyone moved on.

Woah, the avatar movie could have been an Alita movie.

Woah, Cameron obviously made the correct decisions but it blows my mind what could have been.

 

[FonkyByNature]

I always wanted Itagaki to work with Microsoft and give them a spiritual sequel to Ninja Gaiden Black. The guy still has talent, he just needs the money and time to create something amazing again. + he loves Microsoft and worked with them before and him with the Xbox team would bring that much needed variety, especially in Japanese type games, to the Xbox portfolio.

 

[iuxion]

Love Itagaki. Have no interest in multiplayer though.

 

[Mechazawa]

It's currently being localized apparently.

Man what, this was supposed to come out in the summer.

Hurry your ass up, Nexon/whoever.

 

[The Cartographer]

Itagaki, the flexible man.

 

[jmdajr]

So was the game actually ok?

I know reviews buried it hard.

 

[sixteen-bit]

So was the game actually ok?

I know reviews buried it hard.

According to Mielke's instagram he bought the game twice so it's at least that good.

 

[Oregano]

So was the game actually ok?

I know reviews buried it hard.

It was janky but the multiplayer was actually cool. The single player was like a late PS2 early 360 action game.

 

[gabbo]

I wonder if he'd be willing to work with the Switch going forward, as he doesn't seem unhappy with Nintendo Japan (NoA less so). I may check out the WiiU version some day, but will certainly try the PC release when the localization comes out.

The single player was like a late PS2 early 360 action game.

That sounds fun to me, in a mindless sort of way

 

[PillarEN]

Nice interview. Always interesting what Itagaki has to say.

But I worked with Danny until the very end. Even after THQ closed. That's why he's at the very beginning of the staff credits on Devil's Third.

Nice

 

[Cheerilee]

When THQ went bankrupt, Kanematsu approached [Satoru] Iwata-san at Nintendo and they picked up the game. The reason why Nintendo picked up the game is that they don't have enough strong online games. Devil's Third is not a game that Nintendo could make internally, so we came in as their mercenaries to make a strong online game.

JM: I understand the need to maintain relationships with Nintendo and avoid the politics, but it seems Nintendo Japan was more supportive of the game than Nintendo America.

TI: Iwata-san took us on for strategic reasons to provide them with know-how of online games and multiplayer games. That was the intention of Nintendo HQ, but those strategic reasons don't always trickle down to the branch offices.

I'll give you an analogy: In 1941, Roosevelt made a strategical decision to enter World War II. But did [George S.] Patton or [Chester W.] Nimitz understand the reasons behind Roosevelt's decision to go to war? Of course not. They couldn't have. It's not about loyalty but position. There are certain decisions and orders made at headquarters that can't possibly be understood by all parties involved.

I wonder if this has anything to do with Japan->USA micromanaging.

Nintendo of America used to be on the forefront of Western Development and stuff like online and first person shooters, contributing from that side of the industry to Nintendo as a whole, but then that ended when Iwata came to power and took tighter control over NOA's reins, allowing Microsoft to swoop in and steal NOA's position.

Then Iwata "recognizes" a weakness in this area, and secures one former Xbox developer (one of the few from Japan), sends him to America and says "I believe that this guy can teach us about Western Development."

It seems unsurprising that NOA would be less than enthusiastic.

 

[Z3M0G]

I didn't think about checking for a cheap price on Eshop for this... I don't think I've given this game a 2nd thought all year after buying a WiiU last holiday season...

I've always wanted to play it.

Does it have Off-TV support?

Is the multiplayer completely dead? Edit: Shutting down Dec 28 D:

Edit: WTF EB CANADA IS THIS A GODDAMN COLLECTORS ITEM NOW? https://www.ebgames.ca/Wii U/Games/721415/devils-third

Available in 2 stores on the other side of the country... https://www.ebgames.ca/StoreLocator/Index?productId=721415#

 

[WarRock]

Ah, I always love reading Itagaki interviews. And of course the madman loves Leiji Matsumoto.

In recent years behind the scenes, Itagaki says Arika vice president Ichiro Mihara arranged a meeting between Itagaki and Harada to talk things out, and Itagaki says they established a truce almost instantly.

Well, didn't expect to hear about Arika reading this!

Ninja Gaiden's code name during development was "Kunai" [the name of a ninja's weapon] and critics called it "Yarita-kunai," which translates to "I don't want to play" in English.

Oh my God haha

 

[BriareosGAF]

Good interview, wish it was longer. Wish they'd do long form interviews more frequently.

I'm available, PM me .

 

[@MUWANdo]

Knowing that DT was commercial failure, I wonder where they get the money to keep going. I always liked Itagaki and his games, I hope he gets the chance to make a mid-budget game at some point.

Valhalla has investors from Korea and other places; they're expanding at the moment, believe it or not.

heh, i remember some folks on here clamoring to get retail copies because they thought it would be rare and sought after.

Turns out there were plenty of copies after the first week, and no one interested in buying them.

The game was definitely hard to find (and heavily scapled) for a good few months after the NA release, but NOA did a reprint and the prices normalised. Itakagi wasn't bullshitting, it really was hotly in demand for a minute.

The PAL release was never hard to find.

 

[Ninja Dom]

I'm one of the few that bought Devil's Third, played it through and enjoyed it. A lot.

Great interview. I always like to hear from Itagaki. A bit of bitterness on his side though.

They never talked about Switch. Maybe it wasn't announced at the time of the interview. I wonder if Nintendo will reach out to Itagaki to do a Switch game.

We know his Itagaki and Valhalla are working on this for 3DS

 

[Kiddy Dong]

The single player was like a late PS2 early 360 action game.

This was exactly my thoughts as well during my playthrough. If you don't hold it to 2015 standards, it's a fine game with its fair share of technical problems.

 

[Neff]

I would 100% buy Devil's Third for Switch if it had the multiplayer. DT's MP is some of the best online gaming I've ever enjoyed. Shockingly good netcode, too.

 

[TheSeks]

Finished. I don't think he understands fully why Devil's Third failed, but it seems like he's taking some critics (like the shooting) and changing it up for PC. So we'll see how the PC version turns out. I hope it's alright/playable.

Shockingly good netcode, too.

Itagaki's netcode (based on DOA2U) has been pretty GDLK. IIRC even DOA4's netcode on X-box Live was solid, but not the same as DOA2U's. Other fighting games since (even DOA5!) haven't been that good. Such a shame.

 

[kagamin]

I'm definitely gonna play the PC version as soon as I swe that it's localized.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Interesting interview. He seems to think the game failed critically because reviewers weren't given the chance to engage in large online multiplayer sessions, but having read a bunch of them I don't think that would have changed much at the time. I wonder if it will successful standalone on PC.

 

[L Thammy]

I would 100% buy Devil's Third for Switch

Not even joking.

 

[Living the Dream]

Fantastic interview. Would definitely love more like this into the insight of the development of a game.

Unfortunately what I walk away from is a true explanation of why NOA vastly underships on so many products. They don't care about the customers, they care about their bonuses.

 

[Pif]

I didn't expect the man to ne this polite, even at the part he is asked about NoA stance about Devils Third not being in their release schedule after E3.

 

[-shadow-]

I would 100% buy Devil's Third for Switch if it had the multiplayer. DT's MP is some of the best online gaming I've ever enjoyed. Shockingly good netcode, too.

I'd buy it even without the multiplayer. As ridiculous and rough the single player was, I honestly enjoyed it for its pure insanity.

 

[Arzehn]

Parts of this interview have me drawing parallels between Itagaki and Tommy Wiseau.

 

[AuthenticM]

He should make a spiritual successor to Ninja Gaiden.

 

[Endo Punk]

He should make a spiritual successor to Ninja Gaiden.

Ms could make that happen if they wanted too.

 

[The Faceless Master]

oh wow, i'm actually going to give them a click.

 

[Darcotik]

I would buy Devil's Third 2 on Switch if it includes a new solo campaign for Ivan. Liked the over-the-top main character. Multiplayer was the main attraction but story mode was camp festival and addictive destruction despite some frame-rate issues.

Flawed, sometimes sloppy but outspoken and fun game.

 

[The Antitype]

Honestly he and Tecmo should just kiss and make up, and he can hopefully help them bring Ninja Gaiden back from the dead after they killed it with NG3.

EDIT: 8 years?! That piece of shit was in development for EIGHT YEARS?!

 

[Iscariot]

You should, it's awesome. At least the first batch, dunno about Last Order. Also, an Alita game made by Itagaki... my god. What could've been...

Last Order (the volumes I read anyhow) is basically a battle manga. 90% of it is a tournament. The art is lovely, so if you're down for a slew of wacky interplanetary shit for Gally to fight, then it's a fun ride, but I wouldn't expect the same kind of story the original arc had.

 

[cleveridea]

wow great interview, thanks for posting OT

Sure is a very interesting character in the video game world

 

[@MUWANdo]

EDIT: 8 years?! That piece of shit was in development for EIGHT YEARS?!

It got passed between different publishers and went through at least two engine changes, it's a wonder it came out at all.

 

[belteshazzar]

The multiplayer looks like a lot of fun. Looking forward to DTO.