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PaRappa creator: 'DS software bubble has burst'
NanaOn-Sha chief Masaya Matsuura created Vib Ribbon and PaRappa the Rapper, so we kind of have to listen when the man speaks his mind. It's, like, the law. Then again, even we find his opinion on the DS's future in Japan a little hard to swallow. When asked by Gamasutra how long he thought the DS and Wii would remain popular in Japan, Matsuura suggested that "Some people have said already that the DS software's bubble has burst."Matsuura then discussed how one company sold 200,000 copies of a DS training game, only to make a sequel that shifted 8,000 units. "These kind of things are going to happen," he concluded. Man, tell that to the sales figures, Masaya.
Parappa designer raps PS3 for being 'too big', plans Wii game
In what's either a stunning triumph of naiveté or a startling display of practical knowledge, Parappa the Rapper creator, Masaya Matsuura, has opined that the PlayStation 3's sluggish sales in Japan are largely to blame on its physical size. Speaking to GamesIndustry.Biz at the Nordic Game Conference (they have those, you know), Matsuura describes Sony's black behemoth as being "too big for the Japanese." It's not the only technological powerhouse having trouble finding a home -- the Xbox 360's critical flaw is "not the size of the hardware but of the AC adapter." Matsuura's obsession with size doesn't extend to his Wii though, as he's currently planning a title for Nintendo's comparatively diminutive box. He calls it a "very good piece of hardware," noting that the unique controls pose quite a challenge from the designer's point of view. He confidently asserts that development on the game begins "soon,maybe."
Masaya Matsuura thinks big is not always better
No one can deny the deeply-rooted desire for increased portability in our gadgetry. MP3 players, phones, PDAs and even Game Boys have all succumbed to its forward-moving push by getting smaller over the years. At the Nordic Game Conference in Sweden, revered designer Masaya Matsuura shared his thoughts on why Nintendo's Wii was outselling Sony's PS3: It's too big! Citing Japanese consumer tastes as the main reason, he believes the system itself is, "too big for the Japanese." Xbox fans should note that he didn't care for the power brick either.While praising the Wii for introducing new game play ideas, he also brings up an interesting point on longevity, not believing gamers would want to withstand hours of "shaking the controller." Those that get winded walking up a flight of stairs should consider this if choosing their second console. Hey Matsuura-san: it's not the size that matters, it's what you do with it. I've got my PS3 nestled in its rightful place inside my cool and spacious TV cabinet and don't frequently juggle it or take it out to play fetch with my dog. Maybe the PS3 was too Americanized for Japanese tastes, but a console doesn't get a lot of portability anyway so I fail to see its size as being an issue. As for exercise, we'll stick to curls (cheese curls) so we can focus our free time on PS3 time-suckers like Motorstorm and Oblivion.
Could Vib Ribbon go to PLAYSTATION Network?
Masaya Matsuura, of Parappa the Rapper fame, also created another one of our favorites, the higly creative Vib Ribbon. In a interview with Gamasutra, Matsuura-san said he was in talks with the powers-that-be to rework the title for release on the PS3. No dates were given, but further speculation by 1UP suggests the title would be more appropriate as a downloadable game on the PLAYSTATION Network than a simple rerelease. Originally released for the Sony PlayStation, Vib Ribbon allowed the user to insert any audio CD and transform the music of their choice into a playable level, where successes were viewed as an evolution of the main character you were controlling: (a common theme amongst another PLAYSTATION Network exclusive). [Via 1UP]
Parappa creator introduces book to Japan
Will Wright wrote the foreword for the original release of game designer Raph Koster's book, A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Now Masaya Matsuura, creator of the PlayStation hit Parappa the Rapper, has done the same for the Japanese edition. He has some interesting things to say about his career, and the difficulty of game design: "When it comes to the process of game creation, especially at the beginning of the process, it is difficult to share delusion of imagination with staff members. By the time they all got the idea of the image, it is already at the end of production schedule. That is why we often push ourselves to our limit and find it difficult to sustain. What’s worse is, the end results could be a total commercial disaster." He also said, "I made a lot of 'wrong guesses' and as a result, some titles were called “Kuso-gae (shitty games)”. I'm not sure what titles he's referring to; though it might not have been Parappa, I didn't think Um Jammer Lammy was that bad! He continues, "If I wanted to clean my tarnished image, I should make efforts every day to find innovative idea that lead to 'just fun.'" Or, like Patrick Curry, Matsuura-san could try making an effort every week to find innovative ideas.
