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XE: So what about Lumines on Xbox Live?
Mizuguchi: Originally it was a PSP game of course, and it did well, so the concept was attractive because it was a puzzle game, because you could play it anytime. It also has the music and you can enjoy the music and play it at the same time. With Xbox 360 you can play your own music, and that is great also. Besides that we wanted to make an online game and we want you to be able to customize the game as well.
XE: What do you think about gamers’ reactions to N3 in Japan?
Mizuguchi: I am satisfied with it, the Japanese market for Xbox 360 is sort of chaotic, and I hope it changes for the better of Microsoft. I just wish there were more 360 gamers in Japan, I hope the marketing team makes more of an effort in the future.
Mizuguchi-san shows the finger he is about to poke me in the eye with.
XE: So you don’t think they have been making enough effort?
Mizuguchi: I think it is getting better in Japan, and of course I would hope titles like Blue Dragon will help, that is something I think Microsoft is betting on. I think the console is something that if advertised right to the Japanese they will want to buy it, because of the console itself, but not just that but the content. The announcement of the Windows Vista link to Xbox 360, I think, will make an impact in Japan.
XE: When designing N3 did you design it specifically for the Japanese in mind or are you hoping to have better success in the west?
Mizuguchi: We wanted it to work for the Japanese market first but it was also designed for the world market, and I think Phantagram has done a good job. So yeah I think we tried. We just hope the results are good in United States.
SangYoun: If you look at the characters they actually don’t look American but more Japanese but that is expected. We paid great attention to how the game plays and we wanted to make sure it translated well for all people, but we also wanted to make sure people knew that this was a game tailored specifically to the Japanese and Korean markets.
XE: Besides English translations will anything different be done to the game when it hits US?
Mizuguchi: No it will be the same product through and through.
XE: So how has it been working with the Xbox 360?
Sang Youn: Well I don’t think the TGS showings for 360 were all that great! The only real weakness was initially the developing tools were weak but now that the final Xbox 360 tools are out there, there is so much more that we can do now and I hope to show these capabilities in future Xbox 360 titles.
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