Hideo Baba talks Tales of Xillia 2 reception, series future

Two weeks after the launch of Tales of Xillia 2 in Japan, series producer Hideo Baba has taken to Famitsu.com to file a producer report.

Tales of Xillia 2 was officially announced in June this year at the Tales of Festival 2012. The game debuted almost half a year later on November 1.

“Many people said they were very moved by the story and ended up crying, many also seemed to be a bit concerned about their ‘choices,’ they recall making some corrupt ones,” said Baba on players’ experiences with the game. “I realize that everyone interprets the theme we wanted to convey in a variety of ways.”

He continued: “Regarding the battle system we’ve designed [in Tales of Xillia 2], it’s even more profound, refreshing, and easy to play. I’m very happy it seems to be well received.”

Baba has traveled a lot this year. From June, he toured Europe to promote Tales of Graces F, visiting countries such as England, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France. In France, he participated in the Japan Expo, where he announced Tales of Xillia for a western release. And in San Diego and New York, he became part of Comic-Con. After that, he went to Germany a second time, where he attended Animania. Because of these activities, Tales series sales in Germany increased in a big way. Fan communication is important, according to Baba.

In Japan, Baba toured all around to promote Tales of Xillia 2. He went to Sendai, Ibaraki, Tokyo (Ikebukuro and Akihabara), Chiba (Tokyo Game Show), Kanazawa, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokushima (Machi Asobi), Hiroshima, Kokura, and Fukuoka. Because some cities were first-time affairs for Tales-related events, Baba was worried whether or not people would show. But the turnout was pretty good. In Mie prefecture, at the Suzuka Circuit, Baba met with F1 driver Fernando Alonso, who uses an Asbel figurine (Tales of Graces F) as his lucky charm (he calls it Tomita).

Finally, Baba touched upon the future of the Tales Series.

“We have already begun working toward the next anniversary. How do we approach the 20th anniversary, what kind of theme and playing will we propose? It’s still in the planning stages at the moment, but I started thinking about it early on,” he said. “During this last half year, I’ve gone to many countries and regions, but when I’m in Tokyo, I was having meetings regarding the next title. Before we reach the 20th anniversary, we are starting Tales of Hearts R for the PlayStation Vita. I am thinking I want to release multiple titles, so please anticipate it.”