GREE senior vice president discusses entry into console game development
Some tidbits from Weekly Famitsu.
The latest issue of Weekly Famitsu has an interview with GREE senior vice president Eiji Araki, who discusses the primarily mobile game company’s recently announced entry into the console game space with Fishing Star for Switch.
Get the notable tidbits below.
- While GREE has previously focused on mobile device development, there has been discussion within the company over the past two or three years, and the shared belief was that, “Now more than ever, we need to focus harder in the games industry.”
- In terms of business reasons, console game and PC game markets are growing worldwide.
- Around the time GREE decided to do console game development, it was not that Switch was suddenly becoming popular, but rather Araki bought a Switch his reaction upon playing it was that, “This is a good platform.”
- (Regarding Fishing Star) Looking at the world, fishing games have an invariably fixed scale market. GREE wants to release fishing games on all platforms, and become the leading fishing game company.
- While the mobile version of Fishing Star has micro-transactions, the Switch version will be an one-time purchase. There is no plan to have the same business model. The Switch version is not a port of the mobile version, so the game’s nature is completely different.
- GREE wants to make an RPG that can only be done on consoles. Recently, Japanese RPGs have been reassessed by the world, and their demand is rising.
- GREE wants to simultaneously develop mobile versions, console versions, and anime adapations of its IP in the future.
- Outside of Fishing Star, other preparations are advancing in terms of console games, but Araki could not say anything in detail.
- As for PlayStation 4, since GREE developed Kai-ri-Sei Million Arthur VR in collaboration with Square Enix, it has already built up know-how in that regard. They want to find an opportunity to develop for the platform in the future, as well.
- Staffers are welcoming GREE’s Switch development with pleasure. They are happy to be able to develop for a Nintendo platform, of which they are fans.
Thanks, Hachima Kikou.