Resident Evil’s survival horror and Ghost of Tsushima’s open world action couldn’t seem further apart on paper, but the worldwide appeal of both games makes them weirdly similar according to a former Capcom producer.
Speaking to IGN, Hiroyuki Kobayashi said the U.S.-based Sucker Punch’s creation of a globally appealing Japanese game like Ghost of Tsushima is very similar to how he and his colleagues at Capcom created the very American seeming Resident Evil franchise.
“As a game about Japan made by non-Japanese developers, Ghost of Tsushima kind of reminded me how we [at Capcom] as Japanese developers made a horror game set in the United States with Resident Evil back in the day,” he said. “At the time, it might have been surprising for people that it was made by Japanese developers.”
Creating an authentic experience from a culture outside your own isn’t an easy task, however, but Kobayashi said the effort can lead to great success. “I think this shows that no matter what country or culture you make your game about, as long as you seriously study the topic and put your heart into it there’s always a chance,” he said.
This is something he’ll take into his next game, as Kobayashi recently left Capcom to join Chinese mobile game developer and tech firm NetEase Games. “For our first game we’re going for something that more easily appeals to a worldwide audience,” he said, commenting that the series he’s most known for, Sengoku Basara, is only very well known in Japan.
Kobayashi started at Capcom in 1995 and was a programmer on the first two Resident Evil games, a planner for the original Dino Crisis, and producer on the original Devil May Cry. He was also a producer on Resident Evil Remake, Resident Evil 4, Killer 7, and Dragon’s Dogma among other things, and most recently was executive producer on Mega Man 11.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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