Today let me share with you Mr. Yoshiki Okamoto's lecture in 2022 about the PS3 game "FolkSoul" that is actually one of four or five games that his own studio, Game Republic, released and which he liked very much.
Last accessed: 20260624
【考察】隠れた名作と言われたPS3『FolksSoul −失われた伝承−』の開発についてお話します
However, this game couldn't sell well, at only 40,000 copies, and Okamoto-san explains the reason for this outcome.
First, he reveals that Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) subcontracted him to create a game for the PS3 what would come out in 2006. Okamoto-san also found out that another studio more recently established by Mr. Koji Okada, the creator famous for the Megami Tensei series, was using the same name, "Monster Kingdom," that they were using. While Okada-san was developing a new PSP game, while Okamoto-san and his team were developing one for the PS3, Okamoto-san believed that it was definitely an opportunity to collaborate, along with SCE's blessing, of course.
However, Okamoto-san admits that they weren't able to carry out this project well, getting delayed by half a year of the PS3's release. Further, the game that was already called "FolkSoul" was hardly able to help SCE sell its new console.
At this point, Okamoto-san explains that, in one word, the game was too difficult to understand: the packaging's design didn't explain what the player could do in the game, although they had placed it in the fantasy-action-adventure genre. Also, while the game was very fun for Okamoto-san, viewers who were only curious to know it, couldn't understand very quickly its gameplay. In addition, the commercial that they produced couldn't communicate its gameplay to viewers well.
Finally, Okamoto-san concludes that any studio must launch a best-selling work or a "home run" that would help them get more opportunities to create more works. Unfortunately, while Game Republic tried to launch one, after four or five tries, it ultimately couldn't achieve success.
Esta noche yo querría compartiros un vídeo de Sr. Yoshiki Okamoto que apareció en mis vídeos de YouTube. La verdad es que se lanzó en el año 2022.
Last accessed: 20260624
【考察】隠れた名作と言われたPS3『FolksSoul −失われた伝承−』の開発についてお話します
Además, se trata de un juego "FolkSoul" para la consola PS3 que es de verdad uno de cuatro o cinco juegos que Game Republic, el propio estudio de Sr. Okamoto, lanzó y cual le gustó mucho. Sin embargo, este juego no pudo venderse bien a solamente 40 mil copias, y Sr. Okamoto explica la razón por este resultado.
Primero, desvela que Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) le contrató para crear un juego para la PS3 que se saldría en 2006. También, Sr. Okamoto descubrió que otro estudio muy recién establecido por Sr. Koji Okada, el creador famoso por la serie Megami Tensei, utilizaba el mismo nombre, "Monster Kingdom", que ellos utilizaban. Aunque Sr. Okada estaba desarrollando un nuevo juego de PSP, mientras que Sr. Okamoto y su equipo estaban desarrollando uno de PS3, Sr. Okamoto creyó que seguramente fue una oportunidad para colaborar, junto con la bendición de SCE desde luego.
Sin embargo, Sr. Okamoto admite que ellos no pudieron llegar a cabo bien el proyecto, tardando por un medio año del lanzamiento de PS3. Es más, el juego que ya se llamó "FolkSoul" apenas pudo ayudar a SCE a vender su nueva consola.
En este punto, Sr. Okamoto explica que, en una palabra, el juego fue demasiado difícil comprender: el diseño de embalaje no explicó lo que el jugador podría hacer en el juego, aunque ellos lo habían puesto en el género de fantasy-action-adventure. También, aunque el juego fue muy divertido para Sr. Okamoto, los espectadores quienes solo fueron curiosos saberlo, no pudieron comprender rápidamente la jugabilidad de ello. Además, el anuncio que ellos producieron no pudo comunicar bien a los espectadores esta jugabilidad.
Por último, Sr. Okamoto concluye que cualquier estudio debe lanzar una obra superventas o un "home run" que le ayudaría recibir más oportunidades de crear más obras. Desafortunadamente, aunque Game Republic trataba de lanzar una, después de cuatro o cinco veces, no pudo alcanzar el éxito al final.
Today let me share with you Mr. Yoshiki Okamoto's lecture almost six years ago and which he shared with us last night, among other videos of his.
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【特別企画】最大社員数320人「ゲームリパブリック」号が沈没してしまった原因を全てお話します。
This time around, Okamoto-san gives more details about the reason why his studio Game Republic went bankrupt.
First, Okamoto-san says that after working in studio C (or Capcom), he left to establish a new studio called Game Republic with a capital of almost 100 million yen as well as at most 320 employees.
Next, he recounts that in the beginning, they received work from SCE (Sony Computer Entertainment), though they were able to gradually get more from other studios as well. Furthermore, Game Republic had development houses located in several places such as Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Okamoto-san also employed several talented people to develop its projects.
Okamoto-san wants to explain the reason why a studio that seemed to be doing well, in the end, ended up going bankrupt. He attributes it to the "Lehman Shock," although he also admits that within Game Republic, they were fighting among themselves to take hold of the position of authority. Okamoto-san also points out that his employees' DNA was clearly different. They came from big studios which included Sega, Capcom, Namco, Square Enix and Taito. In addition, while they tried to work together, everyone felt that, as a result, he couldn't do what he wanted. This means that the studio couldn't come together as one team. Of course, clients such as SCE had their own ideas about how to do things, so Okamoto-san felt that there were too many opinions coming to Game Republic.
Therefore, faced with this situation, Okamoto-san reveals that the studio couldn't launch any best-selling title at all, leading to their also not receiving more work that would give them income.
Esta noche yo querría compartiros el vídeo de Sr. Yoshiki Okamoto hace casi seis años y cual él nos compartió ayer por la noche, entre otros vídeos suyos.
Last accessed: 20260623
【特別企画】最大社員数320人「ゲームリパブリック」号が沈没してしまった原因を全てお話します。
En esta ocasión, Sr. Okamoto detalla más la razón por la que su estudio Game Republic quebró.
Primero, Sr. Okamoto dice que después de trabajar en el estudio C (o Capcom), salió para establecer un nuevo estudio llamado Game Republic con un capital de casi 100 millones yenes así como por máximo 320 empleados.
A continuación, Sr. Okamoto cuenta que al principio, ellos recibieron trabajos de SCE (Sony Computer Entertainment), pero gradualmente pudieron recibir más desde otros estudios también. Es más, Game Republic tuvo bases de desarrollo en algunos lugares tales como Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya y Osaka. También, Sr. Okamoto empleyaba a varios trabajadores talentados para desarrollar sus proyectos.
Entonces, Sr. Okamoto quiere explicar la razón por la que un estudio que pareció ir bien, al final, terminó de estar en quebra. Él lo atribuye al "Lehman Shock", aunque admite también que dentro de Game Republic, ellos se lucharon para asumir la posición de autoridad. Asimismo, Sr. Okamoto apunta que el ADN de sus empleados fue claramente diferente. Ellos vinieron de gran estudios incluso Sega, Capcom, Namco, Square Enix o Taito. Además, aunque ellos intentaban cooperar entre sí, toda la gente se sintió que, como resultado, no podría hacer lo que quería. Esto significa que el estudio no pudo unificarse como un único equipo. Desde luego, los clientes tales como SCE tuvieron sus propias ideas de hacer cosas así que Sr. Okamoto se sintía que hubo demasiadas opiniones viniendo a Game Republic.
Así que enfrentado a esta situación, Sr. Okamoto desvela que el estudio no podía lanzar ninguna obra superventas, causando que ellos tampoco pudieron recibir más trabajos que les darían ingresos.
I.T. Pro shares why former producers from big studios fail💡🇵🇭 #startup #raw
I.T. Pro begins by admitting that he had wanted to try out Nintendo's Pikmin game, only he didn't have a console like the GameCube at the time, or when he did have the console he was undergoing a period of time in his life spanning about 10 years when he had stopped playing video games.
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ピクミン3 Direct 2013.6.26
Meanwhile, back in university, he met students who enrolled in his class and who, he found, were very interested in learning about what he knew about the video game industry. While it would take a much longer time for them to be able to actually make video games, what they were able to build were interactive storybooks, which, in fact, began as a thesis project related to pediatric care that helped health workers diagnose childhood illnesses using feature phones. But because there were also other people who were working on a similar idea using the newer Android smartphones at places like the University of Washington and were getting more funding besides to do tests in Africa, he thought of other ways he could make use of the technology.
As with other R&D laboratories, he eventually wondered how he could make money from the project. Starting with family and friends, who helped out by buying his apps on the Google Play Store and unlocking available features inside the apps, he was led to the discovery that he could get the proceeds directly to his credit card, unlike in the Apple App Store or the Steam Store where the developer has to first accumulate at least 100 USD per month in order to receive the payments.
Yet because the amounts that were coming in to his account were really only small, he concludes that sub-contractual or outsourcing work is really how developers could make money; however, as we can learn from new studios established by veteran Japanese producers like Mr. Yoshiki Okamoto and Mr. Shinji Mikami who had left a big studio like Capcom to do just that, being able to hire the right people and managing them effectively are key in ensuring success in our ventures.
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【対談】“自分もゲームを作りたい！”カプコン独立後に設立した会社『Tango Gam...
## Points for Reflection:
1) What is your metric for hiring the right people?
2) How would you manage people who've worked at other studios and who bring along their own preconceived notions of how things should be done?
3) Why would you not hire your own family member or relative if he hasn't worked at a reputable and well-established company yet?
