5. Once Every Four Years
Yamane-san, which Dream Event do you recommend?
What you work hard on feels extra special, so I recommend Dream Spacewalk .
What kind of game is it?
The characters fly through outer space.
Outer space at the Olympic Games? “Dream” definitely applies to that one! (laughs)
It developed out of synchronised swimming.
Oh, I see. You changed the medium from water to space.
Yes. At first, we struggled over how we could have the characters synchronise with each other, but in the end, we decided to have Dino Piranha appear as an enemy.
Huh? That giant Piranha Plant that appeared in the Super Mario Galaxy6 series? 6Super Mario Galaxy series: A series of 3D action games released for the Wii console. The first game appeared in November 2007 and the second game appeared in May 2010 in Japan.
Yes. There are four rings. Each character goes in and stops for a certain period of time, charging up their gauge, and once everyone’s gauge is full, you can slam with your body into the Dino Piranha. There’s tension as everyone controls in unison, so it’s fun.
That didn’t come together until two or three weeks before making the master for mass production.
We worked hard on that right up to the very end.
So that’s why you said that what you work hard on is extra special.
Yeah. (laughs)
How about you, Kasahara-san?
It’s difficult to choose just one, but I do recommend Dream Sprint . It’s a pretty classic-style game in which the characters are in a ball and overcome obstacles on the way toward a goal. SEGA has a game called Super Monkey Ball7 in which you went into a capsule and rolled, so we wondered if we could put Mario in a capsule. (laughs) 7Super Monkey Ball: An action game released by SEGA Corporation for the Nintendo GameCube system in September 2001 in Japan. The Nintendo 3DS version was released in March 2011.
That’s how that Dream Event came about, because you wanted to put Mario in a capsule?
Yeah, sorry. In the end the capsule turned into an air ball but I really wanted to make it! (laughs) For that reason, I have special feelings for that event, and the time attack is really intense, so I hope people will play it.
I see. Ohashi-san?
I recommend Dream Hurdles . Earlier, I mentioned how we came up with ideas on the Shinkansen. Well, in this game there’s a spinning disc with something like a track on top. The characters run around it, step on each other, avoid obstacles, and try to get the most points.
You thought of that basic idea on the Shinkansen?
Yes. We thought of that about 15 minutes before reaching Kyoto Station - about when we were cruising past Lake Biwa. And now it’s actually in the game.
That must be deeply moving.
Yes, it is. (laughs) I’m especially attached to it.
I can tell just from our conversation that there is a lot of variety to the Dream Events. You can come up with ideas that widely stray from actual Olympic events, resulting in rather wild content more like what you would expect in a video game. The freedom in gameplay changes quite a lot that way.
That’s right. And we had the stages designed based on Mario and Sonic’s game worlds, so they conjure up the atmospheres of those series. For that reason as well, I’m very glad that we included Dream Events.
The Dream Events are there for people who want to enjoy a party game, and people who love the Olympic Games can derive deep enjoyment from the regular events. One point about this product is that you invested a lot of energy to satisfy both those needs.
Yes. I think people who played the first game will be able to enjoy this one with a fresh, new feeling.
I see. Lastly, I would like each of you to say something to the fans. Let’s start with Watanabe-san.
It’s the Olympic Games, so first I hope people will do the 100m Sprint.
That is one of the star attractions.
And unlike in the first game, you can use special moves. I set a record at 8.5 seconds, so once you beat that, I want you to go on and enjoy the other events. (laughs)
Watanabe-san, you’re already raising the bar! (laughs)
Sorry. (laughs) Of course, I’m speaking to those who are confident in their skills.
I’ll recommend a regular event. This game has Rhythmic Ribbon . When I first said I wanted to include it as one of this game’s selling points, they thought it might be too difficult in a video game. I almost gave up several times, but then there was something that I thought might work. We polished it up and the quality improved a lot. Now when I look at the first one, I want to cover my eyes!
Thanks to everyone’s hard work, it got better.
Yes. You just enjoy doing the actions in time, but it feels great to become one with the ribbon. I really hope especially girls will play it.
Since it’s the London Olympic Games, I put in a new mode called London Party Mode . It’s a mode like a party game staged in the streets of London. You can do things quite different from Olympic events, like take Olympic quizzes, play tag and collect coins. It’s a mode you can enjoy with the whole family, so I hope everyone will play it.
I also want everyone in the family - including children, mum, dad - to play together. The London Olympic Games are in the summer of 2012, but the Olympic Committee supervised the stadium and design elements of this game, so I hope everyone will start enjoying it this Christmas like it’s the biggest party in the world.
With this game, you can enjoy the London Olympic Games early.
Yeah. I really hope people who are interested in the Olympic Games will play it, and of course you can enjoy it as a party game even if you aren’t interested in sports, so I’m sure that if you play with small children and everyone in the family, they’ll have a good time. Compared to the first game, the staff has more experience, so I’m satisfied that we could make something even better. I hope people will play it.
A sports festival that only comes once every four years opens in London about six months from now. If you start playing in winter, it may be more fun to watch the actual Olympic Games when they start.
That’s right. I hope people will play this in great excitement.
I also hope everyone in the family will enjoy it. I’m really looking forward to their reactions! Thank you for today.
Thank you!