This time is a little different than usual. One reason is that one of the participants is overseas. Another is that while Iwata Asks usually treats titles developed by Nintendo in-house, this time we’re going to talk about something created by another developer together with Nintendo.

Nintendo presents: Style Boutique is a completely new game. I gathered everyone today because I thought we should tell the world about the unusual process and various twists and turns over a long period of time that this product went through.

First of all, I’d like everyone to introduce themselves and tell us how they were involved.

I’m Yamagami from the Software Planning and Development Division (SPD). I served as game producer. Along with Tajima-san, who’s overseas, I became involved during the first stage of planning, and my involvement lasted until the very end.

Now Tajima-san from overseas.

I’m Tajima in Seattle. I was originally working in Yamagami-san’s group, but about one year ago I was sent to Nintendo of America. Um…what was my title?

Director should be fine.

Alright, I was the director. (laughs) I was the first person to find the plan.

By “find” you mean you discovered a plan that someone else had come up with.

Yes, that’s right.

You’re next, Hattori-san.

I’m Hattori, also from SPD. I’m in Yamagami-san’s group. During the latter half of development, I was director. I was mainly active in implementing the various ideas coming from the co-developer and Tajima-san during the first half of development, and boiling them down into a game that would be easy to understand for as many people as possible.

Ito-san?

I’m Ito from SPD. I joined this project about the same time as Hattori-san. I mainly lent technical support in realising the plans for the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection shopping towns.

Originally, Ito-san was mainly involved with technical support for a variety of software in the SPD division. Tajima-san was originally in Yamagami-san’s group, and so was Hattori-san. For Ito-san to come in from outside the group is a little unusual, isn’t it?

Yes. It was the first time I joined the development of one particular piece of software. When I got called in for the project, I was a little surprised.

Later on I’ll ask how that came to be, but right now let’s discuss the earliest phase of development. Yamagami-san, could you tell me about how the planning for Nintendo presents: Style Boutique first began?

Sure. I did a little preparation beforehand… (to the monitor) Tajima-san, can you hear me?

Yes.

Let’s see… Do you remember when, toward the end of 2005, Syuji Yoshida, president of syn Sophia¹, told us he wanted to make a game with clothing as the theme?

1	syn Sophia: Developer of such games as SimCity DS, Ganbaru Watashi no Kakei Diary, and Mawashite Tsunageru Touch Panic. The company was formerly AKI Co., Ltd., headquartered in: Tokyo.

Yes. If I remember correctly, at first there was only a single-page concept sheet…

Right. One page isn’t enough to understand the game, so I asked for something more detailed. Today I’ve brought the project proposal book that I received as a result.

Where was it?

Tajima-san’s desk. (laughs)

Mine?

Hm? She still has a desk? I didn’t know that… (laughs)

(laughs)

This proposal is about fashion, but it’s full of huge print without a single picture! It’s dated January 26, 2006. That’s when the Nintendo presents: Style Boutique project began.

Tajima-san, you were the liaison for syn Sophia. What made you interested in that proposal?

I had always been interested in clothing, so the idea of a game focusing on fashion really attracted me. Even that single sheet made an impact. There had never been a game like that, and since the theme was something I myself liked, I thought we could make something fun. I had a vague sense of confidence, and definitely wanted to give it a shot.

You play lots of games, don’t you?

Yes, that’s right. I’m what you might call a hardcore gamer, but at the same time I’m also a casual gamer. I absolutely love puzzle games, and also enjoy playing games like Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training: How Old is Your Brain?.

I suppose you were somewhat unsatisfied since there weren’t any games about fashion for you to play.

Exactly. I’d always been incredibly interested in the fashion world, so I thought it would be fantastic if that interest joined together with my other favourite thing, which is video games.

When you told Yamagami-san you thought it would be fun, did he share your excitement right away?

Yamagami-san usually tells me, “If you think it’ll be fun, then it should be fine”…right?

Yes, I suppose I do. Most of the time I understand what’s good about a project, but this time, I didn’t get it at all. I kept asking her, “Is it alright? Are you sure it’s alright?” and she always replied with great confidence, “Just leave it to me!”

Tajima-san can be quite forceful when she tries to get a proposal through. (laughs)

After I received the first proposal in January, I had it reworked further, and then in May finally presented it to you, Iwata-san. Even at that time, I didn’t understand what was so interesting about it…but I told you that it was alright if sometimes we began projects I didn’t really get but Tajima-san said would be great. She understood fashion, and she was saying she would see it through to the end.

Sorry I couldn’t fulfil that promise!

No, it’s entirely understandable. A year and a half after the project started, you went overseas! (laughs)

Tajima-san, did you have a clear goal in mind right from the start?

To be honest, I don’t think so. I wondered how it would turn out…

You insisted you would see it through to the end, but didn’t have a clear goal? (laughs) But since it was eventually completed, I think there must have been something in the original concept that remained to the end. What do you think it was?

Girls trying on different outfits, using real fashions, and enjoying co-ordinating clothes. That’s what I thought of at first.

And that never changed. Is there anything that did change?

No, I think it basically stayed the same…

But development of this project went on for a relatively long time and went through a process of trial and error so extensive that you could even say it began to wander at times. Times like that, you don’t simply arrive at your original goal. While some things may stay the same from beginning to end, you get lost along the way and changes happen. You don’t remember anything like that?

Well, um… The last period I was involved was about a year ago so my memory is a little vague, but early on, the first interface syn Sophia proposed was really childish. Hattori-san, you remember that, don’t you?

Yes, there were hearts all over and practically the whole thing was pink…

Yeah, with cat paw prints everywhere… It wasn’t very stylish!

Pink everywhere…with hearts. (laughs)

I really didn’t like it. Since the game was about enjoying fashion co-ordination, I wanted to make something that was stylish all-around, but it seemed geared towards children… So we made some big changes.

Tajima-san, what, in a word, do you do in this game? I’d like you to explain it for someone who doesn’t know anything about it. At first, the main character works at a clothing boutique, right?

That’s right. You recommend items to the customers and have them buy them.

Then as the shop becomes more prosperous, you eventually gain your own boutique.

That’s right. But developing the business isn’t the goal.

What is the goal?

A wide variety of customers will visit your store. You can figure out their tastes by talking to them and looking at what they are wearing. The main point of the game is to choose fashion items that suit them.

I’ve heard that before anyone knew it, there were over 10,000 different items.

I was surprised when I heard that here, too. I didn’t think there were that many.

Who decided to make so many?

Yoshida-san, president of syn Sophia.

For any other game, making 10,000 items would be impossible.

I originally thought we should first make 1,000 clothes and other items, and then after checking how balanced they were, consider whether or not to increase the number. They agreed, but when I saw them the next month, they were talking how we needed 5,000 items!

In other words, you couldn’t get across to them how best to proceed. (laughs)

Exactly. (laughs) I told them that if they did that, later adjustments would be impossible, so they should make the basic format of the game first. They said they understood, but then said they had made 5,000 items and it wasn’t enough so they were going to increase it to 8,000. There was no stopping them! (laughs)

When you make a game in that way, it will definitely founder. Someone’s got to apply the brakes! (laughs)

They just kept making more and more, until they said they wanted to surpass 10,000. It was out of control. But after they had crossed 10,000 they said, “There are too many clothes to adjust,” and, “Now I know why you were trying to rein us in!” (laughs) That’s why ever since this spring we’ve been working feverishly hard.

But I can understand why they wanted so many. There are 16 fictional brands within the game. When you try to co-ordinate outfits out of the varying designs of the brands, 1,000 items isn’t enough. When we created the first test, I think there were only a few hundred. Is that right, Yamagami-san?

Yes, there were about that many.

Within those few hundred items, there were tops and skirts and trousers, but nothing you wanted to combine into outfits. In order to create the outfit you want, you need lots of different types of clothes and accessories. I think that’s what syn Sophia had in mind.

Also, Yoshida-san, syn Sophia’s president, is really into fashion. That may be another reason they made over 10,000 items!

In the end, going over 10,000 items has made it possible for players to enjoy creating any kind of look they desire.

Well, I’m glad that in the end we could make use of the 10,000-plus items without any going to waste, but to be honest, when I gave the green light, I had no idea that development would take two and a half years. I thought it would take about a year and a half. Why do you think it took so long? Surely not just because of the 10,000 fashion items…

About a year after development began, we kept making new clothes in order to make the game more fun, and it simply took too much time.

We had tackled the basic system for co-ordinating clothes right away, so that aspect of development got off to a good start. However, when we entered the process of trial and error for how to make it feel more like a game, development began to drag on.

What do you mean about making it more like a game?

Personally, I can have fun just co-ordinating outfits. I even have little fashion shows at home.

I see… (laughs)

But not everyone would enjoy that so much.

In other words, someone like you who knows about fashion would enjoy it, but someone with only general knowledge might not see the appeal.

At first I myself didn’t understand what would be fun about it. I had never had much fashion sense, so I didn’t know what kind of clothes to recommend. When I would choose clothing items and hand them to customers, they wouldn’t buy them. They’d make a beeline for the door. Tajima-san would always tease me for being so clueless when it came to fashion, but I couldn’t see what was fun about selecting clothes.

So what took the most time was figuring out how to make the game fun for guys like Yamagami-san who don’t know about fashion.

I feel a little better now that I hear that. But then, while you were working all this out, you were sent to Nintendo of America. Did you wonder what to do?

Definitely. I didn’t want to abandon the project. I really didn’t know what to do.

After all, you kicked the whole thing off by swearing to Yamagami-san that you would stick with it to the end.

I know! I went to Hattori-san, and begged her!

Enter Hattori-san, who was confronted by a frantic Tajima-san.

(laughs)

What did she say?

She said the game would be done in three months.

Hmm, I’ve heard that one before. (laughs) That’s how you get drawn into some pretty intense work.

We had actually planned to be finished by the time Tajima-san went to America in September last year. That’s why I could tell Hattori-san that it would be done in three months at the longest.

But then it took another year and a half!

(laughs)

When I became involved in this project, only the part about serving customers was properly done. They told me you had to choose items from among the many cute items available and make recommendations to customers that would please them. But if I chose something that seemed cute to me for no clear reason, the customers would head straight for the exit!

Same here. (laughs)

I wasn’t really the type to make a point of reading fashion magazines. Like Yamagami-san, I didn’t have a good grasp of fashion, so even when I tried playing the game, I didn’t know how to enjoy it. Then, when Yamagami-san asked if we could somehow finish it up in three months, I was completely stumped.

But you eventually got over it, right?

That’s right. In general, girls are interested in fashion, but not everyone knows as much as Tajima-san. They don’t all know a lot of fashion terminology or how to combine colours, and knowing how to match brands is something that you pick up as you grow up. If an adult such as myself couldn’t enjoy the game, it would be even harder for girls whose parents still buy their clothes. So as we thought about how to make the game enjoyable for everyone, we decided to include an introductory segment, something like a tutorial.

Even a tutorial would be impossible to make in three months.

Yeah. So I asked Yamagami-san for an extension.

When I took the request before Iwata-san, he said sometimes retreat is the best option. I mulled it over, but I thought there was a chance of success with the tutorial Hattori-san had suggested, so I asked Iwata-san to let us continue. He said it was alright if I thought we could do it, so we soldiered on.

Ito-san, how did you become involved in this project?

They showed me the game part of the way through development and said they had to finish it in three months.

(laughs)

Nintendo presents: Style Boutique has Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection connectivity. Since this was something special that hadn’t been done before, bold changes needed to be made to the overall format. I think they called me in to help with that.

There is a good reason we called upon Ito-san. Hattori-san had come in almost as if to replace Tajima-san, but she said she was scared because she didn’t have any confidence when it came to clothes.

I thought, “Hmm, I’ll have to find someone who looks like he’s got confidence when it comes to fashion…” and when I looked around, my eyes fell on Ito-san. He was in a different group, but I implored his manager to let us borrow him.

He knows a lot about Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection technical matters and is fashionable, so it was like killing two birds with one stone! (laughs)

He may be fashionable, but men’s and women’s fashions are quite different.

Just so there are no misunderstandings, I think you all may have overestimated me. I don’t know much about men’s fashion, and that’s even truer when it comes to women’s fashion! So when I joined the project, I ran out to a local newsagent and bought a carload of women’s fashion magazines. To broaden my horizons.

You must have looked pretty weird!

(laughs)

I was a little embarrassed. (laughs) But I figured my idea of fashion was probably biased, so I compared a wide variety of fashion magazines, asked my female colleagues their opinions, and cultivated in myself a sense of balance.

What did you think when you saw the software that had to be completed in three months?

My first impression was that all the materials were in place, but it was like a card game with no rules.

With 10,000 different cards. (laughs)

I thought that would bewilder the players. The game was about co-ordinating outfits, but the possible number of combinations was overwhelming.

Syn Sophia actually calculated the number of possible combinations of items. The result was over one septillion.

Septillion? That comes after trillion, quadrillion, quintillion and sextillion, right?

That’s 24 zeroes. An astounding number. (laughs)

Hattori-san had a perfect tutorial-like idea. It was to limit the number of items that can be used at first.

When Hattori-san told me that idea, I thought that if we did that, even I might be able to play the game!

Specifically, what kind of tutorial is it?

The players start as sales assistants learning at a shop called Primavera. Only an easy-to-grasp number of items are available, and you can start with instructions that even inexperienced persons can manage.

This way, the players’ degree of fashion sense will reach a certain level of discrimination. Knowledgeable players will earn praise and move on to new steps rapidly, while players who know less about fashion will get polite advice when they make a mistake.

We went to syn Sophia and Hattori-san used a whiteboard to draw a flowchart explaining it.

They agreed and made a great prototype.

When I played that, for the first time I felt like it was a product I wanted to buy. I felt like I’d finally understood what it was Tajima-san had been saying was so fun all this time!

It took a year and a half for you to understand! (laughs)

If someone like me could enjoy it, then I was certain girls who like clothes would enjoy it. For someone like me, the Primavera stage takes a long time, but by the time it’s over, you know the rudiments of fashion, like how to co-ordinate colours and how different patterns go together. Once I’d learned the most basic of the basics, even I was able to pick out clothes.

Then you’re told you can have your own boutique, and you proudly become the boss.

But we weren’t done yet. If it was only about selling clothes and making an income, some people would get tired of it.

In order to have players return to it again and again, something else was needed.

So we included a number of events.

I thought if I really worked at a boutique and customers expressed their gratitude, I’d be really happy. For example, I’d like it if someone said, “I wore the clothes I bought here last week on a date, and my boyfriend complimented me. Thank you!”

So we made it so that similar events happen within the game. Sometimes a customer may invite you to go somewhere, and then you can go with her. On those occasions, you get to dress up yourself.

And you can take pictures while you’re out and save them. If you go to a concert, for example, you can decide on punk fashion. You change into the fashion that suits the situation and enjoy hitting the town!

What’s more, you can design your own character. You can choose your hair length and colour, add highlights if you want, and even style it. And, of course, you can do your own make-up or change your eyebrows, etc. There are a lot of detailed settings.

Furthermore, there’s a fashion contest. If you win, you’ll be asked if you would like to reach for even greater heights. I think the fashion show has four levels…

No, there are more! (laughs) In addition to the fashion shows, you can accept interviews for magazines and spread your own trends. You can also participate in collaborations, and together with brand buyers create your own items by combining colours. A lot of special occasions arise.

Ito-san, your speciality is network technology. Were you able to do something new?

You can use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to set up your own store. Then, even when you’re not connected via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, others who are connected can see your boutique and make purchases from it.

You can dress up mannequins for display. When customers see them, they’ll come in.

In other words, there’s a virtual shopping mall with all the shops lined up in it. But suppose—and I’ll estimate high (laughs)—that we sell one million copies of the game and 400,000 shops open. It would be impossible to check them all!

With this software, the shops aren’t simply all lined up, but rather they’re bundled together into towns, and inside the towns there are buildings. Inside the buildings, there are separate floors. You can go shopping just like going to a regular shopping centre.

Is it up to chance where your shop appears?

Yes. But you don’t have to exchange Friend Codes². If you know the town, building and floor name, you can go to a particular shop. That way you can tell your friends where your shop is via e-mails or notes, and they’ll show up ready to shop!

2	Friend Code: This is a code automatically generated when you use a particular game with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. If you pass it on to your friends, you can connect to and play together with them.

Also, information will spread by word of mouth—like “That shop has some cute outfits”—and you may get customers you don’t know!

You can also pass out flyers via Promo Mode³ and gain customers you don’t know that way as well. Also, you can always get your hands on items at bargain prices, so you should go around and try a lot of different shops. You’ll be able to enjoy seeing how everyone around the country dresses.

3	Promo Mode: A communications system that allows you to exchange data with other nearby Style Boutique players if you have the power of your Nintendo DS turned on.

Depending on how you proceed with the game, the items you can display in your store may change. You might go into the shop of someone you’ve never met and think, “Wow! She’s got such a wide selection of my favourite brand!”

Also, it follows the real calendar year, so the items you can stock change with the actual seasons.

You might recommend an item you like to a customer only to be told something like, “It’s too hot to wear a coat this season!”

Aside from Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and chance connections, you can also connect wirelessly, so you can play shop or have contests with friends right in front of you.

That’s playing shop in a grand way! Did you put in everything you could think of?

Development was taking more time than I expected, so I wanted to do a thorough job. Before she left for America, Tajima-san checked with me to make sure we could put in everything she had thought of.

In other words, you were faced with greedy specifications right from the start. (laughs) Now I know why development took so much time!

Tajima-san, I imagine you were uneasy when you left for Seattle. When you played the prototype, what did you think?

(loudly) I was impressed!

(laughs)

Ever since coming here, I’d never had the chance to see the game while it was in development.

Because you were busy with your own work, I suppose.

My work had finally settled down, so I asked Hattori-san to send me the prototype, and it reflected the proposal nicely. It was even more fun than I’d imagined!

They polished it up nicely.

Yes! So since I’ve come here, I play it as a regular gamer rather than as a member of the development staff. Every day is a joy! (laughs)

(laughs)

Many of the other Japanese staff here are also playing it. We have conversations just like we might in the real world, saying things like “I’m putting together an outfit in such-and-such a brand” and “I really like this item of clothing!” It’s unbelievably fun!

I’m glad to hear that.

You’ve completely adopted the perspective of one of our customers! (laughs) Of course, we did have testers try it out in Japan.

Yes. We had members of Mario Club⁴ play it. A lot of girls played it, but so did some boys. At the end of development, a boy came straight to me and said, “That was fun.”

4	Mario Club = Mario Club Co., Ltd. Responsible for debugging and test play during Nintendo's software development.

That may be more gratifying than to have a girl say it. (laughs)

I was really pleased. (laughs)

So guys who are into videogames more than fashion may find it to be surprisingly deep, and before they know it realise they’ve learned a considerable amount about clothes.

Without a doubt, guys can also enjoy this game. There are considerable strategic elements, so you can play it purely as a game. To put it bluntly, you can try to save as much money as possible in a short time, stockpile all the clothes, and attempt to win first place in the contests.

And it could help you when it comes time to pick out a present for your girlfriend.

Undoubtedly. Also, it might provide fathers with something to talk about with their teenage daughters.

That’s right. Yamagami-san served as a tester the whole time too. The thing that Yamagami-san said that made me the happiest was, “I just sold my first clothes! I’m exuberant!” (laughs)

(laughs)

When I first tried it, I couldn’t sell anything! But after I had gone through Primavera, I could make sales. Like a real sales assistant, I thought, “Yes! I sold something!” It was a great feeling. I realised for the first time what it was that made the game fun.

It seems to me that some of you knew about fashion and some of you didn’t, but you each approached the project from your own perspective, wondering how you could make the game fun for yourself. These layers built up and resulted in a game with multiple interesting facets.

I think so too. At the very beginning, someone knowledgeable about fashion, Tajima-san, created the foundation for something that could be enjoyed in depth, and after that we broadened it into something that people like me, who only have a passing knowledge of fashion, can enjoy.

I think that’s why those who are fashion savvy and those who aren’t can both enjoy the game. If one person alone tried to make such a game, it would be terribly difficult, but as a team, I think we did it.

Lastly, I’d like you to tell me, as developers, what kind of people you would like to enjoy the game and what you hope they will get out of it. Let’s start with you, Yamagami-san.

I hope those who read this article will understand that this game is not specifically geared towards children.

Children can enjoy it, but it isn’t specifically made for them.

Exactly. Adults can play it, and so can children. To be honest, I’m confident that if people in their 40s and 50s play it, they’ll have a good time.

It would be great if not just young girls, but also young women play it. Parents and grandparents can even enjoy it with their children or grandchildren.

Yes, it’s not just a game. It can be useful in choosing your own clothes each day and heighten your fashion sense. So, since it is both fun and practical, I hope adults will also give it a try.

How about you, Tajima-san?

Uh… Hmm…

Shall I save you for the end?

If you do that, everyone will have already said all the good stuff… I was part of the development staff when the project started, but now I’m completely an end user, so…

So you’re eagerly awaiting the release date?

Absolutely! I’m like, go on, give me the final product! (laughs)

Well, wait just a little longer! (laughs)

I’m always checking the Nintendo presents: Style Boutique homepage, and just like with a real fashion website you can try out different combinations of clothes. Each day when I see it, I get excited. So as a player, I’m looking forward to the release date. Of course, I did play it during development on ROM, but the experience will be different with the final game.

You really do talk like one of our customers! (laughs) Why do you think you’re looking forward to it so much?

When I was little, I enjoyed dressing up dolls with perfect fashion model figures. With the game, I remember those times and can express my own real sense of fashion today as an adult. The game fulfils my desires with regard to fashion. The clothing items are like real clothes, so if I go to a real store, I’ll be able to find something similar. I like the way the boundary between fantasy and reality is blurry.

So in other words you want players to enjoy a mix of both real world and virtual reality fashion.

Right. But my figure isn’t as good as that of the girls in the game, so I try out outfits in the game and enjoy my own fantasy fashion shows that way.

When you mentioned earlier that you have these fashion shows at home, I almost started teasing you about it. (laughs)

Isn’t it a fairly normal thing to do?

Girls do it a lot. Especially after they’ve just bought something new.

I’ve got to check whether it matches the other clothes I have.

I do that, too. Not as much as Tajima-san, though. (laughs)

Oh, I see… I guess I just don’t know much about women. Sorry.

(laughs)

Anyway, I’m really looking forward to the release date!

This is a first for “Iwata Asks.” Tajima-san is heaping on the praise, not as a developer, but as a consumer! I don’t know if that will be informative for the readers or not, though… (laughs wryly) Hattori-san?

I, too, want a wide variety of people to enjoy it. Young girls can enjoy it simply, like dressing up dolls, by trying out different outfits that they think are cute, and men can enjoy the strategic element, deciding which clothes to display in their shop and figuring out how to most effectively sell clothes.

It could prove to be quite useful for lots of different people.

Yes. It can be enjoyed by fashionistas and non-fashionistas, men and women alike.

Ito-san, you’re next.

It’s alright for people—including men—to play this game alone, but I’d like people to play it in groups. For example, mothers can stand behind their daughters as they play and make suggestions, and children can teach their fathers fashion lingo. Playing together with others can be a lot of fun. That time we were all peeking over Yamagami-san’s shoulders and giving him a rough time—saying things like “No-one dresses like that!”—was a riot! (laughs)

You do feel like you want others to see your outfits.

Okay, I’ll go last. Band Brothers DX⁵ produced some star composers. Likewise, I’m looking forward to seeing what kinds of popular shop owners appear because of Nintendo presents: Style Boutique. I can’t wait to see what kinds of shops appear and what kinds of things happen. I think some players will appear whose boutiques generate a favourable buzz.

5	Daigasso! Band Brothers DX: Released in Japan in June 2008 as software for the Nintendo DS. You can create music for songs registered with JASRAC and download songs that have been uploaded by others.

When I think about that, like Tajima, I look forward to the release date—although perhaps not quite as much as she does! Good work everyone, in working so hard for so long.