4. A Hint from Tsunku-san

Iwata:

Osawa-san, what helped you out of your agony over how to make Rhythm Paradise fun on the DS?

Osawa:

Umm...

Iwata:

Was it completing the Flicking control?

Osawa:

Well... we hadn’t actually “completed” it.

Iwata:

Oh, that’s right. (laughs) So, uh...not “completed” but...

Osawa:

I still don’t think we’ve completed it.

Iwata:

Hey, that’s enough of that! (laughs)

Osawa:

...It’s just, rather than ever complete something, …you improve it, little by little, on and on.

Iwata Asks
Iwata:

Oh, I can understand that.

Osawa:

We’d been going along like that, and reached a certain point, when we had Tsunku-san look at it. We couldn’t meet him face-to-face, so I sent a sample. And he really...

Iwata:

Uh-huh, uh-huh...

Osawa:

...really tore it apart.

Iwata:

Uh-oh.

Takeuchi:

(laughs wryly)

Yone:

(laughs wryly)

Osawa:

That day...all day long...I was fed up.

Iwata:

Your agony doubled!

Takeuchi:

Yeah, he was in twice the agony.

Osawa:

While I was agonizing, it seems that for some reason…others noticed my state.

Takeuchi:

Of course we noticed!

Yone:

How could we not?!

Osawa:

So they suggested I talk to Tsunku-san. I sent him an e-mail, went to Tokyo, and asked him what was wrong with the sample.

Iwata:

Oh! You went right up to him! And?

Osawa:

And everything he said was…exactly right.

Iwata:

(laughs)

Osawa:

I could tell he really understood what we were trying for. But that didn’t mean we could easily reflect his comments in the game.

Iwata:

Yes, I suppose so. I started as a programmer too, so I really understand.

Osawa:

But he gave me a big hint as to what should be done. The concept behind what eventually became the frog game came from Tsunku-san

Iwata:

The one with the frogs shaking their hips?

Iwata Asks
Osawa:

Yes.

Iwata:

On my way to work this morning I was playing that the whole time.

Osawa:

It isn’t an easy game, but once you get it…it’s a blast.

Iwata:

Yes, it sure is.

Osawa:

When we finished that, it felt just right. I thought, “Oh, this is what Tsunku-san was talking about.” I started to think…it just might work.

Takeuchi:

Good for you.

Yone:

Very good for you.

Iwata:

At times like that, once you get a good lead, it has a good effect on other areas as well. Once you get one axis in place, you can polish off other areas with renewed vigour.

Osawa:

That’s exactly what it was like. I got the strength to continue in that direction.

Iwata:

Yes, I know what you mean. How did it appear to you, Takeuchi-san, when you saw Osawa-san break free of his agony?

Takeuchi:

Well, Tsunku-san makes quite an impression. When development had fallen into a rut and everyone was pretty gloomy, we went to Tokyo to talk with Tsunku-san and came back – all of us, not just Osawa-san—reinvigorated.

Iwata:

Oh...really? Tsunku-san is like the sun!

Takeuchi:

His involvement was considerable.

Iwata:

Even though there are people who know that it isn’t the case, a certain number of people suspect that when someone of a celebrity stature supervises a project, they don’t really have much to do with it. They simply attach their name.

Takeuchi:

Yes, that’s right.

Iwata:

But for this game Tsunku-san went far beyond mere supervision. He was deeply involved. He didn’t just participate in planning and then provide some songs. He did a lot, from seeing us through dilemmas such as the one we just talked about to suggesting new roads we could take with the project.

Iwata Asks
Takeuchi:

That’s right. But you can’t understand what he means through e-mail. Just reading the e-mails, you wonder why he’s saying what he is.

Iwata:

But if you meet him, you understand?

Takeuchi:

Yes. He sings and actually gets into the rhythm and says, “Here! Here! Here!” so we can easily understand. He doesn’t say a lot, but goes point by point until you suddenly understand.

Iwata:

You get all kinds of hints just by meeting face-to-face.

Takeuchi:

That’s right.