Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Interview: Director Yosuke Hayashi on the PS3 stunner
Ninja Gaiden: Black has been doing the critically-acclaimed rounds on Xbox for a few years now and it's still our second favorite game behind Halo. To all the people who cried 'It's too hard' we'd like to say that it's not hard - you're just not playing right.
Black is making a comeback, under the moniker Ninja Gaiden: Sigma, on PS3 with more bells and whistles attached to it than we originally thought. The screens look awesome and it's one of the games we're looking forward to checking out on PS3. With that in mind CVG wanted to know more and managed to catch up with Tecmo's Director of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Yosuke Hayashi.
How is Ninja Gaiden Sigma coming along? Are you finding it easy to get to grips with the PS3?
Yosuke Hayashi: I would say that the current completion level of development is 50 percent. The mountain-top we're aiming to reach is now within sight, and I'm pretty confident that Ninja Gaiden Sigma will be the number one action game.
Our development team is no longer a stranger to the PS3 platform. They are now familiar with its characteristics and can handle it much better than before. Things are going pretty well here.
Where will Sigma differ most from the original Ninja Gaiden on Xbox?
Hayashi: All the materials are created from scratch in Ninja Gaiden Sigma, and we have further refined the action engine because that is vital to the overall gameplay. So, the feel you'll get when you play Sigma will be a totally new and improved experience.
What we did with Sigma is quite similar to adopting a totally new design and specification for a car -- it's going to be endless if I start counting the differences from the original. It's not that we simply added something to it but more like we have improved the car's engine.
Does Sigma make any use of PSN or the PS3's hard disk?
Hayashi: We'll use the hard disk in order to ensure stress-free gameplay for players. You won't be bothered with 'Now Loading' messages while playing Ninja Gaiden Sigma.
Sigma is also compatible with PlayStation Network. Worldwide scores and rankings will become available and detailed information on each player can be referred to via PSN.
How do you think the PS3 as a format will fare? Why do you think it's suffered from a relatively slow start in Japan?
Hayashi: I am not an analyst. I'm just a game developer. My mission is to provide the best action game for PS3 users. That's all that matters to me, and I promise that you'll experience something really fantastic with Sigma.
What have you found to be the main differences between developing for the Xbox 360 and PS3?
Hayashi: Sorry, but I can't answer that question. I haven't developed for Xbox 360. My last project, Ninja Gaiden Black, was for the original Xbox.
We heard a rumour a while ago of an Xbox 360 version of Sigma. Is there any truth in that?
Hayashi: I would take that rumour as proof that people's expectations for Sigma must be very high. But it is just a rumour.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=157778
Interview: Director Yosuke Hayashi on the PS3 stunner
Ninja Gaiden: Black has been doing the critically-acclaimed rounds on Xbox for a few years now and it's still our second favorite game behind Halo. To all the people who cried 'It's too hard' we'd like to say that it's not hard - you're just not playing right.
Black is making a comeback, under the moniker Ninja Gaiden: Sigma, on PS3 with more bells and whistles attached to it than we originally thought. The screens look awesome and it's one of the games we're looking forward to checking out on PS3. With that in mind CVG wanted to know more and managed to catch up with Tecmo's Director of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Yosuke Hayashi.
How is Ninja Gaiden Sigma coming along? Are you finding it easy to get to grips with the PS3?
Yosuke Hayashi: I would say that the current completion level of development is 50 percent. The mountain-top we're aiming to reach is now within sight, and I'm pretty confident that Ninja Gaiden Sigma will be the number one action game.
Our development team is no longer a stranger to the PS3 platform. They are now familiar with its characteristics and can handle it much better than before. Things are going pretty well here.
Where will Sigma differ most from the original Ninja Gaiden on Xbox?
Hayashi: All the materials are created from scratch in Ninja Gaiden Sigma, and we have further refined the action engine because that is vital to the overall gameplay. So, the feel you'll get when you play Sigma will be a totally new and improved experience.
What we did with Sigma is quite similar to adopting a totally new design and specification for a car -- it's going to be endless if I start counting the differences from the original. It's not that we simply added something to it but more like we have improved the car's engine.
Does Sigma make any use of PSN or the PS3's hard disk?
Hayashi: We'll use the hard disk in order to ensure stress-free gameplay for players. You won't be bothered with 'Now Loading' messages while playing Ninja Gaiden Sigma.
Sigma is also compatible with PlayStation Network. Worldwide scores and rankings will become available and detailed information on each player can be referred to via PSN.
How do you think the PS3 as a format will fare? Why do you think it's suffered from a relatively slow start in Japan?
Hayashi: I am not an analyst. I'm just a game developer. My mission is to provide the best action game for PS3 users. That's all that matters to me, and I promise that you'll experience something really fantastic with Sigma.
What have you found to be the main differences between developing for the Xbox 360 and PS3?
Hayashi: Sorry, but I can't answer that question. I haven't developed for Xbox 360. My last project, Ninja Gaiden Black, was for the original Xbox.
We heard a rumour a while ago of an Xbox 360 version of Sigma. Is there any truth in that?
Hayashi: I would take that rumour as proof that people's expectations for Sigma must be very high. But it is just a rumour.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=157778
