The man who created Resident Evil and Vanquish will be leaving game directing to the next generation after his upcoming project.
Last week, we learned the surprising news that Bethesda parent Zenimax had acquired Tango Gameworks, the new studio headed by respected Japanese developer and Resident Evil mastermind Shinji Mikami.
Mikami naturally had his reasons for signing up with Zenimax and Bethesda, he told Japanese gaming mag Famitsu (as translated by 1UP). He knew all along that he wanted to be under the umbrella of a publisher rather than having to “live hand-to-mouth” as an independent developer, and he decided Bethesda made the most sense.
“Bethesda was the best match among them because they gave us the most independent development environment to work with as we pursue our goal of producing Japanese games that work worldwide – that, and their track record when it comes to overseas sales.”
Whatever game Mikami is working on, it’s apparently very creepy. It’s also apparently the last game Mikami plans to be directly involved in as a director before sitting back to just run his company. “I can only last for so long handling both director and company president duties, and besides, I want to give our younger developers a chance,” he told Famitsu.
“Knowing that, of course, makes me want to put all of my experience, my energy, and everything else I’ve got into this game. I’m pretty lucky that [Bethesda] was willing to accept that, too. Too many publishers are only interested in the very near future, after all.”
Mikami has been involved in the creation of many of Capcom’s key franchises like Devil May Cry and Resident Evil as well as niche cult favorites like Viewtiful Joe, P.N.03 and God Hand. His most recent title was the well-received Vanquish.
(1UP)
Published: Nov 3, 2010 02:59 pm