Final Fantasy creator mouths off

By Robert Purchese Published 2 May, 2007

"I don't like Ken Kutaragi."

Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi reckons the PlayStation 3 is too fiddly to develop for, and that Microsoft's advertising in Japan has been rubbish, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting.

His outburst appears in the latest issue of US magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly, as reported by 1UP. When asked why he has no current plans to develop games for PS3, he is said to have replied, "The machine's architecture is tricky, and I don't like Ken Kutaragi."

Sakaguchi was more positive with regard to the Nintendo Wii, describing the system as "intriguing". But he added, "Right now, I have no plans on making a game for the Wii."

The first game from Sakaguchi's Mistwalker studio, Blue Dragon, went on sale in Japan last December. Its release gave a much needed boost to Xbox 360 sales, which have so far been disappointing - a fact which Sakaguchi blames on Microsoft's failure to communicate effectively with Japanese consumers.

"Microsoft has to change its marketing strategy in Japan. There are a lot of excellent games on the 360, far better games than what's on the Wii or PS3. But not a lot of people in Japan have a clear idea what games like Gears of War are all about," he said.

And it's not just the marketing for Xbox 360 which Sakaguchi feels is lacking: "Just look at the Windows Vista commercial - it's terrible," he stated.

Fill your sandwich with fresh facts every day from the GamesIndustry.biz news deli.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Cider-X #1 5 years ago

    Incoming...

  • agparrot #2 5 years ago

    a-hahahhahaha - you couldn't make this stuff up, eh?

  • Geowolf #3 5 years ago

    Nothing I would disagree with there. Good to hear a respected Japanese developer saying what he really thinks about Sony et al.
    Edited by 1 at 02/05/07 @ 17:29

  • urban #4 5 years ago

    sounds like a bit of a nit picking cock.

  • Xypher #5 5 years ago

    and MS's "seeming" lack of push when it comes to the Japanese audience, as some still find a lack of major success in Japan as a detractor to the console itself...

  • Blerk #6 5 years ago

    He sounds like he was drunk. Was he drunk?

  • Hunam #7 5 years ago

    Didnt you read the bit where he says MS can't advertise to save their life?

  • chupachups #8 5 years ago

    "Is he on MS payroll or something?"

    I think he is, isn't he? Didn't he design a couple of RPGs for the 360 recently?

    The complaints about the advertising might be his frustration with the tiny audience that 360 games get in Japan.


    "some still find a lack of major success in Japan as a detractor to the console itself..."

    I don't think it's the hardware so much as the largely non-Japanese nature of 360 games. When the occasional well-reviewed Japanese-oriented game appears on the 360, the 360's sales do go up in Japan.
    Edited by 1 at 02/05/07 @ 14:38

  • SeesThroughAll #9 5 years ago

    "The machine's architecture is tricky, and I don't like Ken Kutaragi."

    Ken doesn't pay you enough, does he?

    This crap makes Jaffe's "You f*cking bastards" cries sound mature in comparison.
    Edited by 1 at 02/05/07 @ 14:37

  • quantumsheep #10 5 years ago

    "He sounds like he was drunk. Was he drunk?"

    I thought that too!!! =)

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #11 5 years ago

    "and I don't like Ken Kutaragi."

    What kind of useless bumhole excuse for a journalist got a quote like that and didn't follow it up?

  • joeking #12 5 years ago

    This can only end in tears....

  • Gurgeh #13 5 years ago

    "Not him again. Wasn't he commenting recently about how FF13 should be on the xbox 360."

    These are the same comments everyone else reported some weeks ago, so he's not repeating himself ;-)

    Sony is in talks about keeping the next FF a PS3 exclusive, so it comes down to how much cash they are willing to spend.

  • crouchy #14 5 years ago

    Not him again. Wasn't he commenting recently about how FF13 should be on the xbox 360. Is he on MS payroll or something?
    --------
    Yes!

  • sharpfish #15 5 years ago

    "There are a lot of excellent games on the 360, far better games than what's on the Wii or PS3"

    Best and most honest part of his rant. Now if only the rest of Japan (and Sony Fanboys in general) could see it.

  • Steroyd #16 5 years ago

    Nothing I would disagree with there. Good to here a respected Japanese developer saying what he really thinks about Sony et al.

    I'm sure Sony's sentiments to Sakaguchi are the same, what with pay rolling Final Fantasy Spirits Within for him.

    /Vommits at thought of Movie

    My respect for the guy was never the same after that, and his mouthing off to "other" consoles is almost Itagaki-like.

  • CitizenGeek #17 5 years ago

    Sakaguchi did bankrupt Square entirely and then just left them. Doesn't seem very noble to me, so he's not immune to slagging in my opinion.

    In any case, I think he's right about everything. Except the stuff about PS3 architecture, as I don't have a clue about that.

  • SBfistfun #18 5 years ago

    Go back to spunking over boys with spikey hair.

    He knows nothing

  • kangarootoo #19 5 years ago

    @Geowolf

    I would actually rephrase your comment as,

    "Disappointing to hear a prominent Japanese developer making childish comments."

    I do wonder if this quote is being seen grossly out of context.

    I certainly hope so, as if platform alignment decisions are being made on the basis of such sentiments as "I don't like Ken Kutaragi", I'm afraid I would have to label this man as an idiot (or at least someone who should not be in charge of making those sorts of descisions).

  • Steroyd #20 5 years ago

    If a developer went I'm not developing for a Nintendo console because Shigeru Miyamoto is turd, it'd do more than raise eyebrows.

  • The-Bodybuilder #21 5 years ago

    >"Can't believe people are slagging this guy off. All because the esteemed creator of Final Fantasy is working on Xbox 360 exclusively, and thinks that it has a better library than PS3. "

    Honestly, people would have slaggd him off anyways, they'll look for any excuse on these boards.
    Also coupled with some daily mail-esque sensationalism from EG doesn't help much, I mean using "FF creator mouths off" and "I don't like Kuturagi" (who doesn't?) covers the fact that what he said was with an element of humour (but I'm sure he still doesn't like kuturagi).
    Edited by 1 at 02/05/07 @ 16:17

  • The-Bodybuilder #22 5 years ago

    >"Go back to spunking over boys with spikey hair"

    What did blerk do to you? :)

  • _Price_ #23 5 years ago

    The translations might have been a bit to literal but some of the comments verge on genius, particularly regarding the Windows Vista adverts.

    Sure there is a Wii promoting element to the whole thing, but who says those in the games industry can't be fanboys too.

  • enzima #24 5 years ago

    wow, in the last 6-8 months this site is becoming worse everyday. I feel bad about it, as now i have kotaku and little else to read...people at EG should stop this baiting game...one day readers will just be bored with it, forget this site and start reading something else.

  • Mageme #25 5 years ago

    "... and i don't like Ken Kutaragi"

    That's not a particularly nice thing to say. What did he do? Run over your dog or something? Or maybe he made fun of the moustache?

  • Strifer #26 5 years ago

    Sakaguchi did bankrupt Square entirely and then just left them. Doesn't seem very noble to me, so he's not immune to slagging in my opinion.

    -------------------------

    Sakaguchi has pretty much made Square with the first Final Fantasy.

    People, this man has said something and all you can do is wonder whether he is on MS's payroll or not. Maybe he really thinks like that, who knows?

  • WillTheSecond #27 5 years ago

    "Sony is in talks about keeping the next FF a PS3 exclusive, so it comes down to how much cash they are willing to spend. "

    Really? Ouch. If they loose FF, then, well, they're stuffed. They've already lost GTA IV, and there were those MSG4 rumours... on the other hand, Liar looks good, but one game isn't going to make me buy the thing.

    Hilarious comments anyway, with some nice wide-ranging, subjective fallacy-ridden logic in them, well, actually, not really any logic in them, but funny none-the-less.
    Edited by 1 at 02/05/07 @ 17:02

  • NewYork #28 5 years ago

    Calm down, guys. Check out MadMirko's post on this thread: "I don't like Kutaragi" weren't his exact words, and what he actually said was not a nasty comment at all.

  • Mageme #29 5 years ago

    @NewYork

    Aw, don't spoil the fun! There's more comedy potential if we believe he did say something like "I don't like Ken Kutaragi".

  • The-Bodybuilder #30 5 years ago

    >"one day readers will just be bored with it, forget this site and start reading something else. "

    Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that there aren't any other UK-based gaming sites with a witty sense of humour, I would have left this place sometime ago.

    I'm sure the the EG police will finish me off for saying that (if you think console fanboys are bad, don't test the EG ones).

  • The-Bodybuilder #31 5 years ago

    >"Calm down, guys. Check out MadMirko's post on this thread: "I don't like Kutaragi" weren't his exact words, and what he actually said was not a nasty comment at all."

    I'm sure EG didn't bother to do thier research too, rather, just read something similar from another site, then laced it with daily mail sensationalism for MAXIMUM DAMAGE.

    I'm really getting sick of this crap.

  • Les #32 5 years ago

    ""Just look at the Windows Vista commercial - it's terrible,"

    Can't deny that. It was quite sad to see that MS was the only one that wasn't aware the wow started six years ago...

  • monkey-ken-wizard #33 5 years ago

    This site is getting like 'The Daily Mail'

  • smelly #34 5 years ago

    I think he actually makes some valid points.

    ps3 - meh
    360 - good, but doing crapply in japan
    wii - interesting, but prolly not enuf to cope with a huge ff game.


    That said, i've not played a FF game since ff8 (which was a huge let down after 7)

  • Scimarad #35 5 years ago

    "Sakaguchi has pretty much made Square with the first Final Fantasy."

    I Assume by 'first Final Fantasy' you mean FFVII;-)

  • kangarootoo #36 5 years ago

    @NewYork

    Nice one. I figured it might be a misquote. I retract my speculation about him being an idiot.

    Jesus EG, I'm not normally one to criticise, but at least try and find out whether the other magazine you are quoting got it right.

  • CitizenGeek #37 5 years ago

    "Sakaguchi has pretty much made Square with the first Final Fantasy."

    And then brought them to the brink of ruin with Spirits Within. He made Square, but he broke them too.

  • NewYork #38 5 years ago

    Actually, I just checked MadMirko's post again and it's from a GameSpot interview, so perhaps he really said that.

    It'd still be pretty strange if he did, though.

  • JediMasterMalik #39 5 years ago

    You're just bored now... ;D

  • NewYork #40 5 years ago

    So HE's the guy who unleashed The Bouncer and Driving Emotion Type-S on the world.

  • NewYork #41 5 years ago

    And he directed Spirits Within.

    Oh dear.

  • Lov3 #42 5 years ago

    DON'T MAKE SHIT UP!

    I'm not kidding. Are you editors reading those Daily Mail comments? That is the sound of your credibility going down the toilet. If you carry on baiting fanboys to get traffic, regular visitors are going to realise you're unreliable and theres going to be a backlash. Don't say I didn't warn you.

    EDIT: I'm going to add the real quote directly into here, even though it's has been linked, because i'm at the top of page 2 and people are likely to read it:

    "HS: (in English) Ah, Kutaragi-san's architecture...seven DSPs and a low-powered CPU. I don't like the PS3's architecture.

    (in Japanese) First off, with Sony, programmers want to do well and want to create good software, but Kutaragi-san makes the final call and (designs) the (hardware and software) environment himself. So that's been really challenging."

    http://ww w.eurogamer.net/forum_thread_po...
    Edited by 1 at 03/05/07 @ 01:51

  • NewYork #43 5 years ago

    But you're quoting from a Gamespot interview. EG are referencing an EGM interview.

  • Nobuo #44 5 years ago

    EG management in a recent interview with Nobuo:

    "We don't like our sponsors they can stick their money up their arses. And as for our regular visitors, they can just fuck the hell off."



    (Didn't really happen. Good point well made though in my opinion.)

    :-)

  • davisorle #45 5 years ago

    WOW, I dont even want to read comments cause I know I wont read what i want to. Only the first ones everyone saying he was "drunk". Well now wonder he was tlkaing about transferring the FF in 360 was said a few days ago. Plus... I know it might be the marketing in Japan that he is talking about. here its just the Sony fanboys that wont open their eyes and see the games we play and they never will, thats all. Wonder who else is going to talk about Sony like that next and who is going to stay on their side o.O

    (btw Who was that moron that was saying that programming for PS3 was easy? So who was fucking right about that? Pathetic when you have to deal with fanboys and I know that there will be a next time about this like it never happened.)
    I cant wait to see FF on the awesome PS6, Kutaragi talked about... They will still be using Cell prossesors since its so many years ahead already.

    No go ahead and talk shit about this dude since he oped up about the crappy PS3. Guess FF isnt that important tittle for your PS3s right? so it comes down to GT and Tekken?

  • TRUTH #46 5 years ago

    My be his just talking the fact!