LP2 will appeal to West, reckons Takeuchi

By Robert Purchese Published 8 December, 2009

But he's not keen on collaboration.

While Capcom may be keen on uniting Japanese and Western development teams, star creator Jun Takeuchi (Resident Evil, Lost Planet) isn't so sure.

"Cultural differences don't allow for the smooth collaboration between Japan and developers overseas," said Takeuchi in an internal interview on Capcom's website. To that end, only music and language were imported for Lost Planet 2.

However, Takeuchi has created Lost Planet 2 with a Western audience in mind.

"I think [Westerners] really appreciated our familiarity with this Western genre and how we added a Japanese twist to it by incorporating our own ideas and materials, thus setting it apart from normal Western third person shooters," said Takeuchi, who was more concerned that a third-person shooter wouldn't resonate with his native Japanese audience.

He went on to say that Western gamers "prefer" exploring a realistic world and making the hero an "alter-ego" of themselves, which is an element Lost Planet 2 hopes to capture with its new character customisation system.

Takeuchi reckons his team have put "much more" effort into this sequel and had more time to focus on content thanks to the labour-saving advancements made to the new MT Framework engine.

Lost Planet 2 will be released on PS3 and Xbox 360 this winter (early 2010) and follow on PC. Our gamepage below is stuffed with details.

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 (25) Latest comment 2 years ago

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

  • muscleblade #1 2 years ago

    "I don't think its quite at MW2 or L4D status yet"

    But it should be imo.

  • VicViper #2 2 years ago

    Didn't the first one do well enough anyway in the west?
    How hard was the sell going to be for it, the demo worked pretty well so far

  • HermitArcader #3 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • uglygamer #4 2 years ago

    Had to look up what LP2 stood for.
    I don't think its quite at MW2 or L4D status yet

    Modern Warfare 2 is huge even if it aint such a brilliant game. But come one L4D series aint that big, Lost Planet 2 can outsell it

  • craigm #5 2 years ago

    demo sucked balls

  • HermitArcader #6 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • davisorle #7 2 years ago

    The demo of Lost Planet 2 was bad. Meaning the demo, not the game itself. They should have chosen somethign else in my opinion in order to demo a great title like this. The first one when it came out ( not sure how long after it was released on PC & PS3 ) was freaking awesome. I just hope this 2nd instalment will be worth successor cause its an IP worth making huge over the next years as well and not stop on this one.

  • optimusprym8 #8 2 years ago

    Can't say I thought much of the first one but have massively enjoyed the co-op demo for Lost Planet 2 so far

  • Murton #9 2 years ago

    Vertical Stand: "Jun Takeuchi makes a good point, about how even if Japanese developers try their hand at styles of games more popular abroad, what makes them stand out is if they have a unique look and feel to them."

    That applies to all developers regardless of where in the world they are based, if we've seen their game million times before already it won't be received as well as something that is fresh and unique. Sequels can generally get away with this as they have an established fanbase, look at MW2, there's nothing new there but it's the biggest selling title this year. A new IP has to bring something new to the table or it will find itself in the bargain bin very quickly.

    The target for Lost Planet 2 should be to beat its predecessor, if it can outsell the first game by a significant amount then it will have done well, if not however then Takeuchi will merely have proved his point that Japanese games don't translate very well into Western markets.

  • Hantheman #10 2 years ago

    Good description of Western gamers funnily enough. We do like an alter-ego, rather than a set protagonist.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #11 2 years ago

    But come one L4D series aint that big, Lost Planet 2 can outsell it

    According to VGChartz, Left 4 Dead (1)on Xbox 360 has comfortably outsold Lost Planet on both 360 and PS3 by 2.5 million to 1.8 and 0.5. PC retail and Steam sales figures did not seem to be available.

    According to valve, pre-sales were stronger for L4D2 that for 1, so the notion of a sequel to an averagely-reviewed game (for which there was much less sales competition on 360 at the time of its release) outselling it seem remote to me.

  • HermitArcader #12 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • The-Bodybuilder #13 2 years ago

    LP was ok, but I some of the bosses. I still think the worm boss (where you have to run accross an empty land whilst a giant worm broke through the ground) was one of the first next-gen "woah" moments for me.

    But personally, I would've preferred if LP2;
    1. Kept to the snow-planet
    2. Still used co-op (max of four)
    3. Went for a more action-horror/survivial horror theme.

    I thought the setting of a snow-storm mysterious planet would've made a great co-op horror game; like L4D but more serious, with a longer campaign and better story whilst exploring the planet, all with a Japanese twist to it.

  • Mercatoria #14 2 years ago

    Lost Planet wasnt a very good game.

  • sneetch #15 2 years ago

    @Hantheman
    Good description of Western gamers funnily enough. We do like an alter-ego, rather than a set protagonist.

    We do? Thanks, I thought I liked a set protagonist. Apparently, I was wrong. ;)

  • Monkey_Puncher #16 2 years ago

    The Lost Planet 2 demo seemed to suffer the same problems of the first game. It looks amazing, but when it comes to playing it, it just isn't much fun. I hope the full game manages to remedy this, but I have my doubts.

  • Denny #17 2 years ago

    I honestly don't know where he gets the idea of what genres of games you like is anything do with what part of the planet you are from...
    I don't care what pigeon hole you stick the game in, i just want it to be either good, innovative or fun. 1 out 3 will do.
    It's attitudes like his that means that good games don't get released here because "they" assume it won't do well.

  • HermitArcader #18 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • TruWari3r #19 2 years ago

    I really hope that Albert Wesker + gun dlc isn't US only pre order dlc

    30 quid at zavvi's for the game btw

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #20 2 years ago

    I honestly don't know where he gets the idea of what genres of games you like is anything do with what part of the planet you are

    I just found out recently from this article:

    [link url=http://kotaku.co m/5420421/square-enix-president-calls-western-game-label-ter ribly-discriminatory
    ]http://ko taku.com/5420421/square-enix-pr...[/link]

    That the japanese actually have a different word for Western games. I'm quite shocked that anti-western-product discrimination goes that deep in the Japanese games market.
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 13:50

  • Denny #21 2 years ago

    @Vertical Stand - Well, yes of course and yes, you're right, but there is a nagging part of my brain that says that it's not like they help their cause,going back a few years, to play the first katamari, despite big review scores, you needed to import the game and a console. Even the 2nd katamari game which was released here took me several weeks to find online or in a shop. Another favourite, ico, i bought the special edition on a whim, because liked the box art, i hadn't even heard of it. A few months later after word had gone around, it was totally unavailable to anyone and was only available second hand and at a high price.
    If people can't get hold of the games, or if there is no publicity or support, they aren't going to sell well.

    @Mentalist - wow, good find if a little annoying that people inside and out of japan are missing out on things because of their preconceptions.

  • FenderMaster #22 2 years ago

    really enjoyed the demo... up unti the poinr one of my team mates decide to leave the game... and then the other 2 decide to leave because they want a full team... and then i'm left alone to fend of a gigantic monster, so big, i can walk around his intestines blasting him from the inside...

  • RandyKleen #23 2 years ago

    Hint of small mindedness there, a tad racist too.

  • Terrorvision #24 2 years ago

    I don't think Westerners prefer an alter ego. Successful 3rd person shooters have set protagonists (Gears of War, Uncharted). The problem is westerners don't like emo/out of an anime teenagers as protagonists, which happens to work very well for the Japanese market.
    Edited by 1 at 08/12/09 @ 20:05

  • 1471 #25 2 years ago

    "I don't think Westerners prefer an alter ego. Successful 3rd person shooters have set protagonists (Gears of War, Uncharted). The problem is westerners don't like emo/out of an anime teenagers as protagonists, which happens to work very well for the Japanese market."

    The guy seems basically right to me, a generalisation, as in generally true. Especially now that people keep blabbering about 'immersion.'