Today, Epic Games, creators of Unreal Tournament, Gears of War, and the Unreal Engine have opened a subsidiary branch at our neighbors to the east, which will provide support and usage of the Unreal Engine for Japanese developers. I was able to reach Taka Kawasaki, the territory manager for Epic Games Japan and ask him a few questions about the branch opening.
How does Epic feel this will advance their company in the foreign market, considering Japan’s console gaming market is becoming larger?
Does this open up possibilities for Epic to start developing games more geared toward a Japanese audience?
Taka Kawasaki: Japanese game developers are responsible for creating many of the world’s best video game experiences. Epic’s programmers, level designers and artists have been influenced by a range of Japanese games, and we’re honored to provide on-the-ground support to Unreal Engine 3 licensees like Capcom, Konami, Square Enix, and Grasshopper Manufacture. We intend to collaborate more closely with Japanese studios and to build stronger ties between the Eastern and Western game development communities by deepening our commitment to our customers in Japan.
Will Epic have an opportunity to work with Japan-based companies like Grasshopper or Konami Japan?
TK: The primary mission of Epic Games Japan is to provide community-based, high-context support to licensees and potential licensees of the Unreal Engine in Japan. In addition, we will build upon our networks within the Japanese game industry and maintain an “antenna” to hear the voices of Japanese game development professionals and consumers. We believe the feedback ascertained from the Japanese market will enhance the quality of our game engine.
Usage of Unreal Engine 3 in Japanese games will certainly improve the manufacturing speed at which developers can release a title, and I’m certainly excited to think of the possibilities behind some of the games that developers like Grasshopper or Konami can churn out with it.
TK: Yes, of course! From world-class major publishers like Konami, Square Enix, and Capcom, to small teams of developers consisting of 10-20 people, we will actively support licensees’ experiences with Unreal Engine 3 so that they can develop the very best games using our technology.
It’s also interesting to see how Kawasaki’s “antenna” reception will serve the Japanese gaming community, which still, let’s face it, is still largely dominated by gaming on portable devices. There are a lot of games coming out that are bringing the Japanese gamer back home, especially with games like Final Fantasy XIV and Yakuza 4, that can’t be easily replicated on a handheld, but can it take one branch opening in Japan to turn the console market around? Probably not, but hey, Epic’s trying something new and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
