(Originally posted January 19, 2010 on the Japanese Bayo-Blog)
A little late, but Happy New Year, everyone. Kamiya here. I’m not sure if it is because I run my mouth too much, but big brother ends up censoring me, so I haven’t really been able to give you all up-to-date information because my blog has been slow to update.
Since it is a New Year, I received various New Year’s cards and presents from our fans and others. They motivate me to work hard, so thank you so much!
So Bayonetta has finally been released worldwide, huh? Is everyone playing it having a good time? The game has been on-sale in Japan for more than 2 months now, and even though it is a game with its own peculiarities, people who love it seem to truly love it, which makes me quite happy.
Which leads me to some news… The one and only TIME magazine wrote about Bayonetta in their 1/25 issue! It was the video game pick for TIME’S PICKS FOR THE WEEK. This is pretty cool, as TIME is a huge magazine, with a circulation of over 3.3 million readers in North America!
Hashimoto said the other day that he wanted to sell more copies of Bayonetta than the original Devil May Cry, to which I replied, “Not happening…” (LOL) Anyways, I think that this game is where we planted the seeds for something that will eventually grow into a tree with a stout trunk. But I just say that kind of thing and then leave things be…Which ends up with me getting stuck with some sort of global label as someone who doesn’t want to make sequels. (LOL)
With Okami, we aimed to make something that would be widely loved; however, making something in the manner we made Bayonetta is making something that really has to “agree” with you. Personally, I’m someone who doesn’t get motivated if I don’t think something is fun, and Bayonetta is something that people actively choose. Like with food, when one forgoes sweet curry, instead picking Thai red curry (which I was actually addicted to recently and was eating every day). For people like that, who can’t get enough of that “je ne sais quoi”-flavor, I hope you keep supporting us in the future.
Continuing on with Bayo-talk, the European strategy guide should be coming out soon (maybe even once this blog is posted?)! It is entirely in English, so I suppose Japanese fans will have a hard time coming to grips with it; however, THIS IS AWESOME! It’s been a while since I’ve seen something so craftsman-like. Speaking of craftsmen, Karitajian, who were kind enough to put out guides for DMC, Joe, and Okami are awesome as well. I wanted to work with them on Bayonetta as well, so I kept trying to court their attention on my own; however, for some reason or another, be it just the people higher up or politics I’m not privy to, things didn’t work out. Karitajian, if you guys have any great ideas, send them our way!
Anyways, back to the topic at hand, the European guide has been put together by Future Press, and they are planning to release it in a hard cover binding with a Bayonetta ribbon bookmark. They’ve also sweetened the deal with an interview with Hashimoto and I!
Picture: This is just a temp design; however, this illustration featuring only Bayonetta’s leg is really, really great!
So the editors of this guide (must have been) truly hardcore gamers, because they delved into every possible angle of Bayonetta. There are in-game strategies, but also reveal almost all of the little easter eggs I hid in the game. They also write about things even I didn’t know you could do, like Dodge Offsetting the Umbran Spear. They are truly a scary group of individuals.
For the interview portion of the special edition guide, one of their editors came here to interview us, and asked a bunch of really deep questions. Usually you go through the paces with nothing but questions like, “Why is the lead character female?” But the Future Press crew hit me with a rapid succession of truly hardcore questions like, “Why Year 5 Class 3?” or “You know at the end of Viewtiful Joe’s hand sign…” (LOL) The final interview runs completely unedited (as the foreign press has the occasionally tendency to do), so everything we said is down on paper, making it a bit of a sticky situation! (LOL) Of course, there is plenty of idle chat, but in Japan, editors will think about this sort of thing during editing and cut it out for you right from the beginning; however, here they are right there for all the world to see! Of course, places where we crossed the line (personally, I didn’t think we went that far) ended up getting cut once the higher ups stepped in and asked for changes, but I still think it gives you a good idea of what actually went on during the interview. If you are well versed in English, I hope you look forward to checking out the guide!
There is even a trailer (!), so check it out!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch1U73QXTsY&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Video: Hard work and polish… You can feel the love they put into the guide. That’s what making something is all about!
It all leads me to wonder why Japanese press interviews seem so much less simulating? I feel like I’m always saying stuff that is really interesting; however, it always ends up being edited into something milder. I know I’m saying things that I wouldn’t even print myself (LOL), but I still find it strange to see things cut out even before we’ve gotten to check the interview ourselves.
Getting back to some comments, recently there was a Q&A with me posted online where someone got the great idea to conveniently rewrite my answers to suit their needs, leading to a situation where I felt like “I didn’t say this BS.” It’s scary to see words that I didn’t intended get spread around so freely. With this blog, sure there is a bit of censorship, but at the very least, we are in charge of editing/translating the entries, so we aren’t going to send out any information that just isn’t correct. That’s why I sometimes feel it is hard for me to tell you how I feel day to day, so it was fun for the first time in quite a while for me to read the interview in the European strategy guide and see that it was imparting everything we wanted to tell you. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Another bit of Bayonetta news to share. I wonder if you are all aware of a game called Valkyria Chronicles 2? In-game, they have these stickers that you can place on tanks, and they were kind enough to make one of them the Bayonetta logo!
Picture: This is what the logo looks like on a tank.
By placing this sticker on your tank, it seems you get a +5 AP (Action Points) and +5 HP (Health Points) buff. The power of the Bayo logo… (?) To get this sticker, just go to the official site and get the password that allows you to download it, so everyone go check out the Japanese Valkyria Chronicles 2 site now.
Hopefully in the future, I’d love to see a Bayonetta sticker that makes the tank a bit more like a tank version of an “itasha.” Mr. Shuntaro Tanaka, please make it happen!!
Well, that’s all for now!
Picture: I got a little birthday present from the SEGA marketing staff. Secreted away unsuspectingly in my iTunes playlist is the ultimate piece of musical entertainment: Happy Harrier! The one and only maestro Hiro work on the arrangement, joined by the equally impressive Takenobu Mitsuyoshi on vocals! It’s a Happy Birthday song that begins with the Space Harrier intro song! Hearing “Happy Birthday, Dear Kamiya-san” in the same voice as “DAAYYTOONNAAA” is just unbelievable… I went right past being simply happy, and was trembling with gratitude as I broke out into a grateful cold sweat listening to this absolutely priceless treasure. Thank you so much!!!
Bonus Picture: We finished up work on our Bayonetta love pillow CG mock-up picture…!? Bayonetta’s got a look on her face that you definitely wouldn’t see in game… And I’m sure there is no shortage of bad boys ready to use this for nefarious means! I want to be a bad boy too, so will someone please actually make one of these already!?!?