[Honey’s Anime Interview] Hisashi Koinuma - President & COO of Koei Tecmo Games and Producer for Attack on Titan 2

1:30 AM January 24, 2018

Hello and welcome again, to another Honey’s Anime Interview! In this interview, we were invited by Koei Tecmo to attend a special event hosted by Koei Tecmo at the Mystic Hotel in downtown San Francisco. At the event, we had the privilege of interviewing the Hisashi Koinuma-san where we got to ask some questions that have been on our mind for some time now. With the upcoming release of Attack on Titan 2, we wanted to know about the changes in this new iteration and if there were any additional features we could look forward to, but first, let’s get to know a little bit about Mr. Koinuma-san.

Hisashi Koinuma is the President and COO of Koei Tecmo Games Co., LTD., Lead Manager of the Gust brand, Producer, and Director. Having worked as a Producer on a variety of collaborative titles, such as; “Attack on Titan”, “Berserk and the Band of the Hawk”, “One Piece: Pirate Warriors” and “Hyrule Warriors”, he now brings his expertise to this latest collaboration, based on one of the most celebrated anime IPs worldwide, Attack on Titan 2.

Attack on Titan 2 will be releasing on March 20, 2018, for PC, PS4, Switch, and XB1. The game will have new online features for better gameplay and there will be a new customization feature for players to delve into creating new characters in the style of AoT design. Of course, you can still play one of the preselected characters from before as well a new characters added to the roster to make it a total of 30 characters. But enough about what we know, let’s find out what we don’t know. As a note, this interview was unexpectedly cut short so the number of questions asked are limited due to a tight schedule during the event.

With that, read on and find out what Mr. Koinuma-san had to say as we ask him some questions regarding Attack on Titan 2. Sit back and enjoy the interview!

Honey-Chan

Hisashi Koinuma

Interview with Hisashi Koinuma

Approaching the idea of making a sequel to AoT, how difficult was the process compared to the first game and were there new lessons to be learned that improved Attack on Titan 2?

First of all, with the original title, the uniqueness or characteristics of it was to have omnichannel directional actions and to have that equipped in the original title was very challenging because we wanted to provide, operation wise, ease of use for gamers so there was a lot of trial and error.

And now, with the second version, the mobility potion was already taken care of from the first version, however, we had to continue the improvement of that with the addition of having to focus on the second versions ability to provide a way to attack and kill Titans in the coolest way possible.

In regards to customization and the characters you can now create, were there any difficulties in trying to develop a way to have those [new] characters take part in the story like those from the anime?

So in the previous title, there were characters and their stories to follow but now, in the second version, we created more characters for players to enjoy the storyline from different perspectives even though the story itself is the same or in a similar fashion. And the boundary of the characters players’ are using, will allow them the not be bored while still enjoying the story. That is the main point we wanted to create new characters.

When deciding on a handheld version [Switch], was the PS Vita version in mind for release in the West and if not, is it possible to know why?

A PS Vita release will only be in Japan, but for the West, we actually wanted to introduce Attack on Titan 2 for the Vita but there were no requests for it! No one mentioned they wanted to have it so that is why we never made one for the PS Vita and currently have no plans to move forward with the idea.

If there was a request/demand for it, would you consider releasing a Vita version for the West?

Technologically, it is easy to do it and we don't have any reason or not to do it but, of course, if there is a demand for it, we'll do it! Honey's Anime can be the voice for this if you like and let us know!

How different will the controls be compared to consoles versions of the game and the Switch?

No difference. The frame rate will be the same but the resolution will be different, and with that, everything should be the same compared to consoles and the Switch.

Attack on Titan 2 is pretty much based on the 2nd season of the anime, and what we would like to know, was it decide to follow the anime from the very beginning or was there any thought of following the manga instead where the story is ahead and of course, more detailed than the anime.

Yes, mainly because in Japan, we could acquire the licensing which is important to move forward with a project like this. It is easy to work with anime IPs in regards to that, and due to the success of Attack on Titan, it was the natural flow of things to move forward with a game for it which the licensing allowed us to use the assets from the anime. And because the second season of Attack on Titan 2 was already developed in the story, we decided to incorporate it into a game to keep the feeling intact from the anime.

Final Thoughts

There you have, folks! Another interview, completed. We do want to thank Koei Tecmo and Koinuma-san for taking the time to answer some of our questions. Due to the unexpected short time we had with Mr. Koinuma-san, it was still a privilege to interview him. We hope that you all had a good time reading this interview. There wasn’t too much to ask of what we already knew but nonetheless, it was great!

Again, make sure you all get ready for the Attack on Titan 2 release in the coming months and be sure to drop a line to Koei Tecmo on Twitter about bringing a PS Vita version to the West! You heard it from them, we will be your voice to try and get this done because honestly, the Vita needs more love!

Editor in Chief

Author: Alfonso "Fonzy" Ortiz

I'm a Geek, Nerd, Writer, and lover of all video games, anime, science, technology and the internet. I previously worked for STFUandPlay.com, a contributing writer as the Japanese Corespondent at TheKoalition.com and founded a website called Transcend-Gaming.com! I currently live in Japan as Editor in Chief of Honey's Anime and its very talented writers! I'm down for anything! What do you want to do?

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