This book reveals more secrets about the untold history of Japanese game developers than ever before, with 36 interviewees and exclusive archive photos.

Konami's secret games console, the origin of Game Arts and Quintet, unusual events at Telenet, stories on Falcom, politics behind Enix's game programming contests, a tour of the Love-de-Lic and WARP offices (with layout sketches). Every interviewee is asked about unreleased titles.

Foreword by GAMESIDE magazine's editor-in-chief, Yusaku Yamamoto.

Hitoshi YONEDA: Japanese cover artist, Falcom, Sega, Phantasy Star II cover

Tatsuo NOMURA: Google engineer, 8-bit Maps, working with Square-Enix, Dragon Quest

Katsutoshi EGUCHI: Life of Kenji Eno, Real Sound for Saturn, Bitmap Brothers, Gods and Xenon 2, CESA and ratings, Dreamcast creation, Michael Nyman, WARP

Toru HIDAKA: Enix programmer, lecturer, Kouichi Nakamura, PC-88 (code, graphics, music), converting Ultima, a changing industry

Roy OZAKI & Kouichi YOTSUI: Mitchell Corp, Capcom (rare photos), Pang and Bubble Buster, Strider, Cannon Dancer, Gamshara, Puzz Loop and Zuma, Polarium, Suzuki Bakuhatsu, Namco's System 10 board, Nintendo, Data East, gangsters

Masaaki KUKINO: Konami and SNK (office map), unreleased games, Haunted Castle (aka: Castlevania), Asterix, Crime Fighters, Silent Scope, King of Fighters

Suikoden Chapter: Yoshitaka Murayama, Harry Inaba, Jeremy Blaustein, Casey Loe, Konami's unreleased games console/handheld, difficulties of localisation

Ryukushi07: Visual novels, eroge, doujin, Comiket, Umineko, Higurashi When They Cry, Rose Gun Days, Key, Jun Maeda

Kotaro UCHIKOSHI: Visual novels, Pepsiman, Memories Off, Never 7, Ever 17, Remember 11, EVE, pressures of making erotic games, 999, Virtue's Last Reward, Danganronpa

ZUN: Touhou shooters, PC-98 versus Windows, office sketches, Taito, Bujingai, PS2 bench-marking, Comiket, doujin, indie, beer

Yoshiro KIMURA: Square Soft, Romancing SaGa, Rule of Rose, Chulip, Little King's Story, Love-de-Lic (office sketches), Moon, Lack of Love, Kenichi Nishi, Grasshopper, rare art

Kouji YOKOTA: Telenet, Falcom, Game Arts, Quintet (rare photos), Megami Tensei on FC and MSX, ActRaiser, Illusion of Gaia, Gaiares, Lunar: EB, Valis, history of Ys III, Masaki Hashimoto & Tomoyoshi Miyazaki, Granstream Saga

Jun Nagashima: Falcom (office sketch), creation of Popful Mail, Ys V on SFC, Studio Alex

Yuzo KOSHIRO: Falcom, Sega, Quintet, Ancient, sister joining industry, doujin, The Scheme, music column, studio tour, Joe Hisaishi, origin of Sonic on 8-bit systems, Bare Knuckle 4

Masamoto MORITA: Sega (layout), arcade rivalry with consoles, end of Sega hardware, Die Hard Arcade

Akira TAKIGUCHI: ASCII, AX series, Game Arts, Taito deals, MSX prototype, Apple II in Japan, PC-6001, CBM PET

Masakuni MITSUHASHI: ASCII, AX series, Game Arts, Silpheed on PC-88 and MCD, cut content, Lunar: EB debugging

Kohei IKEDA: Game Arts co-founder (office maps), Thexder, new model of PC-88, shift to consoles

Hiroshi SUZUKI: First stealth game, deal with Taito, Lupin III, computers

Tomonori SUGIYAMA: Vanguard, Enix, unreleased Saturn hardware, Game Arts, Falcom, Lunar: SSS and EB for MCD and Saturn, Grandia

Yutaka ISOKAWA: Namco's desire to launch a console, Enix, Vanguard, Catrap, NeGcon

Yasuhito SAITO: dB-SOFT, Data West (maps), programming 177, Macadam Soft, Bounty Arms (PS1), Layla (FC), Rayxanber, Cross Blaim

Takaki KOBAYASHI & Keite ABE: dB-SOFT, Agenda, SmileBoom, Riot City, Prince of Persia, SNK

Keiji INAFUNE: Mega Man, Mighty No.9, Capcom, Comcept, Akira Kitamura

Stephen & William ROZNER: Mega Man 1 & 3 for DOS, Capcom USA, Street Fighter on C64, Mega Man X and Street Fighter II on PC

Makoto GOTO: Shubibinman 2, Don Quixote (MEGA LD)

About the Author

John Szczepaniak is a journalist, novelist, and copy editor. He's written for Retro Gamer, GamesTM, Official PlayStation Magazine, Game Developer Magazine, Gamasutra, The Escapist, GameFAN MkII, nRevolution, 360 Magazine, Play UK, X360, Go>Play, Next3, The Gamer’s Quarter, Retro Survival, NTSC-uk, Tom’s Hardware Guide, Insomnia, GameSetWatch, Shenmue Dojo, Pixel Nation, plus others.

He frequently contributes to Hardcore Gaming 101, where he helped put together The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures book, and was managing editor on the Sega Arcade Classics Volume 1 book.

John has been doing this for over 10 years, and has interviewed over 200 people. He also enjoyed a six month stint as Staff Writer on Retro Gamer and three years as sub-editor at Time Warner. He’s licensed by the UK’s Royal Yachting Association as a naval skipper, and also holds a Marine Radio Operator’s license. MENSA certified, speaks Japanese, programs indie games, and brews wine.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

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