Holy Smokes, GAME ARTS DEVELOPED SMASH BRAWL??? o.O

[Nobiyuki77]

http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/ssbb/vol1_page3.jsp

Excerpt from text!

Sakurai
That’s right. There were suggestions to house the project at Nintendo in Kyoto, but after talking through some ideas, we determined that it was necessary to do the project in Tokyo and we rented an office in Takadanobaba specifically for this game. I even moved to Takadanobaba.

Iwata
For the project, right?

Sakurai
Right, for the project. I mean, if you want to make a new Smash Bros., you have to be ready to put everything else on hold if you want to make it work.

Iwata
Marriage of home and the work place.

Sakurai
Right. Then, just when we were looking for some help, we secured some staff from another video game developer.

Iwata
We were introduced to this company by Miyamoto-san. You can share the name if you like.

Sakurai
Oh, okay. It was Game Arts. It was just after they had finished Grandia III and they told us that they had some staff free. So, we decided to leave the main part of preliminary development to them while we began to hire remaining staff. We did so by looking for people specifically for the Smash Bros. Brawl title.

Iwata
I think it’s quite unique to conduct hiring specifically for one game. After all, it’s clear when we say that "we are seeking help for this project," but then there was no guarantee of employment once the project was finished.

Sakurai
Even so, I think people who work together at these occasions tend to form the right connections and that, including myself, several of our staff will probably work with each other sometime in the future. The reason I myself became a freelancer is out of the limitation I felt from working endlessly with the same people on the same series.

Iwata
Also, special projects like this often give rise to a special level of trust, sometimes creating a deep and lasting camaraderie.

Sakurai
Right. I think it’s possible for good things to happen when you bring in outside staff or outsource some work. In fact, the staff members we pulled together for this project, including everyone from Game Arts, were all highly-skilled individuals.

Iwata
How many staff members did you end up having for this project?

Sakurai
Roughly 100 individuals. Of course, there would be even more if you count supervisors and contractors. Looking at all the staff that appears in the staff credits, it was about 700 people.

Iwata
So the number of people involved fulltime was roughly 100.

Sakurai
That’s right.

[Lunar Eclipse]

Yeah, I noticed that this morning. I'm hoping it means that we'll have something good to look forward to from GameArts just after Brawl development wraps up. ^.^;

[GhaleonOne]

Now that is interesting! I'll try and post a news story on the site later today about it. I think it's worthy of a mention.

[Nobiyuki77]

Mhm! I'm just glad to know they're still ALIVE! (and obviously quite capable!) I mean, I know it wasn't soley them and Nintendo supervised, but I'm incredibly impressed that MIYAMOTO recommended them!

Especially since their Nintendo history is virtually nil! The GBA game and the DS game and that's it!

Maybe those old GameCube Grandia remake stories had some truth to them...? o.O

[GhaleonOne]

Makes you wonder if Miyamoto has ever sat down and played Lunar before... still, it explains what GameArts has been up to. I know they supposedly had Grandia Online, but that still hasn't amounted to much.

[Nobiyuki77]

That'd be awesome.

More likely he's played Grandia though. Either way it's an awesome game they can add to their resume, which could help them secure some money for...

... dare I dream? A new, real Lunar sequel? A GOOD one? *dreams*

[Werefrog]

Alex confirmed as playable!

Not really but how cool would that be?

[GhaleonOne]

I know it probably sounds far-fetched, but what's the likelihood of perhaps a GameArts character (likely Grandia) or some GameArts related thing popping up as an unlockable in the game, considering their work on it? They haven't announced everything in the game yet have they? (I keep hearing Mega-Man's name for a possible secret character).

[Nobiyuki77]

Doubtful as playable I think, but if there were like, a Nall Assist Trophy or something I'd be super excited anyway! XD

Playable Alex would be wicked awesome though. ^^

[GhaleonOne]

Oh yeah, I know it's super far-fetched. I just think it'd be cool if there was a little GameArts easter egg in there somewhere. Playable character is wishful thinking, I know. I'd kill to use a Dragon Canon as Ghaleon in the game.

[LuciaOne]

GOD I KNOW RITE?!?!? I just had the best day ever from hearing that!! GAME ARTS I LOVE YOUUUUUUUU!!!!! This is gonna boost their studio sooo much!!

[GhaleonOne]

Wow, did hell freeze over? Alayna just posted!

[phyco126]

I was thinking the same thing actually. I mean, we *DID* get 3 inches of snow last night...

[Parn]

They may as well have Ryudo from Grandia II as the next secret character. His final smash would be Sky Dragon Slash, of course.

Alternatively, maybe we'll have bromides for all the characters that you have to find and collect. That'll be a little awkward.

[phyco126]

PARN!!!! Wow, if this keeps up, maybe Julie and Sarah will show up.

[LuciaOne]

All I have to say is =P
And also hell may have frozen over, as it is -9 degrees F here...