https://www.khinsider.com/news/Nomu...roperties-dealing-with-leaks-and-rumors-12569
On Kingdom Hearts:
On Sakaguchi's advice during Kingdom Hearts' inception:
On having announced Final Fantasy VII Remake too early, partially to get ahead of leaks/rumors:
Much more at the link.
On Kingdom Hearts:
Kingdom Hearts is a series that focuses on the conflict between light and darkness, of friendships and rivalries. But above all, it represents a journey into the hearts of the protagonists. How are the hearts of you and your team now that development has almost come to a close?
Nomura: We're steadily approaching the end of the development cycle, so I won't deny it's a very busy and stressful period personally speaking. Even with E3 going on right now, I'm still receiving requests to review elements of the game. There's never a quiet moment; regardless of what time it is, I'll have things from the team that needs to be checked and approved, messages to be answered, and numerous requests for feedback.
Now that we have announced the release date, we must absolutely hit that date and not delay the game any further. Everyone is giving their all and pushing themselves to the limit, not only because of the release date, but to also deliver an excellent game. With it being so late in development, I try to not give feedback that would require too many changes, because I'm convinced it would create more stress and anxiety in the team. I'm personally trying to remain as calm as possible.
On Sakaguchi's advice during Kingdom Hearts' inception:
Did you have any advice from Hironobu Sakaguchi at that time? What did you think about the project?
Nomura: When I started working on the first Kingdom Hearts, Sakaguchi gave me a little suggestion. He had asked me what kind of game I was going to create, and I told him that I wanted to make a simple adventure, at the end of which the protagonist would have defeated a witch. He told me it was not a good idea, and I needed to create a story that would appeal to fans of Final Fantasy, so there was no need to keep things so simple. That was the only warning he ever gave me, and he never gave me any feedback after the game was released. Before leaving, he simply told me: "I do not need to play your game because I know it will be done well and it will be fun. You do not need any suggestions from me."
Sakaguchi is considered the father of Final Fantasy, as the one who created the series. In our office, few people have met him and many who work on Final Fantasy have never worked with him. My generation is probably the last one to have worked directly with Sakaguchi. Maybe at the time I was not too nice, and I imagine that he may have seen me as someone that is difficult to work with. He has had many students, and among all I was "the strange one", but I think I was also the only one who inherited and continues to carry on his spirit of making games. But these days, we are no longer in touch and it will have been a few years since we last heard from each other.
On having announced Final Fantasy VII Remake too early, partially to get ahead of leaks/rumors:
Many publishers prefer to announce their projects when they have progressed quite far in development, but games like Kingdom Hearts 3 and the remake of Final Fantasy 7 have been revealed very early in advance, creating much anticipation from the fans. Would you have preferred waiting so as to not deal with the pressure and expectations from fans at such an early stage?
Nomura: Deciding when to announce your game to the public is always difficult. I understand why some companies wait as long as possible, and I definitely think it's a good thing for them. But in our case, we receive pressure from the fans even when we do not announce anything. They're always asking us "are you working on this?" or "why don't you make a sequel for that?". Even after the announcement, the situation does not change, because then they'll move onto asking us "when will it release?" or "when will you show a new trailer?".
People are waiting for new information regardless of whether the game has been announced or not. It's great when we manage to keep it secret for as long as possible, but these days, a lot of important projects become victims of rumors and leaks. Honestly, I prefer that we officially reveal one of our games instead of seeing a leak or a rumor circulating online. Especially when part of the development is outsourced to other companies, there is always the risk that people outside the in-house team will spread information and images online. It is even worse when, during the development, a fake rumor sprouts that people start to believe, and it becomes necessary to decide whether to answer and deny.
The same thing happened with the remake of Final Fantasy 7. I am well aware of the fact that we announced it too early, but even in the industry, word was beginning to spread that we were working on the game, so we just decided not to keep it more secret and officially reveal it.
Much more at the link.
