Shinji Mikami, producer of Resident Evil and Devil May Cry, strongly criticized Sony and Square in a recent radio interview in Japan.
Mikami accused Sony of purposely designing their consoles to break easily so that gamers will have to buy a replacement. He also said that Sony's high sales figures are helped by the fact that many gamers, himself included, have had to buy a second PlayStation and PlayStation 2.
From there, Mikami went on to accuse Sony of doing the same thing with their line of PCs, Walkmans, and cell phones. He asked why no one has complained about this and said that it was almost like cheating and committing a crime. The radio DJ tried to interrupt Mikami and shift the conversation to another topic, but when Mikami was asked if he thought Sony's customers are foolish, he replied, "Yes."
Next, Mikami said that Kingdom Hearts' strong sales are due to "aura purchase," meaning that customers are buying the game because their friends have bought it or like it, regardless of whether they like the game themselves. He said that Kingdom Hearts does not deserve its 780,000 sales or 6800 yen price tag.
Finally, he apologized to Square, saying he is upset that Kingdom Hearts has sold more copies than Biohazard for the Gamecube. He said that Biohazard is the better game, but Kingdom Hearts is not a bad game either.
Neither Square nor Sony has made any comments regarding Mikami's statements.
