Sakaguchi outlines Xbox 2 RPGs

Hironobu Sakaguchi has revealed a few details about the two RPGs that his development studio Mistwalker has signed on to produce for Xbox 2.

Speaking in an interview on Microsoft's Japanese Xbox website, Sakaguchi-san said that "One of the games will be realistic" with "stylish graphics" while "The other game will feature cute characters, and I hope it'll be an RPG that will raise people's spirits." He said his role on both would be as producer and scenario-writer.

The first title "will let you enjoy a sensation like walking through a spectacular movie, which is what I've always been aiming for," the veteran developer said. "The story isn't about growing up, as with many RPGs. The main character is more the type that knows everything. I want to express how even that kind of a philosophical person would laugh at something simple in life or would cry from an everyday occurrence." The second, meanwhile, "will feature a main character that keeps on going forward, without ever giving up, no matter what kind of hardship presents itself."

"The two games will have very different atmospheres," he added. "I'm planning to step away from the standard RPG storyline and create a tale that features laughter and crying--scenes that haven't ever been seen before. I want to make games with in-depth interactivity that will leave [gamers] with a sense of exhilaration after they've played them."

Microsoft Game Studios, which will publish both titles, has yet to name either of them or comment on when we can expect to see them released. Xbox 2 is widely tipped to launch before the end of 2005.

Commenting further on his decision to ally Mistwalker with Microsoft's next-generation gaming platform, the former Squaresoft man said, "I wanted to work, to do everything that I've imagined in a world without any limits," but admitted that he was also drawn to the fold by his prior relationships with Yoshihiro Maruyama, head of Xbox Japan, and Hiroshi Kawai, head of R&D for Microsoft Game Studios in Japan.