[BlueFire]

GS: What kind of expectations did you have for Animal Crossing since it was such a different game? Also, in terms of a sequel for Animal Crossing, how do you improve on a game like that?

SM: I really didn’t know at all whether or not the game would be a hit, but I really did think that for the style of gameplay that it offers, it definitely has a place in life and it’s a game that’s suited for everyday life. I came to this conclusion watching my kids play Zelda games with their mother, specifically Majora’s Mask. They would try to help her through it and urge her on, and they would sit there and play for hours on end. My wife complained about the fact that you would have to play for such long periods of time to get anywhere in the game. So the thing I like about Animal Crossing is that it’s a style of game that if you want to play it for a long period of time you can, but at the same time, you can also play it for a few minutes per day.

There are also a lot of families that want to play videogames but they find them too difficult to play. One thing that we’re doing in terms of a sequel is bringing the connectivity features of the North American version to Japan, which didn’t have them originally. I think that expanding on that connectivity and the non-network network style of gaming is one way to expand on the game. That doesn’t mean that it’s going to an online Animal Crossing game, but it will be the Animal Crossing experience with a network style application to it. It will be very difficult.

http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories...1878-3,00.html