Hidetaka Miyazaki is a legendary video game director and the President of FromSoftware. This studio is known for developing titles that take the player on a challenging but memorable adventure. The video game director worked on almost the entire Soulsborne title lineup and helped create some of the best games that the industry has seen.
But there is one thing that sets him apart. Despite having the chance to remain in his comfort zone and keep creating sequels and capitalize on the success of his previous titles, the game director chose to explore new avenues to develop new IPs instead.
Hidetaka Miyazaki’s interview after Dark Souls 3 gives insights into how the game director thinks
Dark Souls 3 came out in 2016, a year after the PlayStation 4 exclusive. Bloodborne became a phenomenon among PlayStation 4 gamers during an event hosted in Japan by Bandai Namco, DualShockers. During the interview, the game director shared his thoughts on many subjects, including his mindset with creating new games. One of the most prominent and noteworthy questions that stood out was about the future of the Souls series.
The game director said he would like to conclude the series with the third entry. He was then asked if it was because various video game companies in Japan tend to stick to a franchise if it is successful, and he wanted to do things differently.
To which the game director replied :
I’m not sure about other publishers or developers, but at least From Software believes that all the things that we have learned in past titles can be best reflected in future titles only by working on new franchises and new series.
While some video game companies find a formula that works, they can keep reapplying with minimal tweaks to retain their target audience and a portion of their sales. FromSoftware has proven that going the other way works if the product is worth playing.
The impact Hidetaka Miyazaki’s approach had on the works of the studio
The statement above was recorded in 2016, and since then, the company has developed various new IPs. This includes titles like Sekiro and Elden Ring. The only thing common between all titles from the studio is the difficulty level, and that, too, is so barebones and general that endless innovation is possible on top of it.
Without Miyazaki-san’s leadership, imagining how the studio would have approached its following projects is challenging. That is because most of the industry’s studios don’t function like FromSoftware.
The reason is simple: fundamentally, creating a sequel is less risky and requires less work than building a new IP from scratch. But that said, it is what leads to innovation in the industry. What do you think is the best IP from FromSoftware? Let us know in the comment section below.
