In an interview with Tez Okano, director of Thunder Force VI (PS2), the Sega creator said he hopes to work on new sequels to the Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone series.
To quote: “Well, there are two dormant Sega licenses which I would love to work on, Space Harrier 4D and Fantasy Zone 3. …I’d really like to work on Space Harrier. This is a unique game in Sega’s history that projected us into some incredible worlds and experiences. But the success of Thunder Force VI is the key to any future projects.”
When asked why arcade shooters are struggling so much nowadays and selling so little, Mr. Okano replied: “The reason is very simple, and similar to the situation with fighting games. They became too maniac. There is no way you can enjoy those games as they are done today. I see people ready to buy Rhythm Tengoku Gold on DS but very few that would go for Dodonpachi. We are very far from the time people wouldn’t hesitate to buy something like Star Fox and enjoy it: most developers who used to make arcade shooters strangled themselves gradually by going too complicated, becoming too maniac oriented. Many people enjoyed Street Fighter II but less and less enjoyed Street Fighter Alpha or Street Fighter III.”
He suspects titles like the scrolling shooter Thunder Force VI might be released outside of Japan via download distribution (on Xbox 360).
Read the full interview on Edge.