Kingdom Hearts Director: PS4 is "Too Much"

[Cognimancer]

Kingdom Hearts Director: PS4 is "Too Much"

Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura is a little intimidated by the power of the PS4.

Gamers will be able to get their hands on Sony's PS4 in just under a month, but developers have already had plenty of time to work with the new hardware. They're generally been saying good things, but Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura has one interesting complaint - he says the power of the PS4 is more than he knows what to do with. When an interviewer asked him what he thought of the console, he laughed, "I thought 'That's too much!'"

Nomura's problem is that with next-gen power come next-gen expectations. Now that there are more possibilities than ever, the team has that much higher of a bar to reach. And with fewer technical restrictions, it could be more difficult to decide which features to put in the game and which ones to cut.

Still, Nomura is happy about the system's improvements over last generation. In particular, he mentioned that the PS4's 8 GB of RAM will be great for making the game world a seamless environment. With more data kept in memory and less stopping to load, gameplay will be more fluid than in previous installments.

The more out-there features of the PS4, like the DualShock 4 touchpad or PS Vita connectivity, are on Nomura's mind but he isn't ready to talk specifics just yet. Kingdom Hearts III doesn't have a release date as of yet, so he still has plenty of time to mess around with these next-gen toys.

Source: DualShockers [http://www.dualshockers.com/2013/10/16/tetsuya-nomura-thinks-that-the-ps4-is-too-much-praises-high-ram-and-talks-dualshock-4/]

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[Dr.Awkward]

But Square Enix, you're a special case - In your case, it's not the expectations of the PS4 that needs to be met, it's that we expect you to remember how to make a good game without having to revisit it or make sequels that try to save the original premise.

 

[JediMB]

Protip for Nomura:

Just make the games you want to make. We don't need more bloated game budgets. If you just make good games, your fans will buy your Final Fantasies, Dragon Quests and Kingdom Hearts...es, no matter how much or little processing power and memory they're using.

 

[Voulan]

So, I kept waiting patiently and watched as handheld title after handheld title got released. Years upon years I couldn't play Kingdom Hearts, mostly because I couldn't get the handheld games and my PS2 is on the fritz. But, I waited. It's bound to come, right? IT'S BOUND TO CO- Ah, on the PS4. A console I can't afford. GOOD.

While I can't say for sure, Tetsuya Nomura has stated that he wants KH3 to also be available for the PS3. And since he's also stated to have said that he wanted yearly KH releases, and with KH 2.5 coming out next year, we can potentially see KH3 come out in 2015 - early enough into the new generation that we can still get games for the last generation.

At least that's what I tell myself so I can sleep at night.

 

[Fox12]

Nomura on Ps3: It's taking me a decade to make one game because the system isn't strong enough for me to make the game I want to make. It can't support Versus 13 as is.

Nomura on PS4: It's got too much power, I don't know what to do with it. Now the expectations are too high.

Mr. Nomura, it's not Sony's fault that expectations are too high for you decade long super game... I like your former stuff, but seriously, pull yourself together and finish a project for once.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I think this is a mindset that developers need to get out if they ever want to start turning a profit again. Simply because you have access to a large pool of resources, doesn't mean your game has to make full use of every single one, pushed to the extreme graphically.
I mean, I am a PC gamer and no computer game has ever come anywhere close to pushing what my PC can do. Do I rage about it? Not even a little bit. Hell, I LIKE playing sprite based games and such. I'll take solid gameplay, aesthetics, and music, etc, over graphics any day.

 

[oldtaku]

Even spikier next gen hair, obviously.

 

[Yuuki]

Since PS4 harddrive is freely swappable, I'm thinking it's best to throw an SSD inside and let the operating system (plus most frequently-played games) install onto it. It will really FLY if that is possible, removing one of my biggest gripes with consoles - loading times!

I think most console players have become so used to sitting idly through 30-60sec loading screens that they don't even notice it anymore, which is sad because during the cartridge/cassette era loading times were almost non-existent.

 

[J Tyran]

I am indifferent to JRPGs but I would say they should ignore the power of the PS4, they should make the game they want to make without worrying about testing the limits of the PS4. Keep it simple and concentrate on making a good game and include some features like PS Vita crossplay, the Vita has a solid and growing JRPG playerbase. I would guess features like being able to play the game on the Vita when mobile and then pick it up on their PS4 as seamlessly as possible, indie games do this already with the PS3 and its great. Having a feature like that for larger RPGs would be pretty cool, it would be better with the PS4 as its designed for streaming and always on etc so it is able to detect the proximity of the switched on Vita and update the player save games. If the player left the JRPG active in the PS4s standby mode they could just turn on the TV and grab the controller and carry on playing.

Since PS4 harddrive is freely swappable, I'm thinking it's best to throw an SSD inside and let the operating system (plus most frequently-played games) install onto it. It will really FLY if that is possible, removing one of my biggest gripes with consoles - loading times!

Personally I dont think its worth the expense of getting a SSD of a useful size for a PS4, installed games are going to be huge and the HDD the PS4s ship with is barely sufficient in the first place at 500GB and a smaller drive will just be a headache in my opinion. Get a top end HDD from Western Digital or Seagate instead, they have some nice 2.5" drives with high capacity and high performance. That should leave you with higher performance thats noticeable and far less uninstalling, reinstalling and shuffling backups around, if you still want to splurge some cash for not much gain get a 2.5" 10,000RPM and 600GB Velociraptor instead. Extra storage space and more than fast enough.

I am contemplating getting a new HDD for the PS4 before I even set it up though, 500GB just isn't enough for me as I buy digital downloads mostly and I get games from PS+ too. I might as well change the drive immediately and save myself he hassle of doing it when the drive fills up.

 

[BrotherRool]

I think this is a mindset that developers need to get out if they ever want to start turning a profit again. Simply because you have access to a large pool of resources, doesn't mean your game has to make full use of every single one, pushed to the extreme graphically.
I mean, I am a PC gamer and no computer game has ever come anywhere close to pushing what my PC can do. Do I rage about it? Not even a little bit. Hell, I LIKE playing sprite based games and such. I'll take solid gameplay, aesthetics, and music, etc, over graphics any day.

This so much, hopefully we reaching a point where it genuinely doesn't make a difference. And in that case extra resources should just make things easy, because you can chuck things into the RAM without having to fiddle to make the most of space

Since PS4 harddrive is freely swappable, I'm thinking it's best to throw an SSD inside and let the operating system (plus most frequently-played games) install onto it.
It will really FLY if that is possible, removing one of my biggest gripes with consoles vs PC's which are loading times!
I think most console players have just become so used to 45-90sec loading times that they don't even notice it.

I thought loading times had been basically eliminated this gen.

Games like Uncharted 2, Killzone 3, Resistance 2, God of War 3 didn't have any loading screens at all. And (with the exception of games like Mass Effect) the games that had them generally had them pretty small, nothing as bad as Burnout 3 on the PS2.

Whereas I tend to play older PC games and on a laptop, so for me stuff like KotoR still seems pretty packed with loading

 

[The_Echo]

While I can't say for sure, Tetsuya Nomura has stated that he wants KH3 to also be available for the PS3.

I've never heard that.

If that were the case, it would have been announced by now anyway. But there is a one-game-per-year release philosophy. So... maybe if it doesn't show for 2015, I could finally get that fighter I've always wanted.

but seriously, pull yourself together and finish a project for once.

There's... there's been a KH title released once a year since 2007.

Also everyone's expectations for KHIII were until E3 nothing but conjecture. Up until that point, there was no confirmation that there even would be a Kingdom Hearts III.

I think this is a mindset that developers need to get out if they ever want to start turning a profit again. Simply because you have access to a large pool of resources, doesn't mean your game has to make full use of every single one, pushed to the extreme graphically.

No no no, he's not talking about graphics specifically here. While the Kingdom Shader is definitely something he's putting a lot of work into, that's not all that's being done here. In the full interview, he mentions how he's ramping up the party and enemy AI. Each Heartless will think for itself rather than follow a pattern. Donald and Goofy will act more accordingly to their established characters, and assess the battle situation better. He's changing Sora's mobility and designing the worlds to reflect this.

He's not just trying to make it look good.

 

[Skrimmy]

I hope whatever he does doesn't detract from the gameplay and story that made 1 & 2 so good. I'd like to see a very detailed gummi ship customization system myself.

 

[Arawn]

Didn't another game developer say the same thing? More power means more money and work for the company. As before I'm confused, but I'm guessing they're used to the previous build and are outside of their comfort zones. Which is good. That means we might see some innovation since they're not relying on their older skills. Change or die.

 

[Fox12]

Nomura on Ps3: It's taking me a decade to make one game because the system isn't strong enough for me to make the game I want to make. It can't support Versus 13 as is.

Nomura on PS4: It's got too much power, I don't know what to do with it. Now the expectations are too high.

Mr. Nomura, it's not Sony's fault that expectations are too high for you decade long super game... I like your former stuff, but seriously, pull yourself together and finish a project for once.

"finish a project for once."? What? He just finished a project and it was released last month. A year ago Dream Drop Distance also released. There was another Kingdom Hearts game a year before that as well!

Nomura is too spread out, and in a way, this symbolizes everything wrong with Square right now. Too many minor spinoffs and not nearly enough major console releases. Many fans wanted Kingdom Hearts 3 to be released, but eight years later they haven't even STARTED making the game. All we've seen was the tech demo. Why the wait? Oh yeah, because the team that makes KH is busy making Final Fantasy Versus 13... a game that was announced when the PS3 was released, and is still in development. Since then THREE ff13 games have been released, all failing to meet Squares expectations. He's since worked on multiple hand held titles, none of which meet his normal quality, while his two biggest projects, KH3 and FF Versus, sit in developmental hell. If he focused on one major project at a time this wouldn't be the confusing mess it is.

Now, most of this I blame on the former president, since I have to assume he was probably responsible for much of the confusion. I don't remember Nomura having this problem before. The Kingdom Hearts spin-offs are decent appetizers, but the fans are ready for some meat.

 

[Keiichi Morisato]

Nomura on Ps3: It's taking me a decade to make one game because the system isn't strong enough for me to make the game I want to make. It can't support Versus 13 as is.

Nomura on PS4: It's got too much power, I don't know what to do with it. Now the expectations are too high.

Mr. Nomura, it's not Sony's fault that expectations are too high for you decade long super game... I like your former stuff, but seriously, pull yourself together and finish a project for once.

"finish a project for once."? What? He just finished a project and it was released last month. A year ago Dream Drop Distance also released. There was another Kingdom Hearts game a year before that as well!

Nomura is too spread out, and in a way, this symbolizes everything wrong with Square right now. Too many minor spinoffs and not nearly enough major console releases. Many fans wanted Kingdom Hearts 3 to be released, but eight years later they haven't even STARTED making the game. All we've seen was the tech demo. Why the wait? Oh yeah, because the team that makes KH is busy making Final Fantasy Versus 13... a game that was announced when the PS3 was released, and is still in development. Since then THREE ff13 games have been released, all failing to meet Squares expectations. He's since worked on multiple hand held titles, none of which meet his normal quality, while his two biggest projects, KH3 and FF Versus, sit in developmental hell. If he focused on one major project at a time this wouldn't be the confusing mess it is.

Now, most of this I blame on the former president, since I have to assume he was probably responsible for much of the confusion. I don't remember Nomura having this problem before. The Kingdom Hearts spin-offs are decent appetizers, but the fans are ready for some meat.

you should have played the handheld titles... because they are fantastic, and they continue the story, KH II should have been KH IV.

 

[Fox12]

Nomura on Ps3: It's taking me a decade to make one game because the system isn't strong enough for me to make the game I want to make. It can't support Versus 13 as is.

Nomura on PS4: It's got too much power, I don't know what to do with it. Now the expectations are too high.

Mr. Nomura, it's not Sony's fault that expectations are too high for you decade long super game... I like your former stuff, but seriously, pull yourself together and finish a project for once.

"finish a project for once."? What? He just finished a project and it was released last month. A year ago Dream Drop Distance also released. There was another Kingdom Hearts game a year before that as well!

Nomura is too spread out, and in a way, this symbolizes everything wrong with Square right now. Too many minor spinoffs and not nearly enough major console releases. Many fans wanted Kingdom Hearts 3 to be released, but eight years later they haven't even STARTED making the game. All we've seen was the tech demo. Why the wait? Oh yeah, because the team that makes KH is busy making Final Fantasy Versus 13... a game that was announced when the PS3 was released, and is still in development. Since then THREE ff13 games have been released, all failing to meet Squares expectations. He's since worked on multiple hand held titles, none of which meet his normal quality, while his two biggest projects, KH3 and FF Versus, sit in developmental hell. If he focused on one major project at a time this wouldn't be the confusing mess it is.

Now, most of this I blame on the former president, since I have to assume he was probably responsible for much of the confusion. I don't remember Nomura having this problem before. The Kingdom Hearts spin-offs are decent appetizers, but the fans are ready for some meat.

you should have played the handheld titles... because they are fantastic, and they continue the story, KH II should have been KH IV.

I did play the handheld titles. They were good. Not anywhere near as good as the numbered titles, but good. I still think he would be better putting effort into a single great game than a half dozen smaller projects.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Dear Squeenix,
Just because you have more options doesn't mean you HAVE to shoehorn them all in. The game itself is solid at the core, so the peripheral features just need some tweaking but PLEASE don't add in crap just because you can. I want a solid KH3 not a soggy turd painted with shiny textures.