Cubed3 : First of all, could you please tell our readers a little about your role on this project?
Mr. Kohei Shibata, Producer of the Pangya series: I am the producer of the project.
C3 : How large was the team and how long was the game in development for?
KS: A little less than 30 staff members, roughly. It took us around a year to develop it.
C3 : Have you been pleased with how successful Super Swing Golf has been over in Japan and the US so far?
KS: Yes. I believe it meant something to create the first full-scale golf game played by swinging the controller on Wii hardware.
C3 : And will you be aiming to release the Wii game over in Europe? If so, do you expect it to be received as well as in other territories?
KS: We will release it in Europe soon. It's a very attractive title because it contains fantasy views and real golf-play. I hope it will be successful as it is in Japan and North America. [ Note: These questions were submitted before Nintendo announced its intentions to release the game here in Europe ]
C3 : Can you please talk us through what you think makes Super Swing Golf a better game than the competition?
KS: Firstly, I totally focused on the swinging operation to make you feel as though you were actually playing the real golf. It might take a while to get used to it, like real sports, but once you get the hang of it, you'll get a great feeling that you'll never get in any other button operated games - by making wonderful shots!
Secondly, it's full of fantasy courses and ones to conquer. You can play in unrealistic courses such as a beautiful tropical island, snowy mountain, desert, castle and warship, but also each of them tempts you to play over and over again. Moreover, you'll enjoy our unique characters with a range of alternative costumes.
C3 : Were there any problems implementing the new control system?
KS: The hardest thing was to create a system that registers the highest point when you swing the controller, as you would do in real golf. At an early stage, the game registered a 'wonderful shot' just by sitting and swinging the controller up and down. That was pretty poor...
C3 : What opportunities are there for multiplayer gaming?
KS: Although you can have fun with the normal Scroll and Match play modes, which up to 4 people can actually play together in, Balloon Pop, a kind of party game, is also exciting.
You pop huge balloons in a course one after the other. It's got aspects like blowing wind at the player when you are waiting for your turn or writing graffiti on his swing meter to distract him, as well as dynamic explosions that are like colourful fireworks.
We've made an exciting game in order to change your general opinion of the game of golf (i.e. that you have to wait till the other players finish) by allowing all players to use their tactics at the same time during play.
C3 : The original PC version is well-known for its online aspect. What was the reason behind leaving this out of the Wii version?
KS: I dared to challenge the stand-alone game and came up with the original idea because I wanted both those who have played the online version before and who haven't to enjoy it thoroughly. Compared to the PC version, which you can play against loads of unknown users, you can enjoy playing golf even by yourself, with your family and friends as well in this new version.
C3 : Will we see another Super Swing Golf on Wii in the future? And if so, would you been keen to implement online functionality or even updates via the WiiConnect24 service?
KS: From my point of view, I'd love to develop it. Since WiiConnect24 is such an interesting system, I'd figure out the possibility of using it after I consider the direction and content of the sequel. [ Since this interview took place, a sequel has now been confirmed ]
C3 : What are your thoughts about the Wii in general after having worked with it