At the end of October, Bethesda Softworks and id Software parent company ZeniMax Media purchased Tango Gameworks and hired Japanese development veteran Shinji Mikami to oversee new projects within the studio. It was certainly surprising to see the man behind the Resident Evil series join a Western game company, but Mikami couldn't be more excited about it.
Speaking with Famitsu (as translated by 1UP), Mikami explained the advantages of joining Bethesda. "I had been looking for a new business partner before all this, so I contacted ten or so companies during E3, both Japanese and elsewhere," he said. "Bethesda was the best match among them because they gave us the most independent development environment to work with as we pursue our goal of producing Japanese games that work worldwide -- that, and their track record when it comes to overseas sales."
As for why he wanted a buyer for Tango Gameworks rather than just a development partnership, he stated, "We didn't want to have to live hand-to-mouth as a studio. If we did that, we'd have to take on work we weren't interested in just to pay the bills. That would then force us to expand our staff, and before you know it, we'd be thinking 'This isn't how we meant it to go.' I gathered the people around me now in order to create the best worldwide-market-driven development studio possible -- the independence of that studio is secondary to that goal. I decided that we'd all be happier if we could take this shortcut to creating the great games we want to create."
Mikami also has been very impressed with the creative spirit held by Bethesda; they don't let deadlines for ship dates dictate their games business. "Playing their stuff, you can really tell that they're willing to take whatever time is needed to make great games," Mikami commented. "It shows that their management and financial strength is such that they're able to let that process happen. That was my first impression, and it was a positive one. Development costs are important, of course, but there's always a risk you have to accept when you're trying to make something good and also sellable. Hedging your risks and concentrating strictly on the known factors is one thing, but seeing a company continually try to push the envelope really fits what we're trying to do."
Interestingly, Mikami could be just the first in a wave of Japanese talent joining Bethesda if the Fallout publisher gets its way. Tetsu Takahashi, general manager of Bethesda's Asian operations, noted, "From our perspective, if we can gather the most talented developers in Japan under Mikami and support them on our way to making the best game studio Japan has to offer, then that would be perfect."
