Arc System Works Technos Japan Revival & Plans to Release More “Full Price” Console Games
Arc System Works are perhaps best known for their seminal 2D fighter series Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. Neither franchise is really being neglected lately, with end of 2014’s Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- receiving a follow-up in -REVELATOR-, BlazBlue Central Fiction‘s announcement, and finally having the issue of BlazBlue Chronophantasma Extend‘s European release addressed.
On top of these they’re frequently putting out smaller, indie-feeling releases — Fantasy Hero, Magical Beat, etc. — and also making great fighting games based on other companies’ IPs, such as Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden. But company president Minoru Kidooka wants to go further, he said in a recent interview with Famitsu.
The main focus for Arc System Works seems to be on their two flagship fighting game series, but even though they’ve been working on a lot of games lately Kidooka doesn’t feel their main titles have faced any adverse effects or large delays, saying that “the staff always goes all out with their best effort in order to prevent main titles from getting postponed”.
Instead, Kidooka feels they should be aiming to release more fully-fledged console games in the year, to avoid “unevenness” he currently sees in their release schedule.
“As a company, I believe that we must constantly release titles that can be sold at full price. Whether it be physical or digital, at the least, I’d like to increase the number of console game development of titles that can be sold at a full price. […] I don’t mean to simply increase the number of titles altogether, but rather, to thoroughly put in more effort for each title, and being able to increase the number of games that can [justifiably] be sold at a full price.
It’s perhaps easier said than done, but one thing for sure is that Arc System Works is far from growing complacent with their growing success. They don’t just put out samey release after samey release, but instead are constantly innovating and revitalising the 2D fighter genre across their franchise. Persona 4 Arena, BlazBlue, and Guilty Gear, are all four of the best 2D fighters out there, by the same developer, but have completely different feels if you spend more than ten minutes with the game.
And if Kidooka wants even more, then we’re definitely on board. Considering the Famitsu interview also goes on to vaguely discuss Arc System Works’ plans around their recent acquisition of the Technos Japan’s IPs, best known for Double Dragon, we might have some clues as to what expansion to Arc System Works’ release schedule could entail — though nothing definitive has been said about it yet.
