For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
Legendary Shadow of the Colossus and Katamari Damacy creators think Roblox's popularity is proof we're past the point where graphics really matter to players
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Join the club
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Fumito Ueda (the hugely influential developer behind Ico and Shadow of the Colossus) and Keita Takahashi (the similarly iconic creator of Katamari Damacy) recently sat down to chat about the state of games as they are right now, and both icons agree: graphics don't matter half as much as they used to.
In an interview with Denfaminicogamer, reposted in English on Reddit and translated using Google and DeepL, the legendary duo noted that most players no longer seem to care as much about glossy graphics. Takahashi specifically pointed to Roblox's popularity with kids who don't seem to mind its blocky, lo-fi aesthetics, while Ueda thinks that, in general, we're past the era where individually rendered blades of grass were a selling point to gamers.
Ueda also went into detail about how developers of their generation came up in an era where game tech was always evolving - bigger sprites to 3D to HD - but things have kind of plateaued since then. Developers now need to focus on wowing players in other ways, Ueda went on, and put resources into the actual heart of the game.
Article continues below
The AAA industry's hyper-fixation on 'photorealistic' graphics has created a significant challenge, with games like The Last of Us Part 2 costing $220 million to produce and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 costing an unsustainable $300 million. So, yes, spend more resources making something interesting rather than rendering every individual pore on a character's face, please.
Fumito Ueda is now working on a still untitled game that debuted at last year's TGAs, which looks to have giant mechs and an epic scale that's not too dissimilar to his previous work. Meanwhile, Keita Takahashi just released the adorably quirky To a T about a teenager permanently stuck in a T-pose, hence the name. (It's one of the most overlooked games of the year and it's on Game Pass, so you have no excuse!)
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Join The Community
