The CEO of Professor Layton's developer has expressed interest in making "erotic" and "violent" games one day, and I'm afraid of what that means.
In an interview with Denfaminicogamer (translated via Automaton), Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino discussed his future ambitions for the company, revealing that one of the reasons he decided to establish his own company in the first place was because he didn't want to meet the demands of a superior: "I didn’t want to be told what to make by superiors, I wanted to make what I want, especially the kind of RPGs I love."
This is a joint interview with fellow developer and Grasshopper Manufacturer founder Goichi Suda, who is mostly known for his work on series like Fatal Frame, Lollipop Chainsaw, and No More Heroes - quite the difference from Level-5's Professor Layton, Yo-kai Watch, and Fantasy Life games. "Creators who can release such edgy titles into the world are amazing," Hino says, referring to Suda.
This is when Hino reveals his plans to create edgier content. "If I were to put it in extreme terms, I would go as far as to say that I want to make things like erotic games and 18+ games with violence," the CEO says. It isn't as easy as just making a dark game though, as Level-5's leader, Hino has a responsibility to continue the series the company is known for and develop new IPs with collaborators.
From here, Suda asks Hino if he has any ideas for this kind of content currently, to which the Level-5 boss says: "I do, there’s an 'abnormal world' inside of me, but I’m trying not to go there, only making things from the righteous part of my mind instead. However, deep down, I really want to visit that abnormal world."
This may not be a possibility right now, but Hino hasn't completely thrown away the idea yet. "I want to go [to] that dark, abnormal world, and I think I will definitely end up doing so. Once I feel that Level-5 is stable, and I have the room to make what I want…I will do it," the developer reveals with a laugh.
Until then, we've got Professor Layton and the New World of Steam to look forward to, although we will be waiting a little while as it's not due to release until 2025. Before that, we've got Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, which is set to release later this year, and looks like the RPG take on Animal Crossing: New Horizons that fans have been waiting for.
Find out what else is on the way this year with our new games 2024 list.
