Yomiuri Shimbun (October 2012)
Interview Archive
An excerpt of an interview with Hiroshi Matsuyama discussing the development of All-Star Battle. It was conducted by Gematsu at New York Comic Con.[1]
Interview
— How many characters are you planning to include in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure?
Matsuyama: We can’t say how many characters are being created right now, but there are eight characters who’ve been revealed up to this point, but we will continue to reveal more characters, so please stay tuned!
— I know the Naruto games have a rather large roster. In comparison, are you aiming for a large, medium, or small selection?
Matsuyama: I would love to have as many characters as Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. But I’ve been working on the Naruto games for over ten years, as opposed to JoJo, which is the first title. So it’s not really feasible to put that many characters in. But as the first JoJo title, I think it’s a lot.
— Recently, a trademark for “All Star Battle” appeared in the U.S. trademark database, which, as you know, is the subtitle for your upcoming JoJo game. Given that, does Namco Bandai have plans to localize the game?
Matsuyama: Right now, we are looking into a North American and European release. But we’re still investigating.
(in excitement) Do you know JoJo?
Interviewer: Honestly, not very much. (sad face)
Matsuyama: Ah. Did you see the trailer released in Japan?
Interviewer: Yes, it looks pretty nutty!
Matsuyama: But you don’t know much about the JoJo series?
Interviewer: Right! But it would be nice to play the game and learn about it…
Matsuyama: (Laughs.) Thank you very much!
— You’ve worked on Naruto and you’ve worked on JoJo. What anime would you like to work on that you haven’t already?
Matsuyama: I’m not really thinking about any other series right now. I’m fully concentrated on Naruto and JoJo.