We interview Tomoko Hiroki, producer of the Arc System Works title in Bandai Namco, who visits Madrid on the occasion of DBFZ SAGA.
The Callao Cinemas have been this weekend the venue chosen in Madrid to host one of the most important events of the professional circuit of fighting games with the Red Bull Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour SAGA. Already from the vicinity of the enclosure the dry heat of the capital showed among the attendees the desire to make this authentic show where only one will win. The game's producer, Tomoko Hiroki, has not wanted to miss the appointment and has not hesitated to catch a Madrid-Barajas destination plane to witness a film event. FreeGameTips has chatted with her.
Red Bull Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour SAGA, world capital of fighting game
“It is the second year that we made the tournament. The evolution that he has experienced (Dragon Ball FighterZ) this year 2019 is a bit different from how it was last year, ”he begins. The game, which until last March already exceeded 4 million copies on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch, faced the most difficult stage for any two-dimensional fight title with competitive aspirations: its second year. After a spectacular debut – also in the literal sense of the word -, the faithful work of Arc System Works to the original Akira Toriyama material tried again in 2019 to make a perennial place in the fighting game scene, EVO 2019 included.
Tomoko Hiroki, producer of Dragon Ball FighterZ | Cinemas Callao, Madrid, Spain
But the circuit organized by Red Bull has not wanted to be less and has shown in Madrid that realization, production and entertainment can be synonymous with audiovisual quality, at the height of the best championships of the season, as recognized by the famous Japanese player Goichi " GO1 "Kishida to this house just before the final rounds begin.
"The European community has achieved this year 2019 to be at the same height as the American and Japanese thanks to the effort of Red Bull and the level of the players," he adds. The satisfaction is total in Bandai Namco because, as the producer acknowledges, they did not expect this warm welcome. It is not the largest or the largest community; not the most endorsed by the big brands, but one of the most dedicated and media.
Watch live video of RedBullES at www.twitch.tv
But how has Dragon Ball FighterZ managed to get here? Many thought that in a matter of a year the game would disappear from the scene, that it would be a fleeting phenomenon. Time has ended giving the reason to those who thought otherwise. “The truth is that for this production we made a series of different adjustments to other fighting titles because, considering the format and the characters, it is much more popular than other games. We wanted it to be more accessible and closer in the playable. With this, through Dragon Ball FighterZ we wanted to try to encourage other players to know how good it is, how fun it is and how interesting these types of games are, ”he assumes.
The commercial strategy was clear with FigherZ: send a message to all fans of the series and to those who timidly approached a fighting game. Because mixing both formulas is possible without resorting to excessive initial complexity, all without sacrificing depth.
“Not only do we try to offer a very serious show for those players who face a fighting game, but it was also a more affordable entertainment game for the rest of the players. I think the players have understood perfectly. ” And so the brands have been encouraged to give it a chance to make possible tournaments such as the Red Bull Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour SAGA.
Preparations for the grand finale of the Red Bull Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour SAGA in Cinemas Callao
“It has exceeded our sales expectations”
“At first we did not expect to have this success. It was our first fighting game with Dragon Ball and, in effect, it has exceeded all our sales expectations. I think that today there are many players who have dared to buy it or to participate in these types of events, ”he says. In fact, it is one of the most successful fighting genre works of the present generation of consoles, matching the commercial performance of the scene's titans like Tekken 7, which has also shipped 4 million units globally.
"One of the keys to success has been knowing how to differentiate the public from other Dragon Ball games such as Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 from the proposal that Dragon Ball FighterZ offers." Dimps's title has little to do with what is playable with this other Arc System Works proposal, but the fear was there. What if they were cannibalized? Again, time has shown that both products have lived together and grow over time despite the circumstances; Each following their own path. "That is the real success, having known how to focus both titles to completely different audiences." Two ways to interpret the show in a Dragon Ball game.
Red Bull Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour SAGA
They don't think of a sequel … for now
Leaving aside the present, where it has become clear that Tomoko Hiroki's team is really satisfied, the future is another element that does not go unnoticed in the Bandai Namco roadmap. That fans think of an eventual sequel is inevitable given the success in sales of Dragon Ball FighterZ, but today Bandai Namco has a closer perspective to “keep maximizing” the title through DLC and content that keep the game alive .
“The truth is that, right now, we want to continue developing the game we have in our hands. Like other games of Bandia Namco, the road passes not so much to develop a sequel as to city and make the community that supports the title grow, ”he says. Because breaking the community can be worse in the long run. Therefore, a hypothetical "Dragon Ball FighterZ 2" may continue to wait.
Who has yet to wait a year, just a year, is the next generation of consoles, with names confirmed as PlayStation 5 and what we know under the tentative name of Xbox Project Scarlett. There are many companies that already have an eye on these systems; either with new works or with adaptations as an improved port where to continue cultivating those communities with the same title.
Whether or not it is the case of Dragon Ball FighterZ is something they do not dare to venture at the moment, not so much because they do not want to but because, as Hiroki confirms, it is still too early to think about it: they have not yet started working with the kits of PlayStation 5.
In the meantime, no one has any doubts: there is Dragon Ball FighterZ for a while, with a competitive community ready to talk all over the world.
