Shinji Mikami and Goichi Suda React to Tango Gameworks' Liberation and Share Details on the Shadows of the Damned Remaster

ign.com:

As the October 31 release of Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered draws near, we spoke with the 2011 game’s two legendary creators – Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil) and Goichi Suda (No More Heroes) – at gamescom.

While the conversation focused mainly on Shadows of the Damned and its remaster, the pair also reminisced on their work together on Killer7 and told us a tiny bit about what to expect from their next projects, with Suda’s Grasshopper Manufacture and Mikami’s newly founded Kamuy Inc each working on new games.

Mikami also gave us his thoughts on the closure and ensuing liberation of Tango Gameworks, the studio he founded.

How did the remaster of Shadows of the Damned come about?

Goichi Suda, Founder, Grasshopper Manufacture: We started receiving offers to port Shadows of the Damned about eight years ago. My studio Grasshopper Manufacture was keen to do it, but at the time, Shadows of the Damned was exclusive to Origin, the digital distribution platform operated by EA. As a result, the talks of a port fell through.

Since we couldn’t port the game, I gave up for a while. But I still had the desire to release some older Grasshopper Manufacture titles for modern consoles. I was able to make that happen with The Silver Case, and I was also able to release Killer 7 on Steam, and then release No More Heroes 3 as a new title. I thought Shadows of the Damned would be next, and I was finally able to make it happen.”

With Grasshopper Manufacture now under the umbrella of NetEase Games, did that help to make it possible?

Suda: Yes. After I joined NetEase Games, I talked about wanting to release a remaster of Shadows of the Damned. That was about two years ago. At that time, it was no longer an Origin-exclusive title, so the situation had changed to the point where Shadows of the Damned could be released on other platforms. NetEase Games gave me the OK, so we started developing the remaster. NetEase Games gives me a great deal of freedom and creates an environment that