Cubed3 Exclusive Interview | Capcom Talks Zack & Wiki

Hironobu Takeshita-san, Producer of Zack & Wiki: We began researching the concept around autumn time in 2005, just about 2 years ago. During the largest phase, our team was about 50 strong. But now that we're into the final stage of development there just under 30 people.

AR: What made you choose a traditional adventure style that people normally associate with the PC?

HT: The reason we went with this style might have something to do with the fact that our director is a huge fan of PC style adventure games. The extreme simplicity of this style of game makes it very approachable to just about anyone. Also, the Wii Remote is extremely well suited to the traditional adventure game system.

AR: What was your inspiration for the lead characters? And where did the general idea of the game's theme come from?

HT: The game's "pirate" theme had already been decided beforehand. We really wanted players to enjoy going on all types of adventures. And adventurers are upbeat, high-spirited, and sometimes a little naughty. With that in mind, we thought that a young boy would fit perfectly in a pirate setting. A characteristic of Zack's design is his head. His bandana, hairstyle and captain's hat were all designed to give the feel of a young boy who dreams of being the big captain of a pirate ship.

AR: The Press has been overwhelmingly supportive of Zack & Wiki with the likes of IGN campaigning for readers to buy it. Does this put any added pressure on the team in the final stages of development?

HT: The support of the press from early on has been a great encouragement to us and the team is working very hard to meet their high expectations.

AR: How come the name changed from Project Treasure Island Z to Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure?

HT: The original working title "Project Treasure Island Z" was more or less a direct translation over from the Japanese title "Takarajima Z", as no one outside of Japan would be expected to know what Takarajima meant. However, we thought "Treasure Island" conjures up too many images from the famous work of the same name. We wanted to make a break from that and give this new game a new and fresh image, so we decided to make the names of the main characters the title. The "Treasure" in the sub-title is a vestige of the working title "Project Treasure Island Z".

AR: Do you have estimated sales projections for the game? And if these figures cannot be released yet, despite adventure games traditionally being strongest in Europe, do you have any thoughts about which region the game will appeal most to?

HT: We do have some rough estimates. Unfortunately, those numbers aren't public. As you've pointed out, in Europe adventure games are extremely popular, and we have high expectations for that market. In North America, action and first person shooters are the dominant genres, but with the support of the media, we are very optimistic about the North American market as well.

AR: Have you found it hard to work on Wii? There has been much praise for the artistic style of Zack & Wiki