Kamiya Reflects on Scalebound’s Cancellation, Says Overseas Publishers Like Microsoft Push for Faster Development

It has been more than eight years since the cancellation of Scalebound, PlatinumGames’ ambitious Xbox and PC exclusive, yet Game Director Hideki Kamiya continues to reflect on the project and what went wrong. In a new interview with VideoGamesChronicle, the veteran director revisited the topic, this time contrasting the development philosophies of Japanese and Western publishers.

Kamiya explained that Japanese publishers are typically more patient and supportive when a developer is creating something new, while overseas publishers tend to focus on speed and efficiency:

“On the Japanese side, my impression is that they see you’re trying to make a new invention. They understand the struggle of trying to give birth to something new, and they watch over the process with patience. For me personally, overseas publishers seem to have a much stronger desire to see a finished product as quickly as possible.”

When asked if Scalebound might have survived under a Japanese publisher, Kamiya suggested the process would have unfolded differently.

“I don’t mean that if it had been a Japanese publisher, the game would necessarily have been completed and released, but I imagine the process itself would have played out differently. Japanese companies tend to be more open to new challenges, and I think the conversations would have been more positive, like, ‘Okay, so how should we approach this together?’”

Scalebound was plagued by difficulties from the start. PlatinumGames struggled with its unusual concept of giving players simultaneous control of a human character and a dragon, something for which the studio admitted it lacked a frame of reference.

Kamiya has repeatedly taken responsibility for the project’s failure, stating that he learned valuable lessons from the experience. He also believes that with what he now knows, he could potentially work more effectively with Western publishers in the future.

Kamiya has since co-founded Clovers, a new studio currently working with Capcom on a sequel to the beloved action-adventure title Ōkami. With the benefit of hindsight and his long track record directing influential titles like Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Ōkami, Bayonetta, and The Wonderful 101, Kamiya hopes to move past Scalebound’s shadow while applying those hard-earned lessons to new projects.

Do you think Kamiya is right that Scalebound would have had a better chance with a Japanese publisher, or was the project doomed by its own concept?