http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php?title=Interview:Mikito_Ichikawa&feed=atom&action=historyInterview:Mikito Ichikawa - Revision history2024-03-29T06:03:32ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.25.2http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php?title=Interview:Mikito_Ichikawa&diff=6199&oldid=prevCRV at 13:59, 14 February 20092009-02-14T13:59:33Z<p></p>
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<td colspan='2' style="background-color: white; color:black; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td>
<td colspan='2' style="background-color: white; color:black; text-align: center;">Revision as of 13:59, 14 February 2009</td>
</tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="L1" >Line 1:</td>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>< [[Interviews]]</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>< [[Interviews]]</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">This </del>is <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">Part 1 </del>of <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">our interview with </del>[[Mindware]] (formerly [[MNM Software]]) <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">founder/president Mikito Ichikawa. More questions and answers will be appearing on this page soon. In the meantime, if you live in Europe or Australia and own a Wii, be sure to check out [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MoqjlkQtH4 MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade], Mindware's latest WiiWare game</del>.''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[[Person:Mikito Ichikawa|Mikito Ichikawa]] (aka Micky G. Albert) </ins>is <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">the founder and president </ins>of [[<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">Company:Mindware|</ins>Mindware]] (formerly [[<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">Company:MNM Software|</ins>MNM Software]]).''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: What does MNM stand for?'''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: What does MNM stand for?'''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="L69" >Line 69:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 69:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: Can I assume you own the rights to most of the original, self-published MNM games? How do you feel about people downloading these old games and playing them in emulators? Do you plan on revisiting these old properties in the future?'''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: Can I assume you own the rights to most of the original, self-published MNM games? How do you feel about people downloading these old games and playing them in emulators? Do you plan on revisiting these old properties in the future?'''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Mindware owns the rights to most of the titles. Of course, we don't have the rights to titles like Streets of Rage II or Take the A-Train.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">MI: </ins>Mindware owns the rights to most of the titles. Of course, we don't have the rights to titles like Streets of Rage II or Take the A-Train.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Speaking of downloading these old games and playing them in emulators, we should talk about the ROM image issue. I began to see arcade game emulators around 1992-1993. I felt that the people involved at that time knew coding and actually understood that it's not right to have ROM images. However, around 1995-1996, some people started to justify this illegal act by saying, "We have the right to download and play these ROM images because the developers don't release proper ports for us to play!" I had a discussion with these kinds of guys in 1997. I objected to their view, and they started to flame me. I asked them, "You think it's your right to download the ROM images, but have you ever given even one yen to the makers in compensation?"</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Speaking of downloading these old games and playing them in emulators, we should talk about the ROM image issue. I began to see arcade game emulators around 1992-1993. I felt that the people involved at that time knew coding and actually understood that it's not right to have ROM images. However, around 1995-1996, some people started to justify this illegal act by saying, "We have the right to download and play these ROM images because the developers don't release proper ports for us to play!" I had a discussion with these kinds of guys in 1997. I objected to their view, and they started to flame me. I asked them, "You think it's your right to download the ROM images, but have you ever given even one yen to the makers in compensation?"</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="L85" >Line 85:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 85:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: Were there any games MNM did that were never finished or released? Do you have old disks or prototypes sitting somewhere?'''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: Were there any games MNM did that were never finished or released? Do you have old disks or prototypes sitting somewhere?'''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>We have numerous unfinished/unreleased games. If during a game's development I realize that it isn't going to become a truly enjoyable game, I stop the game's development. We don't want to release a game like that; there are too many of those already, so there are many titles we haven't released.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">MI: </ins>We have numerous unfinished/unreleased games. If during a game's development I realize that it isn't going to become a truly enjoyable game, I stop the game's development. We don't want to release a game like that; there are too many of those already, so there are many titles we haven't released.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I don't keep our old disks or prototypes. Most of them were lost when I was seriously ill.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I don't keep our old disks or prototypes. Most of them were lost when I was seriously ill.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="L101" >Line 101:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 101:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I was also thinking that many games were failing to touch and move players. I remember seeing this random game magazine review around that time. It said, of this particular game, "well polished, but it doesn't excite me somehow" (this review was almost an *incident* - this kind of magazine was paid by the publisher, yet reviewers were so bored of similar titles that they made a negative remark!). I realized I didn't want to make games that were polished, but not exciting. I think this also pushed me towards the name Mindware.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I was also thinking that many games were failing to touch and move players. I remember seeing this random game magazine review around that time. It said, of this particular game, "well polished, but it doesn't excite me somehow" (this review was almost an *incident* - this kind of magazine was paid by the publisher, yet reviewers were so bored of similar titles that they made a negative remark!). I realized I didn't want to make games that were polished, but not exciting. I think this also pushed me towards the name Mindware.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: How many employees does Mindware have? What is the work environment like? Do you have <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">(game) </del>development kits?'''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: How many employees does Mindware have? What is the work environment like? Do you have development kits?'''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>MI: I think this industry is full of ups and downs; it's not the sort of industry where you can say "this is the right way". So I don't think it's good to force my company to grow. As a result, Mindware does not have many employees. We sometimes welcome a new person when we feel we can share our vision with them. We are slow in terms of employee turnover.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>MI: I think this industry is full of ups and downs; it's not the sort of industry where you can say "this is the right way". So I don't think it's good to force my company to grow. As a result, Mindware does not have many employees. We sometimes welcome a new person when we feel we can share our vision with them. We are slow in terms of employee turnover.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="L132" >Line 132:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 132:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In the future, we hope to release the specifications and SDK for our pinball machines so that hobbyists can develop their own. In the world of video games, there are development environments that everyone can use, and they can have their games played. There are contests that they can enter. This system nurtures future developers, thus supporting the whole industry. The world of pinball has none of these things. Pinball designers are getting older and older, and there are no young ones. What will happen in 20 years? The world will have no pinball designers if we do nothing, so we'd like to do things to foster future pinball designers, contributing to the future of pinball in our own way.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In the future, we hope to release the specifications and SDK for our pinball machines so that hobbyists can develop their own. In the world of video games, there are development environments that everyone can use, and they can have their games played. There are contests that they can enter. This system nurtures future developers, thus supporting the whole industry. The world of pinball has none of these things. Pinball designers are getting older and older, and there are no young ones. What will happen in 20 years? The world will have no pinball designers if we do nothing, so we'd like to do things to foster future pinball designers, contributing to the future of pinball in our own way.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''English translation written by Rumiko Hoshino and edited by [[User:CRV|CRV]].''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''English translation written by Rumiko Hoshino and edited by <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">[[User:Dimitri|Dimitri]] and </ins>[[User:CRV|CRV]].''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''Interview conducted via e-mail by [[User:CRV|CRV]] in <del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">July and August 2008</del>.''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''Interview conducted via e-mail by [[User:CRV|CRV]] in .''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline"><small>'''Footnotes'''<small><br /></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline"><span id="foot1"><small>1. "Viewpoint change" refers to being able to switch between various pre-set camera angles. According to the original translator Hoshino-san, Sega patented "viewpoint change" in Japan in 1998, citing Virtua Racing as an example. [http://www.j-tokkyo.com/1998/A63F/JP10113467.shtml] Then Sega tried getting licensing fees from other developers such as Atari Games. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1999_March_17/ai_54131147]</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div> </div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">To counter the patent, Konami, Nintendo, Technosoft, and T&E Soft filed patent opposition together, citing MNM's Star Wars as a prior example. Ichikawa-san also testified in court that he had shown the Star Wars game to Sega, so the court decided to revoke Sega's patent.</small></span></ins></div></td></tr>
</table>CRVhttp://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php?title=Interview:Mikito_Ichikawa&diff=6198&oldid=prevCRV at 13:42, 14 February 20092009-02-14T13:42:56Z<p></p>
<a href="http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php?title=Interview:Mikito_Ichikawa&diff=6198&oldid=5204">Show changes</a>CRVhttp://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php?title=Interview:Mikito_Ichikawa&diff=5204&oldid=prevCRV at 11:31, 30 August 20082008-08-30T11:31:56Z<p></p>
<table class='diff diff-contentalign-left'>
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<td colspan='2' style="background-color: white; color:black; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td>
<td colspan='2' style="background-color: white; color:black; text-align: center;">Revision as of 11:31, 30 August 2008</td>
</tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="L1" >Line 1:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 1:</td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">< [[Interviews]]</ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><ins style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"></ins></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''This is Part 1 of our interview with [[Mindware]] (formerly [[MNM Software]]) founder/president Mikito Ichikawa. More questions and answers will be appearing on this page soon. In the meantime, if you live in Europe or Australia and own a Wii, be sure to check out [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MoqjlkQtH4 MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade], Mindware's latest WiiWare game.''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''This is Part 1 of our interview with [[Mindware]] (formerly [[MNM Software]]) founder/president Mikito Ichikawa. More questions and answers will be appearing on this page soon. In the meantime, if you live in Europe or Australia and own a Wii, be sure to check out [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MoqjlkQtH4 MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade], Mindware's latest WiiWare game.''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
</table>CRVhttp://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php?title=Interview:Mikito_Ichikawa&diff=5203&oldid=prevCRV at 11:29, 30 August 20082008-08-30T11:29:44Z<p></p>
<table class='diff diff-contentalign-left'>
<col class='diff-marker' />
<col class='diff-content' />
<col class='diff-marker' />
<col class='diff-content' />
<tr style='vertical-align: top;'>
<td colspan='2' style="background-color: white; color:black; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td>
<td colspan='2' style="background-color: white; color:black; text-align: center;">Revision as of 11:29, 30 August 2008</td>
</tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="L1" >Line 1:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 1:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''This is Part 1 of our interview with [[Mindware]] (formerly [[MNM Software]]) president Mikito Ichikawa. More questions and answers will be appearing on this page soon. In the meantime, if you live in Europe or Australia and own a Wii, be sure to check out [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">6VkZWNgu0PU </del>MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade], Mindware's latest WiiWare game.''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''This is Part 1 of our interview with [[Mindware]] (formerly [[MNM Software]]) <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">founder/</ins>president Mikito Ichikawa. More questions and answers will be appearing on this page soon. In the meantime, if you live in Europe or Australia and own a Wii, be sure to check out [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">1MoqjlkQtH4 </ins>MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade], Mindware's latest WiiWare game.''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: What does MNM stand for?'''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: What does MNM stand for?'''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="L36" >Line 36:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 36:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I once stopped making video games in the late 90s. More games started to have FMVs, but games with qualitative change became really rare. So I decided to step back for a while. I continued prototyping many experimental games behind the scenes, hoping the new era where people appreciated new ideas would come.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>I once stopped making video games in the late 90s. More games started to have FMVs, but games with qualitative change became really rare. So I decided to step back for a while. I continued prototyping many experimental games behind the scenes, hoping the new era where people appreciated new ideas would come.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Our new game will be announced and released soon. It's a game full of never<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">-seen</del>-before ideas. We believe this game can turn the current tide of similar/rip-off games everywhere. We received several offers around the PS2 launch, but we turned them all down. Now we have a powerful publisher that can fuel us to go full throttle!</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Our new game will be announced and released soon. It's a game full of never-before<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">-seen </ins>ideas. We believe this game can turn the current tide of similar/rip-off games everywhere. We received several offers around the PS2 launch, but we turned them all down. Now we have a powerful publisher that can fuel us to go full throttle!</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>As for pinball, in addition to pinball machine leasing/maintenance, we host [http://www.pinballnews.com/shows/tokyo2007-1/index.html the Flip-Out Tournament] annually. We also do pinball lectures for beginners.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>As for pinball, in addition to pinball machine leasing/maintenance, we host [http://www.pinballnews.com/shows/tokyo2007-1/index.html the Flip-Out Tournament] annually. We also do pinball lectures for beginners.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="L45" >Line 45:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 45:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In the future, we hope to release the specifications and SDK for our pinball machines so that hobbyists can develop their own. In the world of video games, there are development environments that everyone can use, and they can have their games played. There are contests that they can enter. This ecosystem nurtures the future developers, thus supporting the whole industry. The world of pinball has none of these things. Pinball designers are getting older and older, and there are no young ones. What will happen in 20 years? The world will have no pinball designers if we do nothing, so we'd like to do things to foster future pinball designers, contributing to the future of pinball in our own way.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>In the future, we hope to release the specifications and SDK for our pinball machines so that hobbyists can develop their own. In the world of video games, there are development environments that everyone can use, and they can have their games played. There are contests that they can enter. This ecosystem nurtures the future developers, thus supporting the whole industry. The world of pinball has none of these things. Pinball designers are getting older and older, and there are no young ones. What will happen in 20 years? The world will have no pinball designers if we do nothing, so we'd like to do things to foster future pinball designers, contributing to the future of pinball in our own way.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''English translation by Rumiko Hoshino<del class="diffchange diffchange-inline">. Edited </del>by [[User:CRV|CRV]].''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''English translation <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">written </ins>by Rumiko Hoshino <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">and edited </ins>by [[User:CRV|CRV]].''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''Interview conducted via e-mail by [[User:CRV|CRV]] in July and August 2008.''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''Interview conducted via e-mail by [[User:CRV|CRV]] in July and August 2008.''</div></td></tr>
</table>CRVhttp://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php?title=Interview:Mikito_Ichikawa&diff=5188&oldid=prevCRV at 12:25, 29 August 20082008-08-29T12:25:03Z<p></p>
<table class='diff diff-contentalign-left'>
<col class='diff-marker' />
<col class='diff-content' />
<col class='diff-marker' />
<col class='diff-content' />
<tr style='vertical-align: top;'>
<td colspan='2' style="background-color: white; color:black; text-align: center;">← Older revision</td>
<td colspan='2' style="background-color: white; color:black; text-align: center;">Revision as of 12:25, 29 August 2008</td>
</tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno" id="L1" >Line 1:</td>
<td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno">Line 1:</td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''This is Part 1 of our interview with [[Mindware]] (formerly [[MNM Software]]) president Mikito Ichikawa. More questions and answers will be appearing on this page soon. In the meantime, if you live in Europe and own a Wii, be sure to check out [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VkZWNgu0PU MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade], Mindware's latest WiiWare game.''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color:black; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>''This is Part 1 of our interview with [[Mindware]] (formerly [[MNM Software]]) president Mikito Ichikawa. More questions and answers will be appearing on this page soon. In the meantime, if you live in Europe <ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">or Australia </ins>and own a Wii, be sure to check out [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VkZWNgu0PU MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade], Mindware's latest WiiWare game.''</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: What does MNM stand for?'''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #e6e6e6; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>'''GDRI: What does MNM stand for?'''</div></td></tr>
</table>CRVhttp://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php?title=Interview:Mikito_Ichikawa&diff=5187&oldid=prevCRV at 12:17, 29 August 20082008-08-29T12:17:40Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>''This is Part 1 of our interview with [[Mindware]] (formerly [[MNM Software]]) president Mikito Ichikawa. More questions and answers will be appearing on this page soon. In the meantime, if you live in Europe and own a Wii, be sure to check out [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VkZWNgu0PU MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade], Mindware's latest WiiWare game.''<br />
<br />
'''GDRI: What does MNM stand for?'''<br />
<br />
MI: The name MNM stands for our policy: "Minnade Nakayoku Moukeyou" (everyone making money together harmoniously).<br />
<br />
Before founding MNM, I had seen people take credit for other people's hard work. Not only that, I had witnessed several deaths from overwork. Managers took advantage of shy and modest programmers. Managers would pick some programmers as "lead," then these programmers would work so hard thinking, "We were chosen! We must work hard!" They would eventually burn out - sometimes the worst awaited them. I thought this was very wrong, yet they simply let these things happen without even questioning the situation. So I decided to make my own company where I wouldn't allow such things to happen.<br />
<br />
There was another reason, too. I wanted to make unique games. I strongly believe that originality is the only way to move people in the end. Yet even at that time, the market was full of copycats. I looked for a company which would appreciate original ideas, but there were none, so I had to set one up for myself.<br />
<br />
I remember wondering around that time, "How can a really amazing game rise from the sea of sequels and blatant rip-offs?" It's sad that the situation hasn't got any better these days.<br />
<br />
'''GDRI: When you were working on non-MNM developed games like [http://www.mobygames.com/game/game-gear/batman-returns/credits Batman Returns for Game Gear], were you working on behalf of MNM?'''<br />
<br />
MI: As MNM, I provided the music driver and converted the music data for them.<br />
<br />
'''GDRI: What was your relationship with Yuzo Koshiro?'''<br />
<br />
MI: During my first year of high school, I was developing games for Dempa Shinbunsha (they were making PC ports of Namco games). My school had a student uniform. One day, Koshiro-san saw me wearing it at Dempa and said hello to me (he was from the same high school - he had already graduated). I hadn't found a composer for Mars [X1] yet, so I asked him to do it, and he said OK. Koshiro-san was already really well-known, but I didn't know his reputation because I was not so keen on Japanese PC games. I just thought he wrote awesome tunes!<br />
<br />
We found out we had much in common. Our taste in games is similar. The age gap between us is small, just like brothers. We lived in the neighborhood, so we became good friends. I often asked him to compose tunes when I thought my project was really ambitious. I really appreciate him as a producer/director. Some people might just handle composing as routine contract work, but Koshiro-san always examines the content of the game deeply and writes tunes that really suit it. Highest quality guaranteed. There would be no worries about sound when Koshiro-san did his work. This indeed lessened my burden when I was starting MNM at the age of 16.<br />
<br />
'''GDRI: Why was the name changed from MNM to Mindware?'''<br />
<br />
MI: In the summer of 1992, the doctor told me that I had collagen disease. He also said I had only one and half year left. In May 1993, I became bed-bound, so I had to close the MNM office.<br />
<br />
At one time, I only weighed 36 kg. Fortunately, I could pull myself together again in the spring of 1995. As I recovered, I thought about bringing MNM back. I discussed many things with my long-time friend. He had been programming with me since junior high, and he was also the director of the company. We talked about things like, "Why do people work?," "Why do<br />
people play games?," "What makes people happy?" These questions cleared my mind. We developers are not tools. We have minds, and we put our minds to our games. I hoped our games would touch and interact with players' minds, so I changed my company's name to Mindware.<br />
<br />
I was also thinking that many games were failing to touch and move players. I remember seeing this random game magazine review around that time. It said that a particular game was "well polished, but it doesn't excite me somehow" (this review was almost an *incident* - this kind of magazine was paid by the publisher, yet reviewers were so bored of similar titles that they made a negative remark!). I realized I didn't want to make games that were polished, but not exciting. I think this also pushed me towards the name Mindware.<br />
<br />
'''GDRI: What is Mindware doing today?'''<br />
<br />
MI: We are making video games and leasing/developing pinball machines.<br />
<br />
I once stopped making video games in the late 90s. More games started to have FMVs, but games with qualitative change became really rare. So I decided to step back for a while. I continued prototyping many experimental games behind the scenes, hoping the new era where people appreciated new ideas would come.<br />
<br />
Our new game will be announced and released soon. It's a game full of never-seen-before ideas. We believe this game can turn the current tide of similar/rip-off games everywhere. We received several offers around the PS2 launch, but we turned them all down. Now we have a powerful publisher that can fuel us to go full throttle!<br />
<br />
As for pinball, in addition to pinball machine leasing/maintenance, we host [http://www.pinballnews.com/shows/tokyo2007-1/index.html the Flip-Out Tournament] annually. We also do pinball lectures for beginners.<br />
<br />
We've been developing pinball machines since 2000. Our first prototype machine with our own hardware was completed in<br />
[http://www.svenskaflippersallskapet.com/visaartikel.php?artikelid=20 summer 2003], but it will take some more time before you will see one in arcades.<br />
<br />
In the future, we hope to release the specifications and SDK for our pinball machines so that hobbyists can develop their own. In the world of video games, there are development environments that everyone can use, and they can have their games played. There are contests that they can enter. This ecosystem nurtures the future developers, thus supporting the whole industry. The world of pinball has none of these things. Pinball designers are getting older and older, and there are no young ones. What will happen in 20 years? The world will have no pinball designers if we do nothing, so we'd like to do things to foster future pinball designers, contributing to the future of pinball in our own way.<br />
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''English translation by Rumiko Hoshino. Edited by [[User:CRV|CRV]].''<br />
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''Interview conducted via e-mail by [[User:CRV|CRV]] in July and August 2008.''</div>CRV