Anybody else think THEY ARE rushing the Suikoden Series now?

[Admiral Ackbar]

[Axiose]

Sorry, yeah, planned on making upto Suikoden 5. Though with various comments about the Yuber/Pesmerga duel, I would say Murayama had some of the larger plot worked out already.
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[Axiose] [Fliktor]

[Cedric]

It's been AGES since someone argued that statement regarding that the series would end after the fifth installment. Someone quoted someone about that years ago. I can't exactly remember where we posted that (suikosource, Blue Moon's forums, etc.) but one thing's for sure; for all of us who remember that being said, it's a reminder that we're getting older. :D Arguing about that statement back then all the way to this point where Suikoden 5 has been announced; it's been a long road.

But anyway, "rushing" a series isn't really a bad thing unless the games are bad. From then on, it becomes an addition to the many excuses why a series seems to be going downhill. Suikoden still has time to prove itself to many longtime fans, so why not bring out more games to appease their fanbase? Some of us prefer strategy games and others prefer traditional RPG's, so it's up to them to find a niche with their gamers.

Nippon Ichi creates, releases, and publishes about 4 or 5 games a year. That's a lot when you ask me. I know Disgaea, Phantom Brave, etc. aren't a series, but with all the cameos in their games popping up in others, it's pretty close to one if you ask me. They seem to be doing fine besides the fact that they're releasing games by the bundle. (And destroying my wallet in the process) All you need is quality and no one will complain much.
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[Vextor]

What is known officially is that Konami (when development was done by KCET) only had one team working on Suikoden until Suikoden 3. Following that, the team was split into two (or possibly more) under Nortada Matsukawa. However, one of the team was partly merged with the castlevania team to create Oz (where Fumi Ishikawa did the art), and the other team worked on Suikoden 4. It seems like Suikoden Tactics was developed by the Suikoden 4 team as well, considering Kawano's involvement and the fact that she said "development was short."

This also explains why Suikoden 5's character are is not Kawano. Currently, we have no idea who the artist is--the style is different from Ishikawa's although it seems like the artist tried to emulate Ishikawa's style (in terms of custumes). Either that or Ishikawa suddenly changed her style.

What complicates all this is Konami dissolving KCET nearly an year ago and then absorbing Hudson. Their development structure has changed, and the new structure has not been released (even within their IR data).

The fact that Konami dissolved all of their Japanese game development companies also tells us that Konami is shifting gears. Konami is involved in many different types of businesses. It started as a distributor/repair shop of juke boxes, and expanded into video game development in the advent of video games in Japan. However, they do currently have a successful health & fitness business secor (which is making greater sales than the video game sector, although they are not making a profit), and have started investing heavily into the casino industry. Konami has been acquiring casino licenses like mad in variou states/provinces in USA, Canada, and Australia. Not only do they develop slot machines but also casino management systems; they have just started making profit two years ago, so it's a sector that is very ripe for further growth.

As for video games, Konami has stated that they will shift their strategy towards the "online sector." This is apparently why they dissolved "Konami Online Ltd." and absorbed it into Konami Ltd. so that designers and programmers who are formerly employees of KCET, etc can be used to develop online stuff.

So basically, Konami is changing a lot at the moment, and it's hard to tell what will come of all this. They probably don't know themselves, and it probably means there are many frustrated individuals working at Konami around now.

[Camillus]

Whoo that's a lot of info, thanks Sars Ad-Minh.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Dammit, now I'm looking forward to an online Suikoden game.
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[runemaster]

[Axiose]

Eurgh, Suikoden Online - couldn't stand it. I hope they keep their focus long enough to not make too many continuity errors.
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[Axiose] [Fliktor]

[Squirtle]

I personally don't think the series is rushed. The fact that SO many Suiko games are coming out in such a short time is dependant on the Suiko team's policy of releasing the first bit of info when the game's, like, half done already. Seriously. Take Rhaps and S5 for example. Rhaps was announced with two months or so left until Japanese release. S5 was announced and a HALF A WEEK later they had a playable demo at the Tokyo Game Show.

This is compared to the Final Fantasy team releasing their 'OMG NEW FF GAME!" report the second someone doodles a new girlish-looking main character on a bar napkin, four years prior to release.

Anyway, I commend the Suikoden team for their policy, because it makes sense, and it saves me several years of fanboyish over-hype. This way I only have to wait a few months to a year to get the next Suiko game from first official announcement, instead of... well, FF12 has been in development, and public, for three years now, I think. That's just cruel to the fans. =P
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[Assassin01]

Now that i think about it, the Suikoden series may have been rushed in the making of Suikoden 4 and Suikoden tactics. This may have been the reason why the games did not turn out the way that i expected. My advice for the next suikoden game in the series is to take your time in developing all aspects of the game, rather than rushing it all to get to the release date and not get a product that the fans all expect.
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[Ujitsuna]

Suikoden V obviously had a lot of time put into it, probably more than any of the other games in the series. The attention to detail and extra additions are much more vast.

[Yohn]

The games don't really seem so rushed to me... and Rhapsodia being a tactics game and a most definate spin-off, I really don't take it into account with the main game releases (though I did like Rhapsodia a good bit. :3 ). Games don't seem rushed to me at all. So what if they're planning on something before it's prior is released? Chances are the game was in post-production, anyway, and if they're excited about the story so much that they can't wait to start on another, then I'm not going to complain about it, either.
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"And as the lion slaughters man, I am the wolf and you're the lamb." ~Blind Guardian

[Ryusei]

Well, by the looks of Suikoden V's quality, I really don't care whether the series is rushed or not. The series is looking good so far, and I doubt that rushing it or putting a lot more time into it is going to affect me that much as long as the quality of the game remains good. In fact, if the quality remains the same, I'd rather have the series rushed out. That way, I'd get to play more of the series without having to worry about the quality of the games. In the end, I think the quality of the finished product is what matters most, at least it is to me.

[Luceit]

I should think, only care if it's rushed when the game is poor. The artist who sketches beautifully and quickly is much the better than the one who plods slowly and comes up with the same piece.
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[Sami]

We're obviously now seeing that the rush of Suikoden games was because Konami wanted to have the series to have a strong representation on the "old platform" before the new consoles came in. Now it's been a year since Suikoden V, and Suikoden VI is barely even a whisper, so it's safe to say we'll be waiting half a year, a year, or possibly even more for the next installment. The matter was further complicated by the PlayStation 3's delays and its current unfavorable position. The market has shifted noticeably, and PlayStation 2 has survived longer than many thought. If Konami had known this beforehand, they might have stretched out the development times and release dates for the latest games, mainly Tactics and V, so that the wait for the next installment would be a little shorter.