During Gamescom, our site had the opportunity to interview Kamiya for 45 minutes. We had the chance to ask a few (very?) interesting questions and I think NeoGAF might be interested in a couple of the answers. This is why I decided to translate the interview and make this thread. Hope you enjoy it.
We have played W101 and we noticed it was a big tribute to the Super Sentai (a Japanese genre where the Power Rangers are the biggest Western example). That genre got very popular over here too. Are you a big fan of it as well?
Kamiya: Obviously!
Is the game, with all the different characters and combinations they use, also a tribute to that genre? Especially the idea of their transformation and their combinations as we see that in Power Rangers too.
Kamiya: The original concept of W101 was an all-star Nintendo game. But how do you keep all those fans of all those franchises happy? So my idea was to put all of them in the game at start, instead of making them appear in the game later on. The next step then, was to conceive what to do with all those characters. Since I've got all of them anyway, I can combine them to make (for example) an airplane or something. When we had this concept, we decided to scrap the all-star idea and make a game about superheroes. So actually, the idea to use transformations and combinations was in there way before we decided to go with superheroes.
It's a very Japanese way of thinking: bundling all sorts of powers to create something stronger and bigger.
Kamiya: Yes, in the game you have to combine superheroes to create a bridge, you do this by drawing a straight line on the gamepad.
Something IGN had a had hard time doing. I don't know if you've seen the video?
Kamiya: Yes, I saw it. (This question was answered without the intervention of the translator and with a smile on Kamiya's face, which a lot of attendees seemed to find hilarious)
How did you meet Iwata?
Kamiya: We've met briefly during a prior E3 and then I introduced myself to him. It took till Iwata Asks (a series of interviews about Nintendo) that I could really meet him though. Back then, I brought five games he worked on and asked him if he wanted to sign them.
In that interview, you talked about Resident Evil 2, a less succesful game of yours. How do you look back at that period? You've admitted you failed there. Is that something typical for the Japanese gaming industry? Having the guts to admit you made a bad game.
Kamiya: I don't know if it's typical for the entire industry, but about Resident Evil 2: I've been fortunate to get a second chance, together with the Capcom Production Studio 4 team, to create Devil May Cry. Together with my team, we made that game with a "Crash & Build" mindset. We invent something and we try it out. If it doesn't work, we decompose it, leave out the bad stuff and continue with the good ideas. I believe this form of trial & error leads to better games. It's a philosophy I have carried with me to Platinum Games.
If we continue on the idea of Crash & Build: in Iwata Asks, you said that W101 had the longest dev cycle of all the games Platinum Games made. Was that specific philosophy a reason of that and what was the final effect of that cycle on the game?
Kamiya: During the development of W101, we didn't really came across many problems. The main reason for the long dev cycle was the amount of content. Usually, we have to cancel a portion of the ideas our team proposals, but this time everyone had excellent ideas from the start and we decided to add most of them to the game. Because of this, not only did our staff increase, we also required more time to finish the game. The result of this is a game that has a lot of content.
Do you think the games you make get the attention they deserve from gamers? If we are not mistaken, you recently had some critique about the fact that (mostly Western) gamers focus too much about reviews and that the media has a big influence on what the gamers will do.
Kamiya: I don't really know the influence of European and American media, but at one point I received so many tweets about the score of W101, that I just got sick of it. I do have the feeling gamers look to much at these scores. Especially because I create new IP's and not familiar franchises. I make games because I like them, not because I want to receive high scores. It's partly caused by the industry itself as well though. There's an overflow of games, including inferior games. Because of this, gamers aren't as adventurous anymore.
Does that make it harder to find money to create new games, in comparison to maybe... 20 years ago?
Kamiya: For me, the eighties were the golden age of gaming. Back then, playing a new game was still about experimenting. There were so many games nobody ever heard of. These days, that's harder because of the higher development costs, which in turn makes the industry less adventurous and it creates less new ideas. That's why I'm glad Platinum Games gets a lot of creative freedom. If management tells me to make a specific game, I will do that, but currently it's our team that comes up with the ideas and not management.
With the help of Nintendo, we will be able to play Bayonetta 2 after all. How will you push this title to the next level while still keeping gamers satisfied? They often want conflicting things. They want new ideas, but still more of the same. How do you deal with that?
Kamiya: I don't really have a problem with making sequels. Above all, I want to make games that are fun. This is the most important thing for me. So next to new IP's, I also like to make sequels. The point you're making however, is very good. With the first title of a new franchise, there are so many good ideas, so many things you want to do. Unfortunately, you can't use all of them in the game. In the sequel, you can use cancelled ideas from the first game. I do have the feeling most of those ideas are used when you reach the third game though and that developers only make a third game because the fans want it. That's why I don't really see a Bayonetta 3 happening in the future. I am fortunate that I am able to create many games from scratch.
Speaking about sequels. Would you consider a sequel of Okami, maybe on Wii U?
Kamiya: That question gets asked a lot and its something gamers clearly want, so if I am able to, I will definitely make it. But gamers want so many sequels, I don't even know where to begin.
How will you fill the gap between Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 for gamers who haven't played the first game?
Kamiya: That's not something I'm fixated on. The most important thing is to create a game everyone likes to play.
Do you consider yourself a person who makes a lot of action games in particular, or would you like to create something else too?
Kamiya: I don't really look at the genre of a game before I start developing it. I just want to make something that is fun. Even within the action genre, I have created many different sorts of games and something like Okami is on a whole other level than most of my games.
Original (Dutch): http://wiiu.4gamers.be/specials/29444/1/Interview-Hideki-Kamiya-brein-van-Platinum-Games
We have played W101 and we noticed it was a big tribute to the Super Sentai (a Japanese genre where the Power Rangers are the biggest Western example). That genre got very popular over here too. Are you a big fan of it as well?
Kamiya: Obviously!
Is the game, with all the different characters and combinations they use, also a tribute to that genre? Especially the idea of their transformation and their combinations as we see that in Power Rangers too.
Kamiya: The original concept of W101 was an all-star Nintendo game. But how do you keep all those fans of all those franchises happy? So my idea was to put all of them in the game at start, instead of making them appear in the game later on. The next step then, was to conceive what to do with all those characters. Since I've got all of them anyway, I can combine them to make (for example) an airplane or something. When we had this concept, we decided to scrap the all-star idea and make a game about superheroes. So actually, the idea to use transformations and combinations was in there way before we decided to go with superheroes.
It's a very Japanese way of thinking: bundling all sorts of powers to create something stronger and bigger.
Kamiya: Yes, in the game you have to combine superheroes to create a bridge, you do this by drawing a straight line on the gamepad.
Something IGN had a had hard time doing. I don't know if you've seen the video?
Kamiya: Yes, I saw it. (This question was answered without the intervention of the translator and with a smile on Kamiya's face, which a lot of attendees seemed to find hilarious)
How did you meet Iwata?
Kamiya: We've met briefly during a prior E3 and then I introduced myself to him. It took till Iwata Asks (a series of interviews about Nintendo) that I could really meet him though. Back then, I brought five games he worked on and asked him if he wanted to sign them.
In that interview, you talked about Resident Evil 2, a less succesful game of yours. How do you look back at that period? You've admitted you failed there. Is that something typical for the Japanese gaming industry? Having the guts to admit you made a bad game.
Kamiya: I don't know if it's typical for the entire industry, but about Resident Evil 2: I've been fortunate to get a second chance, together with the Capcom Production Studio 4 team, to create Devil May Cry. Together with my team, we made that game with a "Crash & Build" mindset. We invent something and we try it out. If it doesn't work, we decompose it, leave out the bad stuff and continue with the good ideas. I believe this form of trial & error leads to better games. It's a philosophy I have carried with me to Platinum Games.
If we continue on the idea of Crash & Build: in Iwata Asks, you said that W101 had the longest dev cycle of all the games Platinum Games made. Was that specific philosophy a reason of that and what was the final effect of that cycle on the game?
Kamiya: During the development of W101, we didn't really came across many problems. The main reason for the long dev cycle was the amount of content. Usually, we have to cancel a portion of the ideas our team proposals, but this time everyone had excellent ideas from the start and we decided to add most of them to the game. Because of this, not only did our staff increase, we also required more time to finish the game. The result of this is a game that has a lot of content.
Do you think the games you make get the attention they deserve from gamers? If we are not mistaken, you recently had some critique about the fact that (mostly Western) gamers focus too much about reviews and that the media has a big influence on what the gamers will do.
Kamiya: I don't really know the influence of European and American media, but at one point I received so many tweets about the score of W101, that I just got sick of it. I do have the feeling gamers look to much at these scores. Especially because I create new IP's and not familiar franchises. I make games because I like them, not because I want to receive high scores. It's partly caused by the industry itself as well though. There's an overflow of games, including inferior games. Because of this, gamers aren't as adventurous anymore.
Does that make it harder to find money to create new games, in comparison to maybe... 20 years ago?
Kamiya: For me, the eighties were the golden age of gaming. Back then, playing a new game was still about experimenting. There were so many games nobody ever heard of. These days, that's harder because of the higher development costs, which in turn makes the industry less adventurous and it creates less new ideas. That's why I'm glad Platinum Games gets a lot of creative freedom. If management tells me to make a specific game, I will do that, but currently it's our team that comes up with the ideas and not management.
With the help of Nintendo, we will be able to play Bayonetta 2 after all. How will you push this title to the next level while still keeping gamers satisfied? They often want conflicting things. They want new ideas, but still more of the same. How do you deal with that?
Kamiya: I don't really have a problem with making sequels. Above all, I want to make games that are fun. This is the most important thing for me. So next to new IP's, I also like to make sequels. The point you're making however, is very good. With the first title of a new franchise, there are so many good ideas, so many things you want to do. Unfortunately, you can't use all of them in the game. In the sequel, you can use cancelled ideas from the first game. I do have the feeling most of those ideas are used when you reach the third game though and that developers only make a third game because the fans want it. That's why I don't really see a Bayonetta 3 happening in the future. I am fortunate that I am able to create many games from scratch.
Speaking about sequels. Would you consider a sequel of Okami, maybe on Wii U?
Kamiya: That question gets asked a lot and its something gamers clearly want, so if I am able to, I will definitely make it. But gamers want so many sequels, I don't even know where to begin.
How will you fill the gap between Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 for gamers who haven't played the first game?
Kamiya: That's not something I'm fixated on. The most important thing is to create a game everyone likes to play.
Do you consider yourself a person who makes a lot of action games in particular, or would you like to create something else too?
Kamiya: I don't really look at the genre of a game before I start developing it. I just want to make something that is fun. Even within the action genre, I have created many different sorts of games and something like Okami is on a whole other level than most of my games.
Original (Dutch): http://wiiu.4gamers.be/specials/29444/1/Interview-Hideki-Kamiya-brein-van-Platinum-Games
Let's hope for next year indeed 
