The studio boss says you need an "extraordinary amount" of support to land a new IP. He'd "definitely include online features" if he could redo the game.
"Of course we always wish to have a big hit, but at the same time - not just in Japan, but worldwide - I think it's really difficult to be successful with a new IP," said Goichi Suda of developer Grasshopper Manufacture, creators of No More Heroes.
"You really need an extraordinary amount of support to have a new franchise be successful. Unfortunately we couldn't really do as well as we hoped for." Equipped with a time machine for the Shadows of the Damned project, what would he change?
"I had lots of ideas for online," said Suda51. "If I could do it over again I would definitely include online features." It was co-developed with Resident Evil's Shinji Mikami.
"Every title you release you always want to do more and more but I think it is also our job as a developer to set up an environment where we can actually create what we want to do." Shadows of the Damned sold only 24k copies its opening week in the US, entered the UK all format chart 31st, and barely dented in Japan where it released weeks ago.
Grasshopper isn't shy of new IP franchises though as they gear up for Lollipop Chainsaw and Kinect title Diabolical Pitch. Have you played Shadows of the Damned?