Namco Bandai on Athletic World’s resurrection, unique qualities

Have you ever wondered why companies resurrect their classic titles for a newer system? Well, Naotaka Higashiyama and Sayaki Mori of Namco Bandai are willing to tell you all about why they decided to bring back Athletic World for the Nintendo Wii. They’ll also tell you what makes Athletic World different from its contemporaries.

Read the juicy details after the jump!

Timing is the crucial element for comebacks, and that applies to Namco Bandai‘s as well. In a recent interview, Athletic World localization producer Naotaka Higashiyama and producer Sayaki Mori have spilled on the beans regarding Namco Bandai’s resurrection of their old title.

Higashiyama and Mori said that it only made sense to release a game that made you use move your body for a system that also made you move your body: the Nintendo Wii. Higashiyama and Mori went on to say that, unlike Wii Fit and DecaSporta which only make you use use either your feet or the Wiimote, respectively, Athletic World makes you use both.

According to Higashiyama and Mori, Athletic World was the fruit of Namco Bandai’s desire to make a fun game that anyone could enjoy playing playing (And enjoy watching other people playing), regardless of whether they were hardcore gamers or casual gamers, kids or adults. That, they maintained was already Athletic World‘s premise as far back as twenty years ago.

Higashiyama and Mori also discussed other things during their interview, such as the influences behind Athletic World and what the Athletic World mat has to offer, so if you’d like to know more, feel free to follow the source link below to the full interview.