Interview with President of Max Factory, Max Watanabe.
Max Factory the company which created the "se・KIRARA"

■Why you made it free?

Q: Free Download of "se・KIRARA" has been so big news though, I heard that you originally intended to sell it. Why you made it free?

Max Watanabe: One day, the idea occurred to me “oh, let’s making it free”. Actually I have been wondering that why PC video game is so expensive, or how can we get the title popular and make a lot of people play the game. I’ve been thinking it while creating the game though, when the idea hit my mind, everything seemed to get clear. Off course, the creating the software cost too much. And calculating the cost, it was obvious that it was impossible to make it free. But anyway I just want people to take it.

Q: what is the benefit for making it free?

Max W: It would have the both merit and demerit.

Q: How much cost it took to create the game?

Max W: It’s not cool to say that. But it took time more than expected. So I think it cost more than average.

Q: How long it took to create?

Max W: Since the idea was planed, it has been 3 years, practically 2 years.

Q: When did you come up with the idea of making it free?

Max W: I thought it was around January, 2010.

Q: Didn’t you receive the reservation of the title until then?

Max W: Off course, we had marketing strategy. But actually I had wondered about the idea just before the moment. So I didn’t. “Something had to be changed or I couldn’t even stand on the stage” yes, it seemed like a new singer before the debut.

Q: And the conclusion was that distributing it for free. Some people thought that the company intended to attach the figma (figure of the animation character) to the software to make ends meet. Is it true?

Max W: I think it’s too difficult to make ends meet. The profit of the figma only would not be enough to compensate the all creating cost…

Q: Actually it’s hard to understand. You don’t expect to get the profit even for the creating cost. If you already had the offer of animation of the game, it was understandable. But…

Max W: Not at all hahaha.

Q: But you still intend to distribute the game for free?

Max W: Yes hahaha. What I want to do is to get people to know the title by all means. I believe that is the best way for us to stand on the start line.


■なんで無料にしたんですか？
―「se・きらら」の無料配布が話題になってますが、もともとは売り物予定だったんですよね？
なんで無料にしたんですか？


マックスファクトリー社長　MAX渡辺　 ある日「そうだ、無料にしよう！」と思い立ったんです。それまでずっとモヤモヤモヤモヤしてたんですね。PCゲームってどうしてこんなに高いんだろう？とか、人気タイトルになるためには、沢山の人に遊んで貰うためには、どうすればいいんだろうって。制作中ずっと悩んでいたのですが、そう思い至ったらスパっと吹っ切れたんです。もちろん開発費はたっぷり掛かってますし、まじめに計算すれば無料になんか出来ないことは明白だったのですが、「とにかくまずは手にとってもらおう」ってね。

―無料化にはメリットがあるのですか？

MAX渡辺　メリット、デメリット、そして功罪、両方あると思います。

―「se・きらら」の開発にはいくらくらい使われたんですか？

MAX渡辺　金額は野暮なので言いませんが、思ったよりもずっと開発に時間がかかったので、通常のPCゲームよりも多めに開発費を使っているとは思います。

―開発期間は？

MAX渡辺　企画発足から３年、実質の開発期間は2年間です

―「se・きらら」を無料配布しようと思ったのは、いつの段階ですか

MAX渡辺　２０１０年の１月に入ったころ、ですね。

―それまではパッケ―ジとして店頭予約とかはしてたんですか？

MAX渡辺　もちろん営業戦略は組み立ててはいましたけど、やる直前まで悩んでて実際に受付はしてないですね。このままじゃステージに立たせてもらうことすら出来ない、そう、デビュー前の新人歌手みたいな感覚でした。

―それをタダで配る？ figma付き限定版でペイするんじゃないかと予想している人もいるんですけど、実際どうなんですか？

MAX渡辺　それはかなり難しいと思います。figmaだけで「se・きらら」の開発費をペイする計算は・・・なかなか成り立ちそうにないです。

―ペイも出来ないのにやるっていうのが不思議なんですけど。例えば、もうすでにアニメ化があるとかなら分かるんですけど。

MAX渡辺　まったくないです。（笑）

―それなのにタダで配る？

MAX渡辺　はい(笑)。このタイトルを世の中にちゃんと染みこませようという、スタートラインに立つには、この方法が一番良いだろうなと。

news sauce: http://blog.livedoor.jp/geek/archives/50996100.html

Official Site of "se・KIRARA"
http://se-kirara.jp/index2.html



OPINION by FuangPing
Creator creates the dream

Actually, there are a lot of free download game in the internet. However, I have to say that basically the quality of such a kind of free game is not so good. But this time, it seems like a bit different.

As the president of the company said in the interview, the title "se・KIRARA" was originally usual game software which has price itself. And you will recognize it once you watch the animation of the game.

The thing is its contents.

To be honest, I still haven't played the game.
As the editor of ADJ, I must play and estimate it. yes.
Not for my libido, off course.