Splatoon game director Tsubasa Sakaguchi isn't often available for interviews, so Family Gamer TV was understandably excited when he invited the families and children it works with to share their pressing questions.
While we might want to know how he came up with the design for the game, or what the business drivers would be going forward, it seems that younger minds had other ideas.
As you can see in the video, the kids were much more interested with the minutiae of the game, and of course whether people really did eat squid. See Sakaguchi listen intently to his young audience and give some great answers which actually gave a nice insight into the playful mind of a creator at the peak of his game.
Sure it's a bit of fun, but the children who had their questions answered all agreed it was great to be listened to by someone who has such a big impact on their gaming lives. We'll leave you with the interview and questions below.
Why doesn't the paint mix up in Splatoon?
Tsubasa Sakaguchi: Do you know that water and oil do not mix together, according to our studies of the inklings the two coloured inks do not mix together like water and oil as well.
Why does the other team's paint slow you down but yours doesn't?
Tsubasa Sakaguchi: I'm sure you will be able to swim fast in a pool, but in a pool of oil you won't be able to swim so fast. We think that it's quite similar to that.
Why does the hair look like squid legs?
Tsubasa Sakaguchi: Did you know that squid have ten legs? The inklings as well they have their arms and their legs which make up four then they have their hair make up another two, then the remaining four are hidden at the back of their head. Their ten squid legs exist on their body. It looks like they have hair but this is actually squid legs.
Why is there a big fat cat waving a flag at the end of a level?
Tsubasa Sakaguchi: Have you ever noticed Judd's outfit before? He looks very similar to a referee in a boxing match. The reason why the Judd is Judging the winner is because of his keen eye to instantly determine who has coloured in the most. Why is there just one cat in the world of Splatoon? The clue is hidden in the sunken scrolls...
Which is the best weapon in Splatoon?
Tsubasa Sakaguchi: There's no strongest weapon in Splatoon, all weapons have their strengths and their weaknesses. I hope you get better at Splatoon and find the weapon that you like.
My sister says you can eat squid is that true?
Tsubasa Sakaguchi: Yes, you can eat squid in lots of different ways. You can eat it in paella, you can have it as sushi, you can grill it. In Japan we even dry the squid so it is super thin — very popular food in Japan.
Could we play with two GamePads on split screen if we had them?
Tsubasa Sakaguchi: Sorry, unfortunately you can't do that.
Are you going to do any more amiibos, maybe with clothes they can wear?
Tsubasa Sakaguchi: I think being able to give amiibo clothes is a great idea. It would be difficult to do that, but maybe you could make some sun glasses, hats and clothes to put on the existing amiibo.
Comments 23
I like this guy, he always seems quite happy to do interviews about the game.
Sakaguchi-san is the best!
Those questions xDDDD Frikkin adorable kids.
Even little kids know this game needs dual Game pad support. Hopefully NX will be powerful enough to work w/ 4 Game pads, or 3DS, like GameCube worked w/ 4 Game Boys.
Nice of him to do the interview, he seems like an really nice guy.
@rjejr Ha, the moment I saw that question I knew you'd be here.
I really do want multiple gamepad support, but I want split-screen local play in Splatoon even more. I'm sure they could come up with an acceptable way to do the squid jump without the touchscreen.
He dodged the new amiibo question!
Why can't I stop playing Splatoon?
Cute.
It's nice to see young talented designers at Nintendo. Hopefully he doesn't over do it and become reluctant and a little jaded like it seems sakurai has become.
As much as I love Splatoon - I get frustrated with how broken the game can be. It's hard some nights to join a lobby and have that one guy who is seemingly invincible, teleports all over the place, and immune to enemy ink. Is their anyway this can be remedied from nintendo's perspective? I am pretty sure my connection is fine as a team mate and I cornered a roller that was going Steven segall on my team (the guy was untouchable) Annnnd we shared a bubbler, painted every last area of the corner, then, suddenly we kind of both stood there for a second like, WTF and the roller literally appeared out of thin air and splatted us both. How can that be fixed because me and the teamate were witnessing the same thing. It's kind of a big problem and frustrating when it starts to affect your rank.
Those are nicely worded answers. It's great to now know about all of the squid legs
They didn't ask if he was a kid or a squid.
Very disappointed in those children.
@rjejr You know, they could launch the Nintendo handheld first, then after lots of them have been sold, they can announce a Nintendo console that those handhelds can be paired with!
I realized this just as I read your comment - the bonus is they don't have to bundle a tablet controller with every unit!
I feel like a genius!
Thanks you.
Soo cute! And the kids were sweet as well.
He seems so awsome Also really good questions actually.
@rjejr 2 Gamepads! Only answer: sorry. sigh
@shigulicious lol'd at that. My daughter is finding it quite easy to play without stopping.
@sinalefa The sisters will probably happen.
@shigulicious Because it's THAT awesome!
@rjejr Smash already supports the 3DS as a controller, I guess even four of them, too? Anyway, It shouldn't have anything to do with the computing power of the main console.
@ricklongo I don't see the benefit in having two gamepads or local splitscreen? We already have local 1on1 (even with motion controls, if you have a Pro Controller and a Wiimote) an it's really boring because there are basically six players missing on the map...
How do you suppose to have seven or eight players look at the same screen? And Splitscreen is outdated anyway. I mean, on a projector, it's okay. But on anything smaller, its just not so great sharing the screen. And it never was to begin with.
I'm not saying that MK8 with four players with Splitscreen on a regular size TV isn't playable, but it's far from being ideal.
Aaaand we are getting custom lobbies in a week anyway. So you can play with your friends online. No need for local splitscreen. And even now you can just set up two Wii Us in one room and play locally but online together/against each other.
I love how they always bring it back to "studying" the Inklings. Nice interview.
This is neat
New amiibo please!
@TheWPCTraveler I'm constantly trying to figure it out in my head - NX as a base than all 3DS and the Gamepads work w/, NX is a bundle like Wii U only they actually sell the Gmaepad separately and it supports 4. NX covers both the handheld or the home, the home comes w/ the Pro - like a lot of people think they should have done w/ Wii U. Whatever it is they decide, you'll be able to play handheld games on the tv and tv games on the handheld at some point in the future, I'm pretty confident of that.
@shani - I think SSBU might actually support 8 3DS, that's only $7.92. But how much better would it be for Splatoon if the new 3DS XL were supported, an entire team in 1 house? I'm pretty sure whatever NX is, there will be integration for almost all Nintnedo games
@ricklongo - I'm changing my avatar every day so nobody can find me
This guy really become a star with Splatoon! Love how friendly and funny he appears to be!
Also happy to see younger generation getting pushed within Nintendo! These are the guys who will carry on Nintendo in future.
These answers sound made up.
@shani The local multiplayer mode is nothing at all like the online, but I'm sure you know it.
2-on-2 split screen local multiplayer (or even a 4-on-4 online mode that lets you play with three friends locally on your team) would be an absolute dream for me. As much as I've been enjoying the game online, it's really not the same as having a few friends around to laugh and have fun with you.
So these are the kinds of fresh and younger minds at Nintendo, huh?
Not bad...
But really, this guy seems really cool.
Mr. Tsubasa Sakaguchi: from the bottom of my heart or tentacles...still not sure if I am a 36 year old kid or a 14 year old squid...THANK YOU!!! Your game is absolutely amazing and I have not been able to walk away from it to play any other game since release. Love the interview. Love the friendly smiles. Love the playfulness that you exude...it certainly shows in your masterpiece we refer to as: SPLATOON! Splatoon On!
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