Via Famitsu, former MAGES. CEO Chiyomaru Shikura provided fans with a number of new insights regarding MAGES. and the future of the Science Adventure series in late October. For reader convenience, we have translated and/or summarized relevant information from the article below.
MAGES.’ present and future strategy
- As mentioned above, Chiyomaru Shikura is now the former CEO of MAGES.; Kengo Honjo now serves as the CEO of MAGES., while Shikura serves as a representative director for the company.
- In addition, Takanori Nishikawa, who has previously worked with MAGES. to produce the B-Project series, now serves as an advisor for MAGES.
- Nishikawa stated that he and Shikura had been discussing this for three years, and with the restructuring of MAGES., he became involved. He stated that he was appointed as an advisor to show other people that despite the coronavirus situation, Japanese artists need to face new challenges in order to overcome their current struggles.
- Shikura stated that the company will aim to continue using in-house engines for their games as opposed to outsourcing.
On the Steins;Gate thematic sequel
- When asked what his intentions were when he announced the Steins;Gate thematic sequel before the release of Anonymous;Code, Shikura stated:
“To tell you the truth, I don't believe it was in our best interest to reveal the Steins;Gate thematic sequel at the time. There is quite a bit of content that we have announced that has not yet been released. But in regards to the thematic sequel, I had previously mentioned[...] that we had a large bomb that we were prepared to drop in our presentation we planned to hold within the year. Originally, when we were asked to develop ten projects to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Steins;Gate, we wanted to create a project on the same scale as what we had already announced, and this is what that came to be.”
- When asked if development on the story of the thematic sequel has already begun, Shikura stated that it has, and that he has already written a sizable portion of it.
- The article provides further clarification from Shikura stating that this is in reference to a collection of notes that summarize the main story points and information for each scene.
- Shikura noted that Steins;Gate 0 already caps off the story of Steins;Gate, and as a result, creating more content for Steins;Gate would be redundant. This is the reason why a thematic sequel is being worked on as opposed to another fandisc for Steins;Gate.
- The interviewer noted that the thematic sequel has not explicitly been confirmed to be a game. When they asked Shikura if it is possible that a media adaptation of the story might be released first as opposed to a game, Shikura stated that it would depend on their IP department, but it is possible that an anime or movie adaptation may release first.
- Shikura stated that they plan to develop the title for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5, although he stated that the MAGES. engine wasn’t compatible with the latter quite yet. Despite this challenge, they still plan to release the game on all platforms simultaneously as opposed to staggering the release of the PlayStation 5 port.
On Anonymous;Code and the future of the series
- When asked if Anonymous;Code will be receiving an animated adaptation, Shikura said “There is yet to be an entry in the Science Adventure series that does not have an animated adaptation, so please look forward to it.”
- This statement is slightly misleading; Science Adventure titles such as Robotics;Notes DaSH and the Love Chu☆Chu titles do not have adaptations yet.
- In regards to Steins;Gate 0 Elite, Shikura mentioned that it will feature brand new animations, as the visual novel features narrative branches that are not included in the anime. This may run counter to a prior unconfirmed statement from SciADV producer Tatsuya Matsubara.
- When asked if there are any other projects in development at MAGES. at the moment, Shikura stated:
“I can't provide any specifics, but there are still two more titles in the Science Adventure series that are planned, both of which currently have their basic plot determined at the very least. One of the things I'm attempting to do is work hard to make both of them enjoyable as independent stories. However, I believe that the reason the Science Adventure series is so interesting is because of its continuity. I know it's not easy for our audience to play all of them, but for those who have been present with us and our series until now, we hope to deliver some proper fanservice when the time comes.”
(Special thanks to our newest staff member, ChrisGLink, for his translation and summary assistance.)
If you like this site, please consider supporting us on Patreon
