中文翻译：

我想在此介绍下部分此次采访的原文，可惜受限于字数限制，会有一些修改和删减，所以不要误会Bloomberg。

我十分感谢他们的坦诚和愿意同意我在此发布原采访内容。

请尽情享受这段故事，对我来说这就是迟来的圣诞礼物！

Bloomberg（简称B，下略）：您第一次与微软的接触是怎样的呢？

板垣伴信（简称I，下略）：时间点应该是紧接着Xbox的原型完成的时候吧，我记得差不多是产品正式公布前13个月吧，同时也是微软开始与日本工作室接洽的时候，也包括脱裤魔。微软当时想要见我，可能是他们相信我有最大化展现他们机器功能的能力吧。

B：我敢说在13个月内完成一款游戏时间上一定很紧张吧？

I：确实很紧张，但我已经习惯这种事了。我作为开发者的同时也是指挥者，所以我决定要做，那便去做。在Day1那天如果游戏不能准备万全的话那一切将毫无意义，同时也无法为微软的第一波宣发给予援助。所以我把在13个月内完成当成是一种使命，为此我倾尽了一切资源。

B：请问您当时得知微软进军游戏行业后的第一想法是？

I：我很欢迎。微软一直是一家计算机企业，在那之前有很多公司在做主机，像NEC，世嘉等等。你懂的，主机越多越好。在我的印象里微软是一家主攻操作系统的公司，因此我对他们在主机和游戏行业的想法很感兴趣。

B：您与Seamus Blackley的初次会晤是怎样的？

I：当时我在接待室里等着，然后他就走进来了，就他自己。我们交换了名片，但他几乎没怎么看我的，而是很快就放在一边，然后就直接坐在长椅上，接着他就是说了些，什么我们要做一个游戏主机，你加不加入这种。你知道的，他很高大，就像个陆战队员。后面我们又谈了一些，像是这个机子的功率，其它一些技术参数，发布日期，在发布方面的分期计划。全程口头交流，没有任何文件。我们谈了差不多一小时，我的想法就已经确立了。我的小组的任务就是创造出世界上最强的战斗游戏，而我们需要Xbox去实现这一点。Xbox在性能上比PS2强差不多四到六倍，所以是的，我们加入。

B：如果都是口头协议的话，还是和Blackley第一次见，我真不敢相信你能这么信任对方。

I：我曾见过很多人，并且你知道的，如果亲自和对方见面的话，你就能对对方有一定的把握。你花了一小时，到时候就能够对对方说的是否为真有个不错的把握了。至于Seamus，他对我提出的每一个问题都能够回答得很详尽。并不仅仅是机子的参数和相关日期，还有像是些针对一些可能的问题应该去怎么处理。他很直白并且可靠，就算他无法立即回答我的问题，他也会保证在回到美国与他的团队确认后立刻答复我，而且他真的说到做到了。他真的很可靠，我也是这种人，所以我们相处得很好。

B：尽管如此，像DOA这么宝贵的IP，我很惊讶你尽然能够赌在一个新平台上。

I：你知道的，任何事情都有或多或少的风险存在，但你可以通过一系列管控来将它们减少到最低。对于DOA3，只要能够管控好风险，我很确定我们能够获得巨大的成功。通过这个机子，还有那些坐在我面前的那些干劲满满的家伙们，加上微软也说会尽力而为，那我就无所畏惧。

B：我听说过一些日本公司对于微软的质疑言论，一个之前做软件的公司开始做硬件？

I：这么说吧，它对于如何构建硬件的态度与任天堂和索尼有着明显区别。任天堂和索尼都是基于其独特的芯片和架构来开发硬件，微软则是另辟蹊径，并非花费时间与预算在这上面而是对现有的组件进行组合，并且做出了这些组合里最好的一个。这就让一些日本公司产生了Xbox只是另一种PC的印象。

B：啊！这听起来就和现在的PS一样。

I：没错。这么说吧，任天堂还是追求着按它自己的路子在走，并且因此实现了巨大的成功，所以你也不能真的去轻视它。但对于索尼来说，它们换了路子选择和微软一开始走的路子一样。我希望Xbox和PS能够继续保持良好的竞争关系并且由衷地希望它们都能够获得成功。

B：你们和Xbox团队一起工作是怎样的呢？

I：你知道的，Seamus是真的很喜欢在每件事上小题大做。他发邮件给我，打电话给我，每周一次地问我现在什么情况，你还好不，需不需要帮助，如果你需要任何东西请务必告诉我，诸如此类的。有一次，他打电话给我问我情况如何，我差不多就是把一周前说的又说了下，目前为止进度没什么大变化，然后他就说月底会来我们办公室一趟，我就说，你来是可以来，但我这目前真没太多能给你看的，他就说，好，什么时候我能看到些新东西（这边疑似原文有误，应该是when而不是then），我回复说应该三个月后，他就说之后会回来检查，通话就终止了。但之后才一个月，我又收到了他的电话来问状况如何。然而在每一个他给我的提醒里，结尾处永远会有一行如果遇到任何问题请务必告诉他，他会在此帮我结局这些问题的话。他对承诺真的很上心。有个例子就是他将DOA3排进了审批的快速通道。你知道的，有一些平台拥有者会因为在一些无关紧要的小事情上埋怨来埋怨去从而导致进度缓慢，但对于微软和Seamus来说，不存在这些问题。

B：所以说与Xbox团队的合作很不错了？

I：非常不错。非常舒服。整个主Xbox团队，包括Seamus Blackley，Ed Fries，Kevin Bachus，还有他们经常和我一起玩高尔夫的领头人Robbie Bach和George Peckman，都给了我全方位的支持。我每两个月就会去一次Redmond，他们会为我介绍许多工具和支持以帮助加快游戏的开发。

B：你认为他们能够理解日本式的游戏制作吗？

I：我不敢说能够代表所有的日本工作室，但我的团队的方式是明显区别于Bungie的。Seamus让我参观过Halo的开发两次，说这个是超级机密。我当时还挺担心Halo的因为他的帧率真的很低。我和Seamus说Halo很令人担忧，你确定这样子没问题吗，然后Seamus差不多就是它很好你负责好你的部分就行了。Halo最后的成品是很棒的游戏，所以对我和Bungie来说，如何去创建一个游戏的方式是有很大不同的。Seamus对我的方式展现了足够的理解了吗？这么说吧，他其实并不是很在意过程。结果，结果，结果，他所有问的都是这个。你还好吗，接下来有什么，需要任何帮助吗--这就是一直以来我们之间相处的循环，也是我们如何完成的DOA3。

B：我听说微软对一些日本开发者并不是那么友好？

I：我倒不这么认为。如果微软真的有这样的态度，那也必定是日本开发者的态度造成的微软如此。我是一个专注于机器的人，但有很多日本开发者更专注于面向商务。甚至在微软有机会去介绍他们的机子时，日本工作室会问他们那对我们有什么好处而你们又能给我们什么。我不认为会有任何人能够从一开始就被以如此态度对待后，还能感到高兴。

B：您对DOA3的销量满意吗？

I：我们在全球卖了超过200万份，大大超过了公司的预期，因此必然是巨大的成功。但随之而来一个大问题：日本。微软先是告诉我们他们将要准备50万主机作为首发，所以我们的销售团队从零售商那积压了包含26.2万份游戏的订单。我依然清楚地记得这些数据。紧接着，就在发售之前，微软日本致歉并说他们只能保证25w份。等等，那可比计划中配备的DOA3份数要少啊。那时候我们真的什么都做不了，接着发售日就到来了。必然的，Xbox主机本身很快就卖脱销了但并非每个买Xbox的玩家喜欢格斗游戏。我想DOA3在日本买了大概17万到18万份。后面零售商有一些剩货，他们只想着抓紧清库存因为对他们来说那可是个旺季。接下来发生的就是DOA3开始从热卖下架而进入促销区，然后被标成300日元（当时差不多3美元）的低价，这仅仅在发售的一个月之后。这个游戏的风评遭受了不公正的对待并且被称作“一个3美元的游戏”，我对此也是十分伤感。你知道的，当玩家见到促销区有个低价游戏，他们便会倾向于觉得这个游戏很糟糕。这很令人沮丧和伤心。而且这也促使其它软件公司不愿将游戏发布在Xbox上。看吧，DOA3，赌在了Xbox上，现在就卖3美元。日本游戏公司更倾向于被动并且想看看第一个试水作品表现如何，而不是去大胆地第一个尝试。所以它们离开了，并且当看到没有多少日本公司时，日本玩家粉丝团体也开始逐渐散去。如果微软能够像当初承诺的一样准备50万份地话，事情将很可能有很大的不同，并且Xbox能够在日本市场获得完全不同的地位。这真的是Xbox在日本的一个分水岭，我不得不说Xbox在日本的首发是一个巨大的失败。

B：Xbox对游戏行业的贡献呢？

I：就像我说的，微软引入了与PC十分相似的架构，并且在实际上让这种方式成为了行业的标准。这是一个巨大的贡献，因为这让游戏开发更加简单。任何人都可以开发游戏，只要有PC。这促使了独立游戏开发者的诞生，并在今天独立游戏也有着巨大的市场。朕真的是微软的功劳--实现了使任何人都能用更低地成本更简单地去开发游戏。我希望Xbox继续保持优秀，就像它一直以来那样，并且我很确定Xbox能够在接下来的时间里也能够保持如此。

B：请告诉我你最近的情况。

I：在之前的四年里，我从事教育工作去培训行业新人，但现在我觉得我像重新开始游戏制作，并为此刚刚成立了一家公司。

B：噢！真是个好消息，我敢肯定有许多Xbox的粉丝正等着您的作品！

I：我做事你放心，拭目以待吧。不然我也不会接受这个关于Xbox文章的采访了。

B：那假如说，微软说他们想让你的公司成为他们旗下的工作室之一呢？

I：哈哈，那就让我从20年前对Seamus的那句提问开始说起吧。那时候，我问他，你有信心打败PS2吗？他说有。Xbox被叫做“Project Midway”而我将会和它一同取得霸权。这就是我为何会相信他并且真的为了微软创作了Xbox独占的游戏差不多十年。现在已经过去了二十年，我也成立了自己的公司，板垣游戏（Itagaki Games），不是脱裤魔，也不是英灵殿。我知道微软依然充满雄心壮志，如果他们通知了我，那将会是我的荣幸。

英文原文：

To those who read the article released by Bloomberg on Jan.6, 2021

(日本語版はコメント欄の方に掲載しています)

I would like to introduce you a part of my interview originally made for this article, but omitted from the official article due to its character limit. Such sort of deletions and modifications could often happen, so please do not think bad things about Bloomberg.

I’d rather thank them for their frankness and willing consent, which allow me to post the following part of my original interview here.

Please enjoy the story - This is a late Christmas gift from me!

Bloomberg: How did you meet with Microsoft first?

Itagaki: The timing was immediately after that prototype of Xbox was complete. I think it was about 13 months prior to the product launch, and that was when Microsoft began talking to Japanese studios, and Tecmo was one of them. Microsoft wanted to meet me, probably they believed I would be able to prepare a game that maximizes the machine’s full capabilities.

Q: I bet 13 months to make a game was very tight in terms of schedule?

A: Yes, was very tight, but I was so used to such things. I am a developer but also a commander, so when I decide to do it, I do it. There’s no meaning not to have a game ready on Day 1 otherwise you can’t help Xbox make the first wave. I took it as a mission to complete the job in 13 months. I thus poured resources to make it happen.

Q: Your first thoughts when you heard about MS coming to the industry?

A: I welcomed it. Microsoft is a computer company after all, and back then, a lot of companies were making hardware...NEC, Sega, and so on. you know, more hardware, it’s better. My image on Microsoft was an OS company, so I was interested in knowing their thoughts on the hardware and the industry.

Q: Your first encounter with Seamus Blackley?

A: I was waiting at a reception room, then he walked in, all by himself. We exchanged business cards, but he barely looked mine, rather put it aside quickly, plumped down on a couch, then he was like, we are making a game console, are you joining or not. you know, he’s big, and was like a marine soldier. Then we talked about a lot of things, like, horsepower of the machine, other technical specifications, launch date, planned installment base at the launch. All verbal, no papers at all. We talked for an hour or so, and my mind was set. My team’s mission was to create the world’s best fighting game, and we needed the Xbox for that. Xbox was four times to six times more powerful than the PS2, and yes, we were on.

Q: If all verbal, and was the first meeting with Blackley, I’m surprised you could believe him that much.

A: I met a lot of people, and you know, you get a good sense of that person if you meet in person. You spend one hour, and by the time you get a good sense of what that person is saying is true or not. As for Seamus, to every question I had, he answered very clearly. Not just machine specifications and dates, but things like, what would you do if this kind of trouble occurs. He was very clear and solid, and even if he couldn’t answer me right away, he promised he would get back to me immediately after he’s back in the U.S. and check with his teams, and he actually did. he was very solid. I am that kind of person as well, so we got along very well quickly.

Q: Still, DOA was such a valuable IP, and I was amazed you made such a bet on a new platform.

A: You know, everything got a risk or two, but you can minimize it by managing them right. As for DOA3, I was so sure we can make this a big success, if we manage risks right. with this machine, and with this passionate guy sitting in front of me, and that Microsoft is saying it would do its best after all, I had no doubt.

Q: I heard some skepticism among Japanese companies about Microsoft, a software company back then, doing hardware?

A: Well, an attitude toward how to build hardware was clearly different from Nintendo and Sony. Nintendo and Sony were both making hardware on their unique chips and unique architecture. Microsoft, on the other hand, didn’t spend time and budget but rather assembled existing components, but made the best possible one out of these components. That made some Japanese game companies an impression that Xbox was just a version of PC.

Q: Ah! That sounds like PlayStation today.

A: Indeed. Well, Nintendo is still pursuing its own way, and has made a big success on it, so you can’t really underestimate that. But as for Sony, they have changed the way and doing a thing like Microsoft was doing from the beginning. I hope Xbox and PlayStation continue to have a good competitive relationship and I wish both to be successful.

Q: How was work was like with Xbox team?

A: You know, Seamus really likes to make a fuss just on anything. He e-mailed me, called me, once every week and asked what’s going on, are you ok, do you need any help, if you need anything do reach me out, that sort. On one occasion, he called me and asked what’s going on, and I was like well it’s just been a week we talked last, no big progress is made since then. So he said, okay I am coming to your office at the end of this month, and I was, you can come, but there’s not much I can show you by then. He then, ok, then I would be able to see something, I replied maybe three months later. He then I would check back then, the call was ended, but only a month later, I get a call from him again and he said what’s going on. But on every note he made to me, at the end was always a line saying do reach out to me if any troubles, I am here to solve your troubles. He was very true to the pledge. One example was he put DOA3 on a fast track in terms of approval process. You know, there are some platform holders that make the process slow by complaining about a tiny thing that no one would care about, but as of Microsoft and Seamus, there was no such thing.

Q: So working with Xbox team was good?

A: Very much. Very comfortable. All the main Xbox team, including Seamus Blackley, Ed Fries, Kevin Bachus, their leader Robbie Bach and George Peckham who often played golf with me, provided me full support on me. I visited Redmond once every two months, and they introduced me a lot of tools and support that would help speed up game development.

Q: Do you think they understood Japanese way of making a game?

A: I can’t speak on behalf of all the Japanese studios, but my team’s approach was clearly different from Bungie. Seamus let me see Halo twice while the game was still in development, saying this is super confidential. I was worried about Halo back then because its frame rate was very low. I told Seamus that the Halo game was really worrisome, are you sure that is going to ok, and Seamus was like it’s fine so you do your own part. Halo ended up very great game, so how to land a game was very different from my style to Bungie’s style. Did Seamus show understanding to my style? Well, he didn’t care much about the process. outcome, outcome, outcome. That’s all he asked. Are you ok, what’s coming, you need any help--that’s the loop we walked through continuously, and that’s how we made the DOA3.

Q: I heard MS was sort not that polite to some Japanese developers?

A: I don’t think so. If there were such attitude by Microsoft, it was Japanese developers’ attitude that made Microsoft act that way. I am very machine-oriented guy, but many other Japanese developers are business-oriented. Even before Microsoft has a chance to explain their machines, Japanese studios would ask them, what’s the benefit for us and what you can do to us. I don’t think anyone would be happy to be given that sort of attitude from the beginning.

Q: What was your impression that a U.S. company is coming into the industry largely occupied by Japanese companies?

A: Very welcome and very natural thing to happen. This is an analogy, but a game console is a fighter jet. Every fighter got unique aspect, like, this is very fast but can’t load up many missiles. Software companies like us can’t build a fighter jet on our own, but we have a choice from many available, and you make a decision based on things like specification and support budget they provide us. What if there’s only one jet available in the world? That’s very bad because you can’t really negotiate. So it was very welcoming, and the Xbox was designed to be more powerful than the PS2 and machine was hitting the market soon, so i had no other options but to bet on.

Q: Any episodes with Seamus?

A: It was two weeks before DOA3’s master is up. Seamus called me suddenly, like he did all the time, and said, I got machineguns on both of my hands and i will go and attack Nvidia right now, you coming with me. I was like wait, what’s going on, I have no time for that as I’m busy finishing up DOA3, what happened. Then he said. Nvidia promised me that the GPU they provide us will be at 250MHz, but just called me and said there would be 10% reduction from that. That’s not what we’ve agreed on, so I am getting into Nvidia, are you with me or not. Then I was like, calm down Seamus, think what we need is to make sure games work at 225MHz. then he was like, yeah you right, ok, please do your part to make the game run at 225MHz, leave Nvidia up to me. You know, this is really typical Seamus. If you were just being apologized and said, sorry, GPU’s clock is going to be 10% lower, nothing is exciting and fun. but he’s really good at making a fuss about and put people on his pace, and when you realize, he make other people work for him to let him accomplish what he wanted to do. He’s really good at it. Oh, I complained Xbox’s first controller is bad. Button was tiny, response wasn’t good--you know, the button doesn’t return to the original position once pressed, and that’s a big headache for us because you can’t mash buttons. Seamus was initially not with me and said the controller was great, so I just passed it on him and ask to hold it and mash a button. Since his hands are also big but buttons are small, he had trouble doing mash too. See? I told you! It was like that. Ah, I also complained the console itself is too big. The Console is too big and cable is too long. I guess that’s a fit to an American house, but for Japanese homes, it was weird.

Q; You happy with DOA3’s sales?

A: We sold more than 2 million copies of the game worldwide, which was a lot better than the company’s projection, so was a big success. But it came with one big problem: Japan. Microsoft first told us they will prepare 500,000 units of the console at the launch, so our sales team piled up orders for 262,000 copies from retailers. I still remember these figures clearly. And then, soon before the launch, Microsoft Japan apologized and said they were only able to secure 250,000 units. Wait a second, that’s fewer than the planned dispatch copies of DOA3. There was nothing we can do by that time, and the launch date had come. Xbox console itself got sold out quickly for sure, but not every gamer that purchased the Xbox likes a fighting game. I think DOA3 in Japan sold 170,000 to 180,000 copies. Then retailers get some leftover, and they just want to clear inventories quickly because it was a busy season for them. What happened was DOA3 went into a wagon from shelf and marked down to as low as 300 yen ($3), just a month after the release. The game got an unfair reputation and called “a $3 game,” and i was so sad about it. You know, when gamers see a cheap game in a wagon, they tend to judge it’s a terrible game. It was frustrating and sad. And that promoted other software companies unwilling to publish games on Xbox. Look, DOA3, which bet on Xbox, is now sold only for $3. Japanese game companies tend to be more passive and want to see how the first penguin would perform, rather than they being first to jump off. So they moved away, and since seeing not many games from Japanese companies, Japanese game fans also faded away. If Microsoft was able to prepare 500,000 units at the launch as they promised, the thing could be much different and Xbox might have gained a whole different market position in Japan. That was a real watershed for Xbox in Japan. I have to say the first Xbox’s launch in Japan was a massive failure.

Q: Xbox’s contribution to game industry?

A: As I said, Microsoft introduced an architecture that is very similar to PCs, and made that style as de-facto standard in the industry. That is a huge contribution because it made game development much easier. Anyone can make a game if they have a PC. That led to the birth of indie creators, and huge indie market we have today. That’s really a Microsoft’s contribution--enabling anyone to make game easily, at low cost. I hope Xbox remains outstanding, as it has always been, and I’m sure Xbox can remain so for time to come.

Q: Tell me your recents.

A: For the past four years, I’ve been teaching job to foster juniors, but now I feel like I want to make a game again and just established a company for that purpose.

Q: Oh! That’s great news. I am sure a lot of Xbox fans are awaiting for your work!

A: You can count me for that. Otherwise I wouldn’t have accepted an interview for this Xbox article.

Q: What if, Microsofts said they want to make your company one of Microsoft studios?

A: Haha, I would start again with questions that I made to Seamus two decades ago. Back then, I asked him, are you confident that you will beat PS2? He said yes. Xbox is called “Project Midway” and I’ll gain the supremacy with it. That’s why I trusted him and actually created Xbox-exclusive games for about 10 years. 20 years have passed since then, and I established my own company, Itagaki Games, which is not Tecmo, nor Valhalla. I know Microsoft is still aggressive. If they reach out to me, it will be an honor for me.