Sakaguchi takes Mistwalker site live

TOKYO--In August, we reported that former Square executive vice president Hironobu Sakaguchi had established his own development studio, Mistwalker. The studio's Web site recently went live. On it, visitors can read what Sakaguchi has to say about his ongoing and upcoming projects.

"I've written the first draft for two of my project’s scripts. Both are RPGs." Sakaguchi, who's known to devoted Square fans as the father of the Final Fantasy series, said, "There's a big difference between the [two] settings. Working in parallel on the two projects is a change of pace, which I think is good."

"One of the projects will be combined with the stories that Shigematsu-san will be writing for us," Sakaguchi writes. Kiyoshi Shigematsu, a Japanese novelist, was the winner of the Naoki Prize for literature in 2000.

Sakaguchi went on to say, "We're hoping to bring a new sensation to games. It's a bit ambitious, but I want to keep challenging myself. I think games have a lot of depth as an entertainment, and there's still a lot of unexplored territory."

Sakaguchi comments little on the second project, except to say the story will focus on a man who doesn't give up. Former Square Enix composer Nobuo Uematsu and his new music studio, Smile Please, will also be collaborating with Mistwalker on the projects.