"I don't care if they sell well or not" Danganronpa creator stands by making games he likes
At a time where sales and growth are king, Kazutaka kodaka stands by his vision.
It's a rough time in the video game industry right now, as closures and layoffs hit various developers around the world. In this environment, creator of Danganronpa and Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Kazutaka Kodaka has stated he doesn't care if his games sell well or not. As long as he likes them, he's happy.
This statement came forth on Twitter / X early this morning. The post states: Because I only make games that I like. So I don't care if they sell well or not. Because it is more distinctive than perfection, and it is not a game that will be liked by everyone. I want as many people with similar sensibilities to me to buy my games as possible."
Kodaka appears to be living this mantra in recent years. Leaving Spike Chunsoft back in 2018, he has since gone on to found Too Kyo games alongside six other veteran Japanese devs. This indie company (albeit one that still works closely with Spike Chunsoft from time to time) has since focused on a very particular style of game - very much identifiable as one of Kodaka's works but clearly different from his prior work on the Danganronpa series which garnered him fans worldwide.
His games, while cool, are clearly niche. As of July this year it passed by 300,000 worldwide sales which y'know isn't exactly shaking the industry by its roots. While its DNA still very much has a lot of visual novel in it, RAIN CODE is also a touch more interactive than other games in the genre.
It is always cool to see creatives in the video game space stay true to these sorts of ideals. You tend to see it with auteurs, those who push incredibly hard to land their particular narrative and game design vision, but sometimes it gets washed down as these creatives work at larger companies. It looks like Kodaka still has that fire in him.