From http://blogs.sega.co...out-run-part-1/
Full interview at above link, partial interview below:
- It’s finally Out Run’s turn for the 3D Remaster Project. Shall we start?
Yosuke Okunari (below YO): It’s the third game in the 3D Remaster Project’s second batch, and the 11th game overall. Honestly, I didn’t think we’d be able to continue this far. But it is time to release what some consider to be the climax of the series, 3D Out Run. I want to thank you and everyone else for supporting us.
Naoki Horii (below NH): Yes, thank you very much.YO: Actually, I was thinking this game would come out sometime in the summer of 2014 (the title released in the spring of 2014 in Japan). Last year’s series finished up in the summer, after all. I’m glad we were able to keep on track.
NH: Is this a compliment? Or are you saying you didn’t think we could do it?
YO: Well, we got some help from various groups, and as a result you can all take a drive during Golden Week*. I’ve always timed arcade game releases to coincide with long break periods, so personally I think it really worked out.
* Golden Week is a period at the beginning of May in Japan where three national holidays line up and the public takes advantage of this to take up to a week and a half off.
- I think Out Run is a title everyone’s been waiting for.
YO: You know, people always ask why we didn’t put the really famous games from SEGA’s physical experience lineup, like Out Run and After Burner, at the front of the series rather than the end.
The first batch was focused on the base groundwork, so we could figure out if these 3D conversions were even possible in the first place. It started with Space Harrier, which M2 started by telling us it wouldn’t run, but through time and effort they got it running in the end. We placed a lot of importance on this, so we worked on games that we had experience with in previous projects.And thanks to you all, we have received very positive feedback on 3D Space Harrier. And with this second batch, we started by releasing games that were of particular interest to the Japanese users. The reason we didn’t do After Burner II and Out Run in the first batch is that these are games that M2 hadn’t worked on in the past, and would be much more difficult to develop, as well as the fact there’s a lot of other “paperwork,” so to speak, that these particular titles required prior to being released.
For Out Run especially, there’s a number of reasons we cannot simply release the original arcade version as-is, and thus it’s previously been considered “unportable.” But we’ve heard so many people tell us, “Release Out Run!” And of course, it’s a title we want to release as well. I mean, if you are going to have Space Harrier, Super Hang-On, and Galaxy Force II, it’d just be strange if we didn’t also have After Burner II and Out Run.
NH: Well, won’t it be strange if we don’t have Thunder Blade!?
- (laughs)
YO: You really just don’t give up on that. Would it really be that strange if we don’t?
NH: Wouldn’t it? I mean, the game really does stand out.
YO: It only stands out because you keep bringing it up in these interviews.
- Well, I’d like to see you guys put out Thunder Blade.
