“We’ve started full-scale development.”
In a new interview with 4Gamer, Shin Megami Tensei V producer Kazuyuki Yamai has stated that full-scale development is finally underway, along with more details on how the game will work. The interview is entirely in Japanese but translations from other sites gives us a clear understanding of what’s being exchanged.
It’s worth pointing out that Shin Megami Tensei V was revealed over a year ago, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch and back in December Kazuyuki Yamai expressed that the game’s development was in a “scrap-and-build phase.”
In the interview below, 4Gamer asked about the status of Shin Megami Tensei V. In response, Yamai stated (as translated by Persona Central):
At the start, the production of this project only had a few people at its core, with more and more people gradually becoming involved. Although this number is still increasing, I feel that the production staff has come together considerably to a point—and reaching a milestone—where we can say we’ve started full-scale development.”
Yamai added that Atulus wants to make a big deal out of this release seeing as it’s the first major console release in a while, last game being Shin Megami Tensei III for the PS2. He would like to make Shin Megami Tensei V in a way that compliments both home consoles and handhelds and convenience will definitely play a big part in this installment as he emphasizes on wanting it to have “a sense of relaxation” enjoying demon fusing while laying on a bed and compares it to Shin Megami Tensei IV and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse on 3DS.
Compared to previous titles, Yamai thinks that the effort they’re putting into demons this time around is about three times more.
Lastly, Yamai gave us more insight on the surplus of staff-members they’re having, compared to when they first started.
“When the game’s production first started, the project only had a few core members, and we’ve been gradually adding more people to it. While more people will be joining, we now have a solid group of staff members, and I feel like we’ve reached the turning point where we can actually say we’re making it.”