Digimon Story Time Stranger essentially took eight years to make. That doesn’t mean it was a continuous process, with a clear-cut beginning, middle, and end. It was stops and starts, ideas and loopholes, and eventually, a video game.
Time Stranger’s done rather well for itself, as we’ve noted several times in the couple of months since launch. It’s commanded a respectable share of the broader JRPG-buying public, which – while hardly the biggest sector in gaming – is fiercely loyal and tends to snag plenty of titles. All this from a game that, ostensibly, might have a built-in “it’s Digimon, which I don’t care about” factor that could deter some buyers. Not so!
Given the wins, it’s understandable that fans are hyped for what comes next from the team at Bandai Namco who made the magic happen. The good news is, an eight-year wait seems downright improbable, what with all the plans swirling in the devs’ heads right now.
Don’t Worry, They’ve Got This
As spotted by the hard-working sleuths over at Automaton, and pulled from a source interview with Japanese publication 4Gamer, Time Stranger producer Ryosuke Hara’s delivered some reassuring words to all of us Digidestined. Let’s dive right into the goods:
“We’re currently placing a strong emphasis on collaboration with Toei Animation and other affiliated companies when it comes to Digimon content. Through these efforts, we aim to grow the Digimon IP as a whole, while continuing to put effort into games.”
Cool. Growing the IP is grand. Digimon is popular, but it’s generally flown under the radar relative to what I reckon it could achieve. Toei could use the assist. (By the way, Beatbreak? The ongoing new series? Banger in the making.) As for that oof-inducing previous eight-year window, worry not:
“This time, it took us eight years, but the Digimon team is now gradually expanding in scale and working on establishing a structure that will allow us to grow in a sustainable way.”
Considering Digimon Story Time Stranger hit the one-million sales mark a while back, and when viewing the project within what was likely to be a relatively modest budget (albeit an inflated one… eight years), there’s reason to suspect it’s surpassed internal expectations. But we never really know until we know, and while we still don’t “know,” companies generally do not expand the scale of their productions if said productions do not deliver results. In fact, the uh, opposite happens, as we’ve seen time and again lately.
If there’s one thing I’m not sure about, it’s director Yusuke Tomono’s statement regarding what a successor project might aim to achieve. Tomono has plenty of reassuring words in 4Gamer’s interview, but his bit about making a Digimon game with less of a “barrier of entry” for newcomers could potentially go sideways. I don’t know – I’ve seen that said in very weird ways, like with Fire Emblem Engage. (To be fair, that was just odd; newcomers wanted, but here’s a bunch of iconic franchise characters we expect to serve as a selling point for you, too.)
In any case, it’s hard to imagine there won’t be another Digimon Story game in our future. Perhaps in just a couple of years this time around, at that. Good times ahead.
Well, At Least Hideo Kojima Loved Stranger Things’ Ending
Or, liked it a lot, in any case!
