“It felt like it has been a while since we created a brand new franchise,” Splatoon producer Hisashi Nogami told IGN of Splatoon, Nintendo’s competitive multiplayer shooter released back in May 2015. The game’s final Splatfest competition may be over, but Nintendo hasn’t forgotten the fans who helped its new IP succeed. “We’re really happy with the response to Splatoon and with the amount of fans who are supporting it.” Since launch, Splatoon has sold 4.42 million worldwide on Wii U.
IGN spoke to Nogami and Nintendo EPD general manager Katsuya Eguchi during Gamescom. Both men oversaw the creation of Splatoon by younger developers at Nintendo. The duo are credited as co-directors on the first Animal Crossing, released in 2001, as well as a wide swath of other Nintendo games.
We decided to turn the tables on the Splatoon producers and ask them to choose sides in five Splatfests competitions. We made up two of these Splatfest ideas, the rest came from previous themes used in Nintendo’s squid-kid shooter. Read on to see what they said, and play along! Just pick a side in the poll embedded at the end of each section.
The first Splatfest in North America pit man’s best friend against an internet superstar.
Eguchi: “I choose cats.”
Nogami: “I choose dogs.”
Nogami: “I prefer dogs, but I actually have a cat at home as a pet.”
Splatoon producer Hisashi Nogami (pictured left) and Nintendo EPD GM Katsuya Eguchi (right).
Eguchi: “I actually own a dog.”
Nogami: “My reason for preferring dogs is that I feel you can communicate with them more deeply. Cats just kind of go off and do their own thing.”
Eguchi: “I prefer that cats are more selfish and do their own thing. I like that they’re independently spirited.”
Who would win in a Splatfest contest of brother against brother?
Eguchi: “I choose Mario.”
Nogami: “In real life, I am someone’s younger brother. In that respect, I have an affinity for Luigi.”
Eguchi: “My reason for choosing him is Mario’s portly figure. Since I was a child, I’ve always been a little on the tubby side. So I feel a closer affinity to Mario rather than Luigi, who looks tall and thin.”
In Japan, the Pokemon Splatfest pit Pokemon Red against Pokemon Green.
Eguchi: “I choose Pokemon Green.”
Nogami: “I pick Pokemon Green, as well.”
Nogami: “My reason is because when I went to buy my copy, Pokemon Red was sold out. So I had to get Pokemon Green, but once I played it I grew to love it.”
Eguchi: “I like the Pokemon on the cover, the one that you can get at the start of Pokemon Green. I’m a Bulbasaur fan. I chose the same one at the start of Pokemon GO.”
The final Splatfest pit the tag-team host, the Squid Sisters, against each other.
“We didn’t realize how popular the squid sisters would be,” Nogami told IGN. “It’s only after the release that we saw how much people like those characters.” Nogami told us that theme for the final Splatfest, which pit Team Callie against Team Marie, was not part of Nintendo’s initial plan. Neither was the amiibo. “We hadn’t thought of doing a Callie and Marie Splatfest until we saw what a great reaction it had from the fans.” But which team did Splatoon’s producers play in the final Splatfest?
Nogami: “I just want to say, in response to this question, they both feel like daughters to me. This is a very difficult question to answer (Nogami squirms in his chair to show us how he feels about this question). It’s like being asked which of your own daughters do you prefer. But, to be honest, in the last Splatfest I played as Team Callie. And I was disappointed by the final results” (Team Marie won the final Splatfest contest in Splatoon).
Eguchi: “This is a really tough question. I really like both of them. But, if I’m going on my first impression based on when I saw the two characters for the first time, I slightly liked Callie a bit more as well. That was my first impression, but now I lean more towards the Marie side. Similar to my answer to the dog and cat question earlier and their personalities, … Callie is the more energetic one and her personality would be the equivalent of what a dog is like, in terms of being more fond and coming up to engage with you. Whereas Marie is more cat-like one that does her own thing and isn’t so bothered about stuff. I initially was fond of Callie and then over time I started to prefer Marie.”
Eguchi: “As time passes, I will probably go back to liking Callie.”
Given Nogami and Eguchi's history with Animal Crossing, we had them choose between Team Nook or Team Isabelle.
Nogami: “I choose Tom Nook.”
Eguchi: “I choose Isabelle.”
Nogami: “My reason for choosing Tom Nook is because he feels like a strong friend I’ve had throughout my life. Tom Nook has looked after me. The Animal Crossing series is 15-years old this year, and I am currently 45-years old. For a third of my life, Tom Nook has accompanied me. I like Isabelle as well, but I’ve only really known her for four years. I go back 15 with Tom Nook (laughs).”
Eguchi: “Nogami-san’s reason is a good one, but mine is simplier. I love Isabelle’s smile and the way she waves to you. At my age, people don’t always wave to you like that. But Isabelle is always there, she’s always smiling, and she’s so happy to see you. I find that charming.”
Jose Otero is an Editor at IGN and host of Nintendo Voice Chat. You can follow him on Twitter.
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