Treasure's Maegawa: Microsoft Asked For Radiant Silvergun On XBLA

Author: by Staff

Talking to Gamasutra as part of an in-depth new interview, Treasure CEO Masato Maegawa has revealed that Microsoft asked it to remake classic shoot'em-up Radiant Silvergun for XBLA -- though Treasure hasn't yet decided whether to do it. Originally released to arcades and the Sega Saturn in Japan in 1998 Radiant Silvergun was the precursor to Treasure's other revered shoot'em-up, Ikaruga. Though the game never saw a Western release, it has developed its own cult following, part of its appeal owing to its expensive import pricing and rarity, but also due to its unique weapons systems, which forgoes power-ups in favor of offering seven different weapons accessible at any time. With the popularity of downloadable console games, Maegawa reflects on the possibilities of re-releasing Radiant Silvergun on a console service, commenting, "I think we'd definitely like to see it out there. But the situation around that game is a bit different from Ikaruga, so I don't know if we'd see it on [Xbox Live]." "Microsoft actually asked us if we could put it out," he says. "We're thinking about it, certainly, but it's not as simple as just saying 'OK, let's put it up.' I mean, sure, with Ikaruga, we released it as-is without having to do or add a great deal to the game, and it was popular and well accepted for what it was." "But if you play Radiant Silvergun nowadays, it's certainly aged in assorted ways, and I'm not sure they're all good," he adds, laughing. You can read the full Treasure interview with CEO Masato Maegawa on the company's future and celebrated releases, like Bangai-O and Ikaruga (no registration required, please feel free to link to this feature from other websites).