Interview: Scot Bayless

[Melf]

Japanese personalities, especially high profile ones like Naka and Suzuki are almost impossible for fan sites to interview. They're usually not allowed/willing to talk to any site or magazine that doesn't have major hits or high circulation. I've had luck with the two I've interviewed (Yuzo Koshiro and Noriyuki Iwadare) because they are independent.

[sheath]

Wow, that is the ad I thought we were talking about. I hardly even recognize the guy, and never noticed the shot was taken on a beach. Scot Bayless is quickly becoming one of my favorite industry types.

To Melf's point, gaining interviews of any kind is beyond a part time job and requires credentials. Even though my site has been around for a decade now, because it doesn't see many hits nobody knows about it and I seriously doubt anybody would let me interview them without even more effort on my part. Melf is doing the entire community a great service by managing these interviews so professionally.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Japanese personalities, especially high profile ones like Naka and Suzuki are almost impossible for fan sites to interview. They're usually not allowed/willing to talk to any site or magazine that doesn't have major hits or high circulation. I've had luck with the two I've interviewed (Yuzo Koshiro and Noriyuki Iwadare) because they are independent.

Well technically aren't Naka and Suzuki independent now too since they've formed their own development studios? And I know a NiGHTS fansite did get Naka to do an interview with them for the 15th anniversary of NiGHTS into Dreams.

[Melf]

I will always try and contact a personality if I can, no matter how remote the odds of them accepting are. It took me over a year to track down and convince Tom Kalinske, and I had to hound Yuzo for a little more than that (he was really sorry about that though, and he sent me some autographed soundtracks!). Japanese personalities are just not as eager to talk.

Case in point: I just shot off an email to a mutual contact I have with Shuji Utsumi. I got shot down because Utsumi is very private and doesn't talk to journalists. Unless a friend of mine bumps into him at the Tokyo Game Show or Game Developers Conference, he won't be talking.

[SEGA.GENESIS1989]

Now that is amazing! Autographed soundtracks by Yuzo Koshiro! Now that is quite a nifty item!

[chessage]

I will always try and contact a personality if I can, no matter how remote the odds of them accepting are. It took me over a year to track down and convince Tom Kalinske, and I had to hound Yuzo for a little more than that (he was really sorry about that though, and he sent me some autographed soundtracks!). Japanese personalities are just not as eager to talk.

Case in point: I just shot off an email to a mutual contact I have with Shuji Utsumi. I got shot down because Utsumi is very private and doesn't talk to journalists. Unless a friend of mine bumps into him at the Tokyo Game Show or Game Developers Conference, he won't be talking.

You'll just have to interview other people from the era, like these former SOA staffers:

Steve Hutchins
Mark Lindstrom
David Perkinson
Mark Subotnick

[NeoZeedeater]

and never noticed the shot was taken on a beach.

I don't think I noticed the beach part back in the day either, or at least I didn't remember it. I do recall seeing the mention of Nintendo, though.

Awesome interview.