Creators of Shadow of the Colossus Claim: Graphics Are More the Main Focus

Fumito Ueda, the brilliant mind behind classics like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, and Keita Takahashi, the iconic creator of Katamari Damacy, agree that the obsession with realistic graphics in the gaming industry has lost its relevance to players. In an interview with Denfaminicogamer, translated into English and shared on Reddit, the legendary developers pointed out the popularity of Roblox as proof that low-fi aesthetics and gameplay are more important than visual fidelity.

The legendary Fumito Ueda and Keita Takahashi believe that the popularity of Roblox proves that players' priority is no longer graphics, but gameplay and experience.

Keita Takahashi highlighted the popularity of Roblox among children, who seem not to care about its blocky and low-fidelity graphics. With millions of active users daily (over 88 million in Q3 of 2024), Roblox demonstrates that a game's appeal can come from its accessibility, creativity, and social aspects, rather than cutting-edge graphics. Ueda, on the other hand, added that we are beyond the era where individually rendered blades of grass were a selling point for gamers.

Ueda delved deeper into the discussion, explaining that developers of his generation grew up in an era where game technology was constantly evolving – from larger sprites to 3D and then to HD. However, he argues that there has been a plateau in this graphical advancement. Now, developers need to focus on impressing players in other ways, directing resources to the "heart" of the game: its gameplay, narrative, and innovation.

The AAA industry's obsession with "photorealistic" graphics has created a significant challenge. Games like The Last of Us Part 2 cost US$220 million to produce, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 had a cost of US$300 million. These values are considered by many as unsustainable. The criticism from Ueda and Takahashi resonates with the idea that these resources could be better invested in making something "interesting" rather than rendering every individual pore on a character's face.