Well, I have seen the demo of Lost Odyssey in action. The game is so very grown-up and pieced together with such seamless virtuousity that I really don't know what to say. I'm impressed as I've ever been with a videogame. It is beautiful. I'm about as excited about it now, as a fully functioning (really), independent adult, as I was excited about Final Fantasy VII as a college student, as I was about Final Fantasy IV as much younger man. I look forward to this game.
Seeing (and playing) is believing, and I am a believer in Lost Odyssey. My immediate judgment is a belief that it will sell this console to at least a million Japanese gamers. And Microsoft must think so too –it’s going to make sure this game is everywhere. It will be featured most prominently at the company’s booth at Tokyo Game Show, and, if its promise to host all show-floor demos on Xbox Live holds true, that should mean this game's demo will be available for download next Wednesday night.
In addition, Sakaguchi proudly announces in the interview that the demo will be packed in with the issue of Famitsu released on October 20th. Quite auspicious -- just two weeks before the Xbox 360 price drop and three weeks before the PlayStation 3 launch. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft announced at Tokyo Game Show that Blue Dragon was being released on the same day as PlayStation 3.
There are people all over the Japanese game industry who doubt Lost Odyssey will have an impact. These people mostly quote sad statistics about how sequels sell, and they're safer business bets. These statistics are called statistics for a reason, yes; still, it's inspiring to have someone like Hironobu Sakaguchi around to defy them. He wants to make new games. Some are skeptical that he's giving Microsoft "false hopes" and just "using" the money to throw together a game. I say this is not the case, because the creative people he has making his game, if the demo tells no lies, are getting paid very well to make a hell of a product. If it's positioned as well marketing-wise as it's starting to look like it is, Sakaguchi might just make a miracle, and might just strike a resounding blow against the syndrome that's been plauging the Japanese games industry for a decade, that being the syndrome that fols people into believing "People don't make games, NUMBERS make games."