Grasshopper Manufacture is growing and in a different direction with two ex-Marvelous Entertainment icons on the team. Yasuhiro Wada, the creator of Harvest Moon and former President of Marvelous Interactive, is now the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Grasshopper Manufacture. Yoshiro Kimura, the brains behind Chulip and Little King’s Story, will be the company’s CCO (Chief Creative Officer).
Without a doubt, this was the announcement Goichi Suda, CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture, was hinting at yesterday.
In an interview with Famitsu, Suda said he believes having Wada and Kimura on will make Grasshopper Manufacture a stronger company. While Grasshopper Manufacture released No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle this yeah, the studio did not release a single game in 2009. This can hurt the studio’s brand, according to Suda, and is something he regrets. Having Wada and Kimura on board will allow Grasshopper to produce a steady stream of games.
"Everyone, we’re in the middle of preparing many things that will surprise you," Suda said.
No games attached to Wada or Kimura have been announced. However, Suda hopes Wada, being the mastermind of Harvest Moon, will create games that appeal to women and children with worldwide appeal. For Kimura, Suda wants to make a place where he can fulfill his role.
Wada was invited to join Grasshopper Manufacture and he was "truly happy" about the decision, but also said "I think if Grasshopper was a subsidiary I would not have come." Kimura almost left the video game industry. After leaving Marvelous he thought about quitting game development and didn’t even give Suda an immediate reply after an invitation to join Grasshopper. He decided to join after Suda discussed the pros and cons of working at Grasshopper Manufacture.
Grasshopper Manufacture has three games currently in development: Shadows of the Damned, Codename D, and Sina Mura.
