Keiji Inafune not impressed with E3 2013 software line-up

Former Capcom producer and current Comcept head of game design Keiji Inafune said in a Famitsu interview that he wasn't impressed with the software lineup during his visit to E3 2013.

Inafune was at E3 this year to promote his upcoming title Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, and said there wasn't anything on the show floor that grabbed his attention. "We're right at the cusp of new hardware launches, after all, so my impression was that it was nothing but sequels and there aren't any new titles in the end. With the previous generational shift, too, it seemed like they couldn't do anything new, and the launch games for the new systems didn't really seem made for the systems, but were instead previous-gen games made for next-gen systems" he said.

Despite the comment above, he seemed positive about the reveal of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. "[Sony and Microsoft's new consoles have] great capabilities as machines. However, instead of focusing on those capabilities, they're devoting their time to thinking about how to position the gamer with the hardware, or how to get them playing it. The first parties are challenging the game makers here, since it's their job to make their mission a reality," he said.

"Both game creators and the gamers themselves are taking up this challenge and looking toward these new types of games. In that way I think they're both very meaningful platforms. Looking at the PS4 and Xbox One, I see very few cases of 'this platform can do this' and 'that one can't do that'. There are lots of differences in the hardware design and other details, but in terms of differentiating themselves from each other, I don't feel there are massive differences."

He also gave praise to Sony's initiative to get indie games on the PS4, stating in the interview that "they felt innovative and interesting, in part because indie games have to be." He added that at the very least, he gained confidence on what to do as a game creator for the upcoming next-generation consoles. "This E3 helped [push me forward to] make new games. I'd like to continue surprising users with how the next generation of games can evolve, and I want to keep making games that push them in new directions."

Inafune's latest game, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, will be out early next year for the PS3 and Xbox 360.