Goichi Suda

Infobox Person
name = Goichi Suda

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image_size = 250x250px
caption = Goichi Suda, London, 2008
birth_date = birth date and age|1968|01|2
birth_place = Nagano, Japan
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture
spouse =
parents =
children =

nihongo|Goichi Suda|須田剛一|Suda Gōichi|extra=born January 2, 1968, is the CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture. The "51" in his nickname, Suda51, is a pun on his given name. "Go" means 5 and "ichi" means 1. His works include "Moonlight Syndrome" for the PlayStation, "The Silver Case", "Michigan", "killer7" for the Nintendo GameCube and most recently, "No More Heroes" for the Wii. He was known to make appearances wearing a lucha libre mask while promoting "killer7". His most recent work is ' for the Wii, and will also be involved in a project with Hideo Kojima tentatively titled "Project 'S'", following the release of Kojima's '.

In August 2008 EA announced a deal to publish an as yet untitled action horror game developed by Grasshopper in conjuntion with Q Entertainment. The project will be directed by Suda and produced by Shinji Mikami for release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC.

Career highlights

Suda was working as an undertaker, enjoying the booming Japanese arcade scene, when he noticed an advertisement for an opening at Human Entertainment, best known for designing the "Clock Tower" and "Fire Pro Wrestling" series'. Suda applied but for weeks had not received a reply from Human. He figured his application had been passed over and planned to continue working as an undertaker, a job which he found himself disliking. Suda finally received a call from Human, and was immediately hired. He began work as a scenario writer on "Super Fire Pro Wrestling 3 Final Bout". The next game he would work on, "Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special", remains one of his most infamous to date due its shocking ending.

Goichi Suda then worked on games in the "Syndrome" series until his departure in 1998 shortly before Human disbanded. He went on to form Grasshopper Manufacture around this time, and began work on "The Silver Case". "The Silver Case" (also known as "Silver Jiken") marked the debut of Grasshopper's signature "Film Window" style of editing, where text bounces and jiggles onto the screen at random. The game's story was written into two chapters, one following the investigation of a series of murder cases, the other about a journalist covering them.

In 2001, Grasshopper Manufacture developed "Flower, Sun, and Rain" for the PlayStation 2. "Flower, Sun, and Rain" takes place on an island called Lospass, with the Flower, Sun, and Rain hotel placed at the center. The game was known for its twisted story, about a "searcher" who is forced to relive the same day, again and again. While going about his business, he is trapped within other characters' problems. As the game continues, his hotel room begins to twist and turn, and he loses his sanity piece by piece.

In 2005, Suda made his North American debut with "killer7". The player takes control of Harman Smith, a 60-year-old wheelchair-bound assassin with seven personalities who manifest themselves into the real world. Each personality has his or her own personal style of killing, and the group is collectively known as the Killer7. The dominant personality is Garcian Smith ("The Cleaner"), who, while in the presence of security cameras or television sets, has the ability to call upon the six other members of the Killer7 anywhere at any time. Unlike most multiple personalities, Harman does not just think he becomes someone else. Rather, his personae actually take on a unique physical body when called upon. The Killer7 uncover a political plot between Japan and the United States, as Garcian slowly begins to realize the truth behind his past. While not a huge commercial hit, the game garnered a large cult following and in addition, "killer7" also brought Grasshopper Manufacturer to the interest of North American gamers.

Grasshopper later collaborated with Marvelous Interactive to release "Contact" for the Nintendo DS. The game was a much smaller hit than "killer7", as Suda51 instead opted for a more "family friendly" title. "Contact" is the story of a young boy who is mixed up in a battle between the Professor and a group of intergalactic characters known as the CosmoNOTs. The game was localized by notable Atlus writer Tomm Hulett, and released in North America in October 2006. There is also rumored to be a planned "Contact" sequel.

On December 6, 2007, "No More Heroes" was released in Japan, and later in the rest of the world during early 2008. The story follows Travis Touchdown, who is a stereotypical otaku – his motel room decorated with professional wrestling and anime collectibles – living in near poverty in the motel "NO MORE HEROES" of Santa Destroy, California. After winning a beam katana in an internet auction he becomes a hitman. When he runs out of money to buy video games and wrestling videos he accepts a job to kill Helter Skelter, also known as "the Drifter," which earns him rank 11 by the United Assassins Association, a governing body of assassins. Realizing that he has now made himself a target for aspiring assassins, he sets out to secure himself the coveted position of number one hitman in the UAA.

Suda expressed disappointment in the Japanese sales of the game, saying that only Nintendo is doing well in regard to the Wii's success because of its adoption by casual gamers. He later stated his comment was being misinterpreted, saying his "point was that "No More Heroes", unlike a lot of Nintendo Wii titles currently available is the kind of product which will attract a different kind of consumer to the hardware, "i.e." gamers who are looking for a different genre to the products which have been successful on this platform thus far." Outside of Japan, sales of the game have fared much better. In the United States, around 200,000 copies have been shipped, with about 100,000 copies sold, as opposed to just 40,000 copies shipped in Japan since launch. 160,000 copies are expected to be shipped for the European release.

He apparently had some involvement in the development of "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", as his nickname, Suda51, appears in the credits for the Subspace Emissary mode.

In a March 15, 2008 interview with "Computer and Video Games", Suda51 revealed that beyond the Xbox 360 game in development by Grasshopper, he would be interested in producing "No More Heroes 2" for the Wii, on the condition that the game sells enough to convince its publishers. [ [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=184821 Advertisement ] ]

Today, Grasshopper commands a total of 48 employees.

On October 9, 2008 at the TGS they showed off a teaser trailer of No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle a sequel to the first No More Heroes.

Trademarks

Many of Goichi Suda's games developed under Grasshopper Manufacture exhibit similar trademarks such as:
* A video game within a video game (the "online shooting "killer7" in "killer7"; "Dragon & Dragon" and "F-1 Racer" in "Contact"; "Pure White Giant Glastonbury" in "No More Heroes").
* Assassins as main characters (Sumio Mondo in "Flower, Sun, and Rain"; Garcian Smith in "killer7"; Travis Touchdown in "No More Heroes").
* Characters with strange last names (Kess BloodySunday in "killer7"; Travis Touchdown in "No More Heroes").
* "Film Window" style of editing text in cutscenes ("The Silver Case", "killer7", and to some extent, "").
* Frames dedicated to a single character (character and enemy introductions in "killer7"; the Professor's top screen in "Contact"; the splash screens that load when the player reaches the location of a ranking match in "No More Heroes").
* Heavy dialogue with various meanings or interpretations (the trailer and introduction for "No More Heroes" are often believed to be linked with the console wars between the Wii and PlayStation 3).
* Luchadore characters or other lucha libre imagery such as wrestling masks (Mask de Smith in "killer7"; El Crasher in "Flower, Sun, and Rain"; Wrestling mask trading cards in "No More Heroes").
* Music playing a strong part of the story and scenes (chapter names' theme in "Flower, Sun, and Rain"; the Vinculum Gate theme in "killer7").
* Pop culture and film references directly involving specific characters (the pigeon names in "killer7"; the pop idol in "Contact"; countless cultural references in "No More Heroes").
* The inclusion of a boss fight in which the player has no control over the outcome (the Handsome Men in "killer7"; the CosmoNOTs' show in "Contact"; Letz Shake and Dark Star in "No More Heroes").
* The prominent inclusion of hotels or motels (the F.S.R. hotel in "Flower, Sun, and Rain"; the Union Hotel in "killer7"; the "NO MORE HEROES" motel in "No More Heroes").

Works

Trivia

* Goichi Suda's favorite author is Franz Kafka.
* He has been quoted as saying, "One day I want to make a character cuter than Mario." [ [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1512/die_without_regret_an_interview_.php?page=5 Gamasutra - Die Without Regret: An Interview With Goichi Suda ] ]
* He wrote the lyrics for two songs used in his directions, a Japanese song in "Flower, Sun, and Rain" entitled "F.S.R.-For You-" and an English song in "No More Heroes" entitled "The virgin child makes her wish without feeling anything".
* His favorite film is "Paris, Texas". [ [http://wii.ign.com/articles/765/765721p1.html IGN: Interview: Suda 51 on No More Heroes ] ]
* His favorite video game is "Another World", known as "Out of this World" in the North America.Fact|date=April 2007
* Suda is a big fan of Hideo Kojima's "Snatcher". After the release of "", he will be working with Kojima on a project entitled "Project 'S'".Fact|date=April 2007
* Suda is a major fan of wrestling, precisely lucha libre. He wore a libre mask before the release of "killer7" to promote the game. [http://www.gpara.com/news/04/09/news200409266145.htm (Japanese)]
* Suda once appeared on the "Kojima Production's Report" and "Hidechan Radio".cite web|last=|first=|authorlink=|coauthors=|date=|year=|month=|url=http://mp.i-revo.jp/user.php/beast-uk|title=BEAST UK|format=|work=|pages=|publisher=SUDA51 on Hidechan Radio|language=Japanese|accessdate=|accessyear=|curly=]

References

External links

* [http://www.killer7.3dactionplanet.gamespy.com/suda51.htm "killer7" fan biography]
* [http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3154460 Formula 51 - A look at Suda 51]
* [http://wii.ign.com/articles/765/765721p1.html IGN February 2007 interview]
* [http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/go307/chattin-with-goichi-suda-about-punks-killer7--no-more-heroes-248774.php Kotaku April 2007 Interview]
* [http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=18385&type=mov GameTrailers April 2007 Video Interview]
* [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=161891 CVG April 2007 Interview]
* [http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13578 GO3 2007 Keynote Write-Up]
* [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1512/die_without_regret_an_interview_.php Gamasutra July 2007 Interview]
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* [http://www.gamerwiki.com/index.php/Goichi_Suda Goichi Suda at GamerWiki]