My contact person, Ryan, told me that I should give him the questions by today if we want to get the answers at release time. Here are the final twenty questions I sent him.
Note: I added on bits of information to some questions, rephrased or combined similar ones, and cross-checked it with Suikox's list. In some cases I kept duplicate questions, for instance the PSP Suikoden I/II bundle. The version of the question that I sent them doesn't let them get away with blaming Japanese sales, while the Suikox version of the question does.
I also wrote a few questions to fill it out.
1. Will Suikoden II make it to the PSN as Suikoden I did?
2. Is there any opportunity to see the release of Suikogaidens and/or Suiko Card Stories in america/europe? Even if a new printing of Suikogaiden might be tough to justify, a release on PSN or Xbox Live would be a cheaper option.
3. Is a franchise-wide collection of the games in the works? (Suikoden 1-5, Suikogaiden, Card Stories, and Tactics in one collection) Most especially because all of the games aren't in print anymore.
4. Why exactly did you decided against localising the PSP bundle of Suikoden I and II? If it's Japanese sales figures, then that's an unfair comparison, as Japan had the privilege of The Best versions of those PS1 titles and thus those games are more widely available there than in English markets. Again, the PSN is an option for this release if a retail printing is considered too costly.
5. If Suikoden Tierkreis gathers enough international acclaim, will be seeing an international rerelease of the first two games on the DS? Or possibly as downloadable games for any console or PC, seeing as Suikoden is on the PSN?
6. Will a non-promotional compilation of Suikoden songs finally be released commercially outside of Japan?
7. Why do not you expand and complement the Suikoden plot with an anime series? The Japanese market has been shown strong interest in printed and mobile comics since the release of Suikoden V. Moreover, many Suikoden fans loved the anime introductions in Suikoden III and the gaidens.
8. Has any thought been given to licensing graphics/rendering engines used in other RPGs to decrease the cost of a full console version of a Suikoden game? Square Enix's multiplatform "Crystal Tools" engine, used for Final Fantasy XIII, and Sega's "CANVAS" engine, used for Valkyria Chronicles, are two that immediately come to mind. Anyone who has seen Valkyria Chronicles in action should see the visual possibilities of a Suikoden game built on the CANVAS engine.
9. I'd be interested to know if the current writing team are sticking to any plotlines (I.E. The Pesmerga/Yuber mystery, Hikusaak's status, post-Suikoden III developments, etc.) laid out by Murayama when he was in charge, or if the answers to these questions have even been decided already or not, by Murayama or otherwise.
10. I noticed you've brought new composers to join Norikazu Miura in creating the sounds for Suikoden Tierkreis, but not Miki Higashino despite the team hinting at wanting to bring her back. Any immediate plan for this, like in the next game?
11. What is stopping you from using another company to publish the series in the west? Konami of America/Europe failed to make a name of the series in the west. The lack of adequate promotion campaigns, the poor job at translation and the bad voice acting contributed to the low popularity of the series in the west. Konami of America/Europe are merely distribution companies that did not show interest in the series, you do not have to stick with them.
12. Are you looking at releasing Suikoden VI on any other platforms beside the Playstation 3, especially given its rather smaller install base when compared to the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360, each of which have a stronger hold in both Japan and the United States respectively?
13. As for Suikoden 6, where will they pick up? After III? V? In between?
14. Suikoden Tierkreis may be a spin-off, and a handful of fans may wish it be forgotten from the rest of the series, I think it also brings interesting elements to the series. I've played the game and see virtually no linkage to the main series despite the production team claiming that this is set in a parallel dimension. So, any plans to link Tierkreis' plot back to the future installment in the main series?
15. If money and other business issues were not present, would you rather develop new locations/worlds with minimal connection to the previous Suikoden areas, or stick to expanding previously known settings?
16. What is the thoughts on sprites used in Suikoden? A lot of people said that the series went downhill after Suikoden II mostly due to the game becoming 3D and no longer having the same feel in terms of art. And how do the developers feel about people ripping the sprites of the old games?
17. The Narcissist characters have been decreasing in importance throughout the Suikoden series (one of the two narcissist characters, Milich Oppenheimer being a primary character in Suikoden I, Suikoden V having only a single unimportant female narcissist, and no narcissist character present in Suikoden Tierkries). We often find their presence to be an original aspect to the series and often also welcome splash of colour and comic relief. Do you plan on reintroducing prominent narcissists into future titles?
18. The trinity sight system from Suikoden III received rave reviews from critics in the past due to it's originality and depth of story line. Do you plan on using multi-perspective story telling in any future Suikoden games?
19. Branching dialogue choices have been a part of Suikoden since the early games in the series. It is refreshing not to be limited to too many "But thou must" dialogue loops created from false choices. Besides the ability to recruit or miss the 108 stars, there are other examples such as in Suikoden V when we saw a behind the scenes "likeable points" system which made choices have impact on future cinematics. Are there any plans to build upon this flexible and interactive system in future Suikoden titles?
20. Suikoden IV and Tactics are, generally, not esteemed as highly as the rest of the series, but most players agree that they had many good ideas. Has any thought been given to extracting gameplay mechanics that were thought to have 'worked' in those games, and applying them to other Suikoden games? For instance, the tailor system from Suikoden IV, or the isometric grid-battle system (which could be used for moving battalions in war battles) from Suikoden Tactics.