Japansoft: An Oral History

A retrospective of the early Japanese videogame industry, comprising over 30 interviews with developers of the era, and including never-before-seen period photographs, rare press adverts and an illustrated hardware guide

Comprising interviews with lesser documented developers at companies including Sega, Enix, Capcom, Hudson Soft and Nihon Falcom, Japansoft: An Oral History offers fresh and diverse perspectives on many of the defining games of their time.

A re-edited digest of game journalist John Szczepaniak’s three volume series, The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers, this edition adds brand new, specially conducted interviews with figures including Giles Goddard (Star Fox programmer), Richard Garriott (originator of Ultima) and Robert Woodhead (co-originator of Wizardry).

A companion to the critically acclaimed Britsoft: An Oral History, this publication sees editor Alex Wiltshire and leading design agency Julia return with a multilayered and eclectic publication that offers a unique reading experience through interlinked interviews that can be read in any order.

About the Author:

John Szczepaniak is a journalist and novelist. He’s written for Retro Gamer, GamesTM, Official PlayStation Magazine, Game Developer Magazine, Gamasutra, The Escapist, GameFAN MkII, nRevolution, 360 Magazine, Play UK, X360, Go>Play, Next3, The Gamer’s Quarter, Retro Survival, NTSC-uk, Tom’s Hardware Guide, Insomnia, GameSetWatch, Shenmue Dojo, Pixel Nation plus others. Alex Wiltshire is a journalist, writer and a former editor of Edge magazine. He edited Britsoft: An Oral History, and is author of several books, including the bestselling Minecraft Blockopedia. He is senior narrative editor at Mojang, and writes a column about game design for Rock Paper Shotgun.