Keep scrolling for more RPG Site: For those unaware, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at XSEED Games / Marvelous USA.
Ken Berry: My name is Ken Berry and I’m the team leader here at Marvelous USA, Inc., where we also publish non-Marvelous third-party titles under the XSEED Games label.
How has it been for the team to see the positive response to these physical releases in a sea of Game Key Cards?
Ken Berry: Because this title does not have an original Switch version the decision-making process was quite different since there was no “Nintendo Switch 2 Enhanced” classification to worry about.
Ken Berry: With milk, no sugar.
A ton of RPGs will be available through ports, new releases, and even Nintendo Switch 2 Edition enhanced releases when the Nintendo Switch 2 launches globally next week. One of the few games receiving a proper physical release is Marvelous USA’s Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, which serves as the system’s launch title. I had the opportunity to speak with Marvelous USA/XSEED Games’ co-founder and president/CEO, Ken Berry, prior to the console and game’s launch. We talked about coffee, the company’s history of physical releases, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, and more.
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RPG Website: For those who don’t know, briefly introduce yourself and your role at Marvelous USA/XSEED Games.
Ken Berry: I am the team leader at Marvelous USA, Inc. My name is Ken Berry. under the XSEED Games label, where we also publish non-Marvelous third-party games. More than ten years ago, XSEED became a Marvelous group company, and I was one of the co-founders when it was first founded more than twenty years ago.
RPG Site: XSEED Games and Marvelous USA have developed numerous games for various platforms over the years, but one of the top games to debut on the Nintendo Switch 2 is Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. What has been going on behind the scenes with the game for the PC, Switch 2, and Switch 2?
Ken Berry: This is our first time participating in a hardware launch, and while it’s thrilling to be there on the first day, there are many special difficulties because it’s very difficult to predict for a platform that hasn’t been released yet. From an operational point of view, a PC release is simple because it can be announced as a digital-only product very close to launch. However, physical products, particularly card-based media and special editions with custom components, have lead times that can last several months, so we were essentially already manufacturing before the Switch 2 was even publicly announced.
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RPG Website: For many years, XSEED Games and Marvelous USA have been excellent physical release publishers in North America. Standard editions frequently come with manuals, instruction booklets, reversible artwork, and other materials. These are obviously not inexpensive to produce, but they have been a consistent feature for games that are physically published. Why did you decide to continue doing these in the Switch era, when many publishers choose to focus only on digital titles or incomplete physicals?
Ken Berry: While cultivating goodwill with our fans is always a good investment, it’s a combination of personal preference and long-term business strategy because, as a huge physical fan, I’m always disappointed when I open a case and only the disc or game card is in there.
Although I didn’t buy a PS5 Pro until I was able to get the disc drive add-on first, I recall buying a game at the store years ago and being surprised to find that the only thing inside the case when I got home was a download code. If someone like me, who has worked in the industry for half of my life, can’t tell which cases contain the actual game or not, I can only imagine how much more difficult it must be for someone who isn’t in the industry, especially if they are buying it as a gift for someone else. After buying one of our retail games, I never want anyone to regret their purchase; instead, I want them to open one of our cases and be pleasantly surprised by the extra items and graphics.
RPG Site: Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar will both be fully physical releases without code-in-a-box editions or Game Key Cards. Cyberpunk 2077 and Rune Factory will be the only retail releases on Switch 2 next month, and I know a lot of people who will purchase them. In a sea of game key cards, how has the team found the reception to these physical releases?
Ken Berry: Since fans know we used the full ROM game cards, it has been really satisfying to see our titles listed as games they plan to buy on the Nintendo Switch 2. Making the choice was difficult because it had to be made months ago, when everything was very unclear and we were still learning how the Game Key Card option operated. However, the more we learned about it, the more I believed that our fans would value the ROM option considerably.
After much debate with Marvelous Japan, we ultimately decided that the ROM option was the most user-friendly way to enable the “Nintendo Switch 2 Enhanced” designation, which would allow the game to be played on both the original Switch hardware and the new Switch 2. The next step was to make the numbers work, and we were able to do so without being reckless with our money thanks to the $10 premium on our Switch 2 versions.
RPG Site: While the Japanese version of Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion is a Game Key Card, the Western version will also receive a proper physical release through Marvelous USA and Europe. Physical game fans in the West should be very happy about this. However, should we anticipate that every physical release you make for the Switch 2 will be a true cartridge release?
Ken Berry: Since there is no original Switch version for this title, the decision-making process was very different because there was no “Nintendo Switch 2 Enhanced” classification to consider. Although I would love to say that all of our future Switch 2 releases will follow the full ROM path, nothing is guaranteed. Fortunately, the development team at Marvelous Japan complied with our request to release the Switch 2 in the West with the full ROM version.
It will be very beneficial to our cause in the future if our first lineup sells well and we can clearly link its success to being a ROM offering. However, it might not be financially feasible for smaller releases with a price point under $50, like an independent game that is physically available for $39 or less.
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RPG Site: While you and the team are working on official physical releases, how has it been for you to witness so many Switch 2 games receiving Game Key Card releases or code in a box?
Ken Berry: Everyone has different procedures and goals, so I really can’t comment on what other publishers are doing. However, this is the best course of action for us and our relationship with our fan base.
RPG Website: I recall that the Story of Seasons and Rune Factory games on the 3DS had imaginative interior artwork that used the holes and plastic boxes to display character faces and other elements. I’ll be watching your future work on Switch 2 with interest.
Ken Berry: I appreciate you noticing, and I was quite pleased with our creative team for figuring out how to frame and highlight portraits using the obstructive areas to fit additional artwork inside the case.
We had some more extensive internal discussions about discontinuing the use of physical owner’s manuals in our retail games at that time, as some felt they might be viewed as out of date. Since adding value to our physical releases has always been a part of our DNA, we ultimately chose to keep adding printed inserts into the game case—as long as they were no longer an owner’s manual. This was because it seemed pointless to show the controller layout and the functions of each button when all modern games come with lengthy tutorials at the start.
That was the best thing that could have happened to us, in retrospect, because we were able to do a lot of creative things with our inserts, like a foldout poster, a mini art book, or a strategy guide, instead of being limited to an official owner’s manual layout by the platform holder. Our localization team is primarily responsible for this, as they are keen to add more background material for the fans to enjoy by building upon the content they have already worked on in-game. All parties benefit from this. When you open your copies of our upcoming titles this year, I can’t wait to see what our team has in store for you.
RPG Site: What kind of coffee do you prefer?
No sugar, with milk, Ken Berry.
