GameSpot News sat down with Koei during the PS Festival 2000 to talk about the company's first Sony PlayStation2 title, Kessen. We talked with the software division PR coordinator Hiro Shimura about the game and the company's future plans for the PlayStation2. Below is a transcript of our interview session.

　　GSN: What percentage complete is the game you have on display at the show?

　　Koei: The game is 100 percent complete.

　　GSN: What was the time span for the development of the game?

　　Koei: It took about a year to develop the game.

　　GSN: How many people worked on the development?

　　Koei: Although we can't say how many exactly, I'd say a lot more than our usual number. We spent about five hundred million yen in total (about US$5 million).

　　GSN: Did you come across any difficulties during the game development?

　　Koei: Because of the high-end hardware specs of the PS2, the more you work on the machine, the more you learn of new things you can do on it. So it was hard for us to put priorities on certain factors of developing the game and cutting out the rest.

　　GSN: I hear motion capture was used in the game. How many people were used in motion capturing?

　　Koei: Well, we really didn't use more than ten people in motion capturing. We've captured more than 300 unique patterns though.

　　GSN: Is the movie in the game real-time or pre-rendered?

　　Koei: All the movies will be in real time. We wanted the game to immediately react along with the player's decisions.

　　GSN: What are the highlights of the game?

　　Koei: Kessen allows any player to experience mass combat. Although it is a reenactment of the Sekigahara Battle (during the Samurai Era in Japan), the game also features fictional elements as well, so players don't necessarily need the knowledge of Japanese history. We are using the DVD format so we have movies running a total of 110 minutes, with scenes depicting the lives of different generals in the game. We used 4.6GB worth of data for the game entirely.

　　We've also used a technique in which the troops and horses have their own artificial intelligence, making the battles more realistic. Players can later become a general and lead their troops to victory. Depending on the outcome of the battles, the story will change accordingly, so there is replay value to the game as well.

　　GSN: What are your future plans for the PlayStation2?

　　Koei: Our company has always worked on multiple platforms including the PC, but the PlayStation2 will become our main platform. If we include those in the planning stages, we've got about ten other titles currently in the works.

　　GSN: Thank you very much for your time.