14 DAY TRIAL // What is it about lightsabers that seems to make almost every videogame lover wield one and almost every developer want to put one in their titles? LucasArts has the actual Star Wars intellectual properties locked down tight, so creators like Suda 51 need to mask their appearances in other titles, like the No More Heroes series, where main character Travis Touchdown wields something called a beam katana, a weapon resembling a giant neon with a hilt. And with the Nintendo 3DS launch right around the corner, Suda thinks a lightsaber game would be the perfect idea for it.
Talking to the official Nintendo magazine, Goichi Suda said, “I do have many ideas. I would love to try to develop a game for 3DS if I have a chance,” adding, “I hope for the realization of a training remote like Luke Skywalker used for force training in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.”
The Japanese developer is probably talking about creating a 3D space the player can use in order to train in the ways of the Force just like Luke did in the first Star Wars movie. Considering the sharp moves the training requires, it would be a very good showcase for the three dimensional abilities of the 3DS.
At the moment, Suda 51 is linked to a project for Electronic Arts, partnering with Shinji Mikami, the man behind the Resident Evil series. The publisher has described it as a horror game featuring a mad genius. There are also plans for Suda to create No More Heroes 3 for the Nintendo Wii.
The 3DS handheld was announced by Nintendo in February and is set to arrive in late 2010 or early 2011. No actual videogame projects have been unveiled for it as of yet but that can all change when Nintendo rolls out its E3 trade show presentation.