Hidetaka Miyazaki, director of the acclaimed Elden Ring, was surprised by its overwhelming success. Despite remaining consistent with the notorious difficulty of FromSoftware's games, Elden Ring has still gathered an immense fanbase and received resounding praise from players. It is the studio's best-selling Soulsborne game, with 16 million copies sold worldwide.
In a recent report from IGN, Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki took part in a Q&A session held during the 2022 PlayStation Partner Awards held in Tokyo. After receiving an award for the highest worldwide sales, Miyazaki was asked what he thought was the secret to Elden Ring’s success. Surprisingly, Miyazaki laughed and replied that he had “no idea what the reason was.” Miyazaki also said that he wouldn't let Elden Ring's positive reception affect future FromSoftware games, nor dwell on why it was such a hit. “I try not to think about it too much,” Miyazaki said, "because I think it would be a bad idea to analyze it deeply and to consciously try to replicate it in another game."
Hidetaka Miyazaki Remains Puzzled By Elden Ring's Success
Miyazaki also spoke about how he avoids player feedback for similar reasons. Knowing he can't be objective when it comes to feedback on his own work, Miyazaki has stated that he won't expose himself to many fan critiques of his games, as the desire to address specific criticisms might have a negative impact on the developer's future products. This approach hasn't made Miyazaki less grateful toward his fanbase, though, as he happily remarked that seeing Elden Ring bring in new fans reminded him of when players discovered the first Soulsborne game, Demon’s Souls, whose PS5 remake influenced Elden Ring's developers to put more effort into the graphics of the open-world game.
While it might be puzzling that Miyazaki wouldn’t want to understand what made Elden Ring such an overwhelming success, it’s hard to argue against his rationale. FromSoftware's games have all received acclaim for their own reasons, and trying to replicate their success might rob future releases of the chance to similarly earn fame for standing out and delivering something truly unique. It's unlikely that FromSoftware's best Elden Ring clone could ever recapture what made the original such a hit, so it's certainly better to focus creative energy on something new instead. Given the dedicated consistency that FromSoftware has demonstrated, it’s understandable that Miyazaki would want to avoid this outcome for the next batch of FromSoftware games after Elden Ring’s massive launch.
Miyazaki's humility amidst all that Elden Ring has achieved in less than a year is commendable. While video game companies are often understandably motivated to turn a profit with their products, it's heartening to see an example of financial success not being the main driving force behind development. Hopefully, this mindset will be enough to help FromSoftware climb to heights beyond Elden Ring, despite how lofty a precedent that is.
Source: IGN