Japanese comedian and YouTuber Eiko Kano, well-known for his wildly entertaining playthroughs of the Resident Evil series, recently shared details about a conversation he had with Shinji Mikami, the director behind the original RE and RE4, regarding playthrough videos and gaming streams.
According to Nikkan, on June 18, Kano appeared on a TV program where he discussed memorable experiences from his life. Among these, he highlighted his meeting with Mikami as particularly remarkable. Gaming streams can be a divisive topic among developers (especially in Japan), with opinions split on whether they serve as valuable free marketing or result in lost sales as viewers consume games passively without purchasing them. Aware of these differing views, Kano had felt uneasy about his own streaming activities at the time.
Despite having Capcom’s explicit permission, Kano was concerned that sharing story spoilers and puzzle solutions might make the creators uncomfortable. When he eventually met Mikami in person, he decided to inquire about his perspective. Kano was prepared to cease streaming if Mikami disapproved, but the director reportedly replied, “If viewers watch a playthrough of a game all the way to the end and are satisfied with just that, then it was only that good of a game.”
Mikami further explained, “Our job is to create games that inspire people to play them themselves, even after watching others play, so keep streaming.” This indicates that Mikami believes developers are fully accountable for how their games fare when exposed through playthroughs. Interestingly, Kano mentions that he received nearly the same response from Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii on the matter (though this doesn’t seem to align with Square Enix’s streaming guidelines for the series).
Notably, Square Enix’s Naoki Hamaguchi, who is directing the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, recently echoed a similar viewpoint, stating that as playthroughs grow in popularity, RPGs must evolve to make viewers eager to play them personally rather than just consume their narratives.