Hidetaka Miyazaki, he probably won't play the game after it's anticipated February 2022 release. While somewhat surprising, his reasons are personal and aren't necessarily new to his gaming philosophy throughout his experience as a director. Elden Ring is still his "ideal game," but that doesn't mean it'll be his favorite game to play given the circumstances.
For the past two years, Elden Ring was the top runner for the most anticipated games getting released, and it even won The Game Awards MAG of the year award in 2020 and 2021. Setbacks contributed to the game's push back until 2022, which could even lead to further delays into 2023 and Elden Ring winning three years in a row. However, there's so far no indication that its release date is getting pushed back. Miyazaki has primarily discussed the development process and his own take on the video game, which allowed some of his personal reflections on the project to show through. One of those reflections was particularly interesting; Miyazaki said he wouldn't play Elden Ring for a variety of reasons.
In the interview with EDGE, via Elden Ring's story and character reveals have built up excitement. However, Miyazaki's response adds another perspective to video game development that isn't recognized all the time.
Miyazaki Won't Play Elden Ring Because Of Its Lengthy Development
Elden Ring is a massive project created by the renowned FromSoftware studio, the company that brought Dark Souls to life and enhanced the respect for dungeon crawler games. Every Dark Souls title boasted an impressive liking from gamers and set the bar high for future titles. Elden Ring is already looking like it'll amplify that, given the early praise in beta tests. While the game looks like it's going to be a fun adventure of exploration for new players, the game's lengthy development process was enough for Miyazaki.
Elden Ring was first announced back in 2019 at E3, with George R.R. Martin & FromSoftware's revealing the trailer, which means production was probably 4-5 years long. Miyazaki said he probably wouldn't play it because it wouldn't have a fresh feeling for him, and that's a very reasonable point. Gamers understand the difference between a brand new game and one that's been out for a while. However, the experience becomes increasingly unrecognizable given the perspective of developers who know the ins-and-outs of the game they've worked on. What Miyazaki is describing is not all that far from an author's perspective after writing a book for many years.
Hidetaka Miyazaki has stated it was his "personal policy" to not play games that he's created. On the developing side, it's more business than it is playing, and this probably allows him to keep a healthy relationship between directing and gaming. Nonetheless, Elden Ring winning the Most Anticipated Game award two years running shows how ready players are to get a copy of the game. For some, it seems that February 25, 2022, won't come soon enough.
Source: EDGE/WccfTech