Enthusia, Konami & Manabu Akita

[GTprophet]

Enthusia, among many claimed to be the top racing simulator on PS2, was, long time ago, renounced by it's publisher, Konami. None of the Konami websites I searched trough contained any shred of information about "Enthusia"

Manabu Akita, producer and director of the racing title seems to have disappeared not long after Enthusia was released. Nothing can be found of him either, which seems odd, considering that he, judging by the website of mobygames, was involved in gaming industry for a long time, last title he worked on being "WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2011" (2010), THQ Inc(I personally don't believe he did, probably it is someone else with same name)

On a blog of some sort I found an interesting post which, among other things contains:

"This studio, the new KCE Studios all set up in arguably the fanciest office space in downtown Tokyo, is the outfit that deveoped Enthusia Professional Racing, a game I remember nothing about but must’ve seen at E3 2004. The project was headed up by Manabu Akita, who (judging by his Mobygames entry) mainly worked on arcade games and their home ports before shootin’ the works on this purported Gran Turismo beater. The game was all right — it reviewed pretty well, had a bit of a fanbase, and in any case was nowhere near as bad as Konami’s non-soccer sports games from around this era — but was bulldozed in the marketplace, chiefly thanks to coming out on the same day as Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport in America.

Akita seems to have disappeared from both the game industry and Planet Earth after Enthusia. There’s a Manabu Akita with a few recent small-time anime credits, but I’m pretty sure that’s a different guy with the same name.

Almost immediately after Enthusia’s release, on April 1, 2005, Konami reabsorbed all of its external game studios and ended all this Konami Computer Entertainment tongue-twister malarkey for good."

One thing worth mentioning is a 2-part interview with Mr. Akita I managed to scope out trough google, which is published on one of Konami websites:

Part 1
Part 2

Couple of answers from interview I found interesting:

What are your thoughts on the current racing game market at the moment, how do you see ENTHUSIA fitting in to that market?
Rather than being placed somewhere in the market, this is also Konami?s first racing title. So with this new concept, we?d like to create a new position in the racing market. We?d like to open up a new frontier, having realistic car behaviour and physics and graphics. Even with that in mind we still have something that delivers a driving game as a fun videogame.

How close to reality do you think ENTHUSIA is? Is this 100% simulation, or has there been a consideration to appeal to a wider audience?
If you play the game in regular settings, it will be almost 100% to the actual car and the game will be almost the same in terms of car behaviour. But the players can go to the options and tweak Computer Assist for traction and such that cannot be done in real life but can be done in the game.

Is it your intent to have this game make a huge technical hit, or to really hit people emotionally in the style of the old arcade games. How would you like this game to be remembered: technical or emotional?
Both technical and for excitement: Technical, of course, would be down to the car behaviour and the graphics ? we want to astonish players with those technical aspects. In terms of excitement, this would be down to ENTHUSIA Life mode and Driving Revolution. Through playing this we hope that players will feel more excited while racing the courses in these modes.

I read somewhere that Mr. Akita had Enthusia planned 3-4 years before, but never could get enough interest from Konami.

So, my question is, does anybody knows what really happened with Konami vs Enthusia deal?

 

[Wolfe]

👍 👍

I've found some of the same material while scouring the internet for anything Enthusia-related. You might have missed the thread in this forum, but this is the last we've seen of Enthusia:

 

[spd]

Well, in terms of realism Enthusia was years ahead of anything on consoles. Add quirky gameplay modes and you have a commercial failure and the reason why Konami ditched this project. Poor reviews from clueless journalists weren't of any help either. "If rear-wheel-drive cars handled in real life the way they do in Enthusia, no one would ever buy one."- gimme a break ;'D

 

[MXH]

None of the Konami websites I searched trough contained any shred of information about "Enthusia"

Unfortunately, information about Enthusia is very scarce on the Konami websites and they seem to be only listing it on their Spanish and German subsites.

By the way, thanks for digging up that interview with Akita! Interesting read. Particularly about the, thankfully, canned story.

In the intro movie there is a female character. Does she have a role within the game, or will she become a mascot type girl, and be on the packaging and so on?

Initially we thought of having this sort of character integrated into some sort of story within the game but ultimately, as we were making the opening movie, we decided it was probably better just to keep her as a character in the opening movie itself, but not in the game.

Poor reviews from clueless journalists weren't of any help either. "If rear-wheel-drive cars handled in real life the way they do in Enthusia, no one would ever buy one."- gimme a break ;'D

Clueless would be an understatement. A quick search on Google for Brian Ekberg and Gran Turismo 4 will give you this review; ''The best driving model on the PS2''. Shyeah right.

 

[GTprophet]

It is a shame really that not many have recognized Enthusia's potential. At the time it was released, as far as I am concerned, it had most advanced physics engine out there that probably was not matched until GT5 came along, and this is probably largely due to members of Enthusia developing team being employed by Polyphony Digital, after the team was disassembled in 2006 by Konami.

But, even now, as it stands, Enthusia still has life left in it. I mean, where else will you find a game that has:

- so many different, interesting cars from all over the world and from all periods that all run differently and that you can tune to preference with such easiness
- SUCH AWESOME DRIVING PHYSICS that you can make or break with your driving or car tuning. I mean, Fiat 131 Abarth Rally has a tendency to oversteer, but I managed to make it run more predictable by amateur tuning... That's because car tuning actually has effect, unlike in other games I played.
- such beautiful graphics. I don't know why people say that GT4 looks better, I mean, beside immaculately modeled cars, the track atmosphere is incredible. Innovative tricks like city lights in distance as you race trough Dragon Range at night immerse you into the game and just for a couple of seconds you may even forget you are playing a game.
- innovative features like VGS frame which is similar to Live for Speed camera bobbing
- CLUTCH!
- addicting Driving Revolution mode (for me, anyways)
... and more.

Almost a decade after it was released, racing games that have been released since are just not as complete. Games that have more detailed physics simulation lack in car variety. Live for speed may have better tire modeling and what else, but it fails in compartment of licensed cars.

Then, there are other gems like NFS: Shift 2 that had good selection of cars and tracks but the physics, even though on right track, were dumbed down by the publisher - EA. NFS: SHift 2 team went on later to produce their own racing sim - Project C.A.R.S.

In the end, I think the title of the game is appropriate. Game was meant for car enthusiasts, but it looks like large portion of racing community are "fakers" in that regard. Few years ago, I did not even knew Enthusia existed but I always knew something was weird with GT series driving physics. Still, to this day, after having a go at Enthusia for the the first time, I have since used GT4 only to have a good laugh after comparing it.

Anyways, for people that own PS3, the choice is clear: GT5 or GT6 later this year. For the rest of us, it is Enthusia with randomizer and PS2.

 

[Blitz24]

I wish I still had my old PS3 to play Enthusia as my PS2 died. I have the game, bought for $20 way back in 2007, but I cannot play it.

 

[GTprophet]

Also, here is one interesting Enthusia to real life video I did not see before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtIJJX5y8PI

Also, I found an interesting claim that has more detail than what I wrote in my previous post:

Once Konami disassembled the EPR team, many of them moved to Polyphony Digital. Most important guy was Enthusia's Head of the Physics - Yutaka Ito - who joined PD during the Prologue development as main associate to Akihiko Tan (Tan is the mastermind of GT-series physics from the first game).

 

[tankuroded]

In the intro movie there is a female character. Does she have a role within the game, or will she become a mascot type girl, and be on the packaging and so on?

Initially we thought of having this sort of character integrated into some sort of story within the game but ultimately, as we were making the opening movie, we decided it was probably better just to keep her as a character in the opening movie itself, but not in the game.

10 bucks says that it was likely inspired by the "fanservice" of Ridge Racer.

 

[MXH]

It is a shame really that not many have recognized Enthusia's potential. At the time it was released, as far as I am concerned, it had most advanced physics engine out there that probably was not matched until GT5 came along, and this is probably largely due to members of Enthusia developing team being employed by Polyphony Digital, after the team was disassembled in 2006 by Konami.

GT5 still doesn't match Enthusia entirely in the physics department. Foremost the tire model which is severely lacking. I'm however sure that employing them has payed off or will pay off for PD. Hopefully we'll be able to see more of their contributions in GT6 - if they're still on the team that is.

Edit:

Few years ago, I did not even knew Enthusia existed but I always knew something was weird with GT series driving physics.

GT5 was on the right track and GT6 seems to have improved further. But GT4 in particular, the lazy understeering was noticeable immediately. Not to mention the infamous snap oversteer issues. Though, it still was a great game at the time.

 

[Wolfe]

^ @Hyland: I agree, neither GT5 nor FM4 have got the fundamentals down as well as Enthusia, even though they sport extra details such as tire wear/temps.

...even now, as it stands, Enthusia still has life left in it...

...Almost a decade after it was released, racing games that have been released since are just not as complete. Games that have more detailed physics simulation lack in car variety.

Most of us play multiple racing games, but there's always that "one" that makes you feel most at home. For me, nothing has replaced Enthusia. Thanks to the fidelity and intuitive accuracy of its physics engine, no two races are exactly the same, and yet it feels like slipping into your favorite pair of shoes. Since most of the tracks are fictional street courses -- crafted for driving enjoyment instead of safety -- they've lasted me a very long time. The vehicle selection even represents a poignant snapshot of the cars that were relevant when I graduated high school.

Today, Forza Horizon comes close. Very close. The physics are almost as good, but not as natural -- driving "the Forza way" grows tiring. The roadmap is good, but not as varied -- Enthusia offers a little of everything. After DLC, Horizon has almost exactly the same number of cars as EPR, but too many exotics and 21st century machines -- Enthusia knows what I like in a driver's car.

I'm delighted to have something, but I'm afraid Horizon might not last the way Enthusia did.

Also, here is one interesting Enthusia to real life video I did not see before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtIJJX5y8PI

GarouGT saved that video from the official Enthusia game website, which obviously can't be reached anymore. There were videos, data, and professional interviews to back up the realism of EPR's engine, including this diagram I saved for posterity.

 

[Matej]

Another thing that GT4 never had was terrific engine sounds (Lotus Esprit when tuned to level 10, give it a try!) and excellent soundtrack (Victoria Garden theme is probably the best).

Enthusia reviews were so bad because everyone was already jinxed with GT4 at the time of release, so they forgot how proper car should really behave.

I still play Enthusia time to time and what I find interesting is my constant desire for driving cars that I wouldn't care to drive in GT4 like various station wagons and civilian cars (Legacy S.W., Clio, City Turbo, Mercedes G-class...). Again, due to handling and sound differences between these two games.

 

[MXH]

Another thing that GT4 never had was terrific engine sounds (Lotus Esprit when tuned to level 10, give it a try!) and excellent soundtrack (Victoria Garden theme is probably the best).

While we're on it, I recently stumpled upon an unexpected comparision between FM4 and Enthusia as far as sounds go. For it's age, it isn't all that bad.

 

[Matej]

^Not bad at all, comparison would be even better if they included Forza 1 but even now it's possible to see that Enthusia had right template.

 

[spd]

Quality thread, many interesting materials. By the way, is the video of a demo that included Hawkeye Impreza still floating on YouTube?

 

[Wolfe]

Quality thread, many interesting materials. By the way, is the video of a demo that included Hawkeye Impreza still floating on YouTube?

Yeah! The original uploader's account was taken down, so for a while it was missing, but I managed to find a new one a few months ago:



Below is the PM I got from the original uploader, when I asked him about it:

Hello. (´∀`)
I test Impreza in the store of Subaru.
And, when the impression is filled in on the homepage of Subaru, it is
presented by lot.
It is 5000 person limitation.
I won it.
It is a story two years ago.


http://www.subaru.co.jp/topics/t-2005/impression/

 

[spd]

Thank you! This thread should get pinned!

 

[Wolfe]

👍

While we're unearthing information and tidbits about the game, I could share a couple of cool Japanese links I found. These were actually incorporated into my forum FAQ in 2010, and you can find some of the info from the wiki (in English) there.

Complete Sortable Car List
Japanese Enthusia Wiki

As it happens, the Enthusia wiki was last updated May 30, 2013. We're not the only ones still thinking about this game!

 

[MXH]

It might have been mentioned before and I might just be clutching at straws now since in-depth information on Enthusia, let alone Manabu Akita is difficult to find, but I think this might be of interest to some of you nonetheless. It's not much. It's something I accidentally came across while sporadically searching for information and thought it was worth sharing.

It's a patent (with an abandoned status) which was filed between the JP and the NA/PAL release of Enthusia back in 2005. The owner of the patent is Konami and among inventors are Manuba Akita and Yutaka Ito. As well Michio Yamada and Takeshi Okubo, all of them part of the former development team. The patent is clearly linked to the VGS System. Or so I believe.

Abstract
An operation input reception unit (201) receives an operation input for a virtual vehicle. A running condition managing unit (203) manages the running conditions of the virtual vehicle based on the received operation input. An acceleration calculation unit (205) calculates an acceleration in a front or back direction caused by an inertia force in a case where a managed running condition is acceleration/deceleration, and calculates an acceleration in the left or right direction caused by a centrifugal force in a case where a managed running condition is turning. A meter producing unit (206) produces a meter image showing the direction and level of acceleration based on the acceleration calculated by the acceleration calculation unit (205). A display control unit (207) synthesizes a view field image produced by an image producing unit (204) and the meter image produced by the meter producing unit (206), and displays the image on an external monitor or the like.

Link : http://www.patentbuddy.com/Patent/20070209436
Download : (1,0MB PDF document)

Edit - boredom kicked in: