Iwata: So you took home two copies of Awakening, but did you have time to play? You're so busy.
Kibayashi: The timing was right. I've been very busy, but we met at the end of the year, so my manga serials were all being put on combined issues for the year-end wrapdown...
Iwata: That must be the end of the year production schedule we hear about in the publications industry.
Kibayashi: Right. I'd done two weeks' worth of work, so I had two weeks off. I was going abroad to unwind so I started playing the game on the flight there.
Iwata: What did you think of Awakening?
Kibayashi: I thought, "This is pretty interesting." (laughs)
Iwata: Right. (laughs)
Kibayashi: But I did feel that some parts were a little bit unsatisfying. My daughter, who was in high school at the time, said, "I want to play, too." So I gave her one, and she played so quickly. She kept playing so I asked her, "It's really that much fun?" and she said, "You should take this job!"
Yokota: (reverently) I'm so grateful.
Kibayashi: She said, "But the story is kind of cliché, so I think you could make it even better." (laughs)