Front Mission creator Toshiro Tsuchida was 'addicted to social games'

Ah-ha! So, that explains why Toshiro Tsuchida, founder of Japanese game studio G-Craft and creator of the Front Mission and Arc the Lad franchises, moved on from some of the most hardcore games out there to social games. Tsuchida joined Japanese mega-developer Gree back in March, and the design icon told 1UP that the move was partially inspired by a personal interest in social games like Tsuri-star.

"Before I joined Gree, I became addicted to social games like Tsuri-star [a fishing sim] off the recommendations of friends," he said to 1UP. "I admired the idea of players working with each other over networks. It felt like a very natural process, players seeing the merits of working with each other and the game then encouraging them to spend cash to give them the advantage."

Since founding G-Craft, Tsuchiro admits that his focus shifted from creating games to managing teams, losing sight of what makes games fun and becoming absorbed in deadlines. At Gree, 1UP reports that the veteran designer said his collected knowledge will serve him well in creating social games for the monolithic developer. This is far from the first time a traditional game designer has succumbed to the allure of Facebook.