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Silent Hill composer now working at Grasshopper photo

What a move!

Not too long ago we told you that Akira Yamaoka, composer and (later) director of Silent Hill games, left Konami after 16 years. Where did he end up? Grasshopper Manufacture. Wait, what?

He's working with the No More Heroes guys? That could be an interesting combination.

"It was a case of really good timing," Yamaoka told Famitsu. "I knew about Suda long before I met him; I saw Grasshopper as one of those few Japanese outfits whose games can appeal to an overseas audience. I had a chance to meet him in Los Angeles and we talked about this and that, and once we started discussing how we wanted to do something creative for a world audience, I was hooked on the company."

He's going to start by making music for Grashopper games, but would like to get back into game development at some point. As for now, he's working on the game that Capcom designer Shinji Mikami Suda Goichi have been cooking up. Can't wait to see what that is.

Yamaoka made the move with his buddy, game designer Kazutoshi Iida, who worked on Aquanaut's Holiday and Doshin the Giant. He is busy working on a new game for Grasshopper which we're likely to see at E3 this year.

Silent Hill Director Joins Grasshopper Manufacture [1UP]








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Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools. Meet the rest of the team



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27 comments | showing # 1 to 27
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RoninZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 18:35
RoninZero
Sweet 7-stringer he's got there.

Looking forward to seeing what he brings to Grasshopper now.
Overcrowd's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 18:42
Overcrowd
Seriously? Fucking thank the gods.
Monodi's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 18:50
Monodi
holy shit!
Alastor's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 18:51
Alastor
good for grasshopper, I hope the compagny gonna grow with each year and not become asshole like other compagny
Guagloves's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 18:55
Guagloves
Awesome. Now I really want to see the horror game they are working on.
DF's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 18:56
DF
That was pretty fast. Glad he got back on his feet.
teriyakiCHICKEN's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 19:00
teriyakiCHICKEN
I don't like Suda51 too much but I'll admit, one of my favorite composers now belonging to him has piqued my interest.
Flannel's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 19:01
Flannel
He's already done some music for NMH2. A gamerip of the music files shows 4 songs titled with his name.
pedrron's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 19:10
pedrron
Oh man! This is great news for Grasshopper and even better news for us!
janoDX's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 19:19
janoDX
No More Heroes + Akira Yamaoka = WIN...
xaq404's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 19:20
xaq404
Hopefully he won't replace Masafumi Takada too much, that guy is brilliant.
tokyobassist's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 19:22
tokyobassist
Silent Hill 3 soundtrack was pretty cool for a horror game. I'm interested in what he's gonna bring to the table being paired up with the "bastard sons" of the Japanese game industry
Klarden's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 19:23
Klarden
several killer7 tracks sound a lot like Yamaoka already:)
Kalmah's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 19:58
Kalmah
SILENT HILL = DEAD
Scroll's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 20:01
Scroll
Oh good lord, this is going to be incredible.
SimonM7's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 20:03
SimonM7
Probably the only news with an awesomeness factor living up to the suckyness factor of Silent Hill losing Yamaoka.
Noah's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 20:16
Noah
Only in the alternate universe that is Japan is that guys outfit "cool".
Jonathan Holmes's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 20:19
Jonathan Holmes
Total win. I figured this might happen ever since I read an interview with Yamaoka where he said that Suda was his favorite game developer when asked about who else in the indursty he admires. This was sometime in early 2009, so it seemed weird that he didn't mention someone at Konami. I guess this explains why.
L10nH3ArT's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 21:32
L10nH3ArT
I'm sad that Climax isn't exactly making the Silent Hill series worth a damn yet but this loss might actually cause me to just buy SH2 and 3 to cherish. I think Climax does have a good idea going with Shattered Memories, yet I agree they need to get the fuck out of the SH realm. The Japanese culture really made SH what it is and I hope somehow Yamaoka will come back to the IP of SH in the future, he is really half of why we loved it. However on the other hand... I LOVE SUDA!!! I really would call this a match made in Heaven. The next Grasshopper title is already on my top list, without even playing NMH1 or 2 (I will buy them in due time). I have a large respect for the storytelling, and the confusion of not understanding what I am looking at. I really should replay Killer7, but I like the feeling of not understanding what is going on so I should probably start hitting the bottle hard to bring back that whole WTF feeling... or psoriasis. I think its worth a try.
L10nH3ArT's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 21:37
L10nH3ArT
Why make fun of the mans clothes? We invented way worse stateside, and show some respect. Akira Yamaoka doesn't fuck around.
Amaru's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/03/2010 22:12
Amaru
This is a PERFECT fit. :D
Kyle MacGregor's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/04/2010 03:09
Kyle MacGregor
Sweet. I love to see Grasshopper doing well.
Lucca's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/04/2010 04:21
Lucca
The collection of awesome energy here in one spot is TREMENDOUS. :D
able to think's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/04/2010 06:02
able to think
The Grasshopper fanboy in me beamed at the site of this.
lewness's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/04/2010 09:06
lewness
I'm really interested to see a cel-shaded horror game. Or are they actually working on one?
MCChampaignMillionaire's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/04/2010 09:13
MCChampaignMillionaire
He is actually working with Mikami and Suda51 on a survival-horror title for EA
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