Speaking to VGC recently, for a yet-to-be-published interview, the Japanese video game creator Goichi Suda (aka: Suda51) shared that he was interested in revisiting Michigan: Report from Hell, a little-known PS2 title from Grasshopper's early days.
Originally launched back in 2004 in Japan, the game, which saw players take control of a camera operator working as part of a television news crew reporting on a mysterious plane crash near Lake Michigan, was never officially released in the US, but did eventually get a European version in 2005, thanks to the publisher 505 GameStreet.
Because of this, it has become one of the company's more obscure games, with the English version of the title now being listed for hundreds of pounds on secondhand sites like eBay and CEX.
Since its original release, the game has developed something of a small cult following online due to its survival horror premise and its unusual camera-based mechanics, but, in the past, neither Grasshopper nor its Japanese publisher Spike has seemed all that concerned with revisiting the title.
When VGC asked Suda51 outright, however, whether he'd be interested in doing a sequel or remake, the creator seemed extremely enthusiastic about the idea, telling the publication it's something that he wants to do "hopefully sooner rather than later". This means we could one day see the game return, hopefully in a much more affordable manner.
Suda told VGC:
"As far as Michigan goes, that’s something that I would definitely like to revisit or bring back in some form at some time.
"And so if possible, I hope I’ll be able to speak with Spike Chunsoft and make it a reality somehow, hopefully sooner rather than later. But yeah, that’s something that I’ve been wanting to go back to for a while.
Michigan: Report from Hell, in case you're unfamiliar with it, is often described online as a survival horror/adventure hybrid and is told mostly through the lens of the main protagonist's camera.
The player's job is to protect the news anchors reporting on the events around them and to decide what to point their camera at, as a series of horrifying creatures and deadly situations begin to rear their ugly heads.
Players get points for capturing erotic shots (including controversially taking upskirt photos of the female anchor), as well as for filming gore, or documenting events that build suspense, with all the major interactions with the environment being handled by the anchors.
Suda51 served as the producer on the title and was also the person responsible for the original concept.