![[EXCLUSIVE] Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen Team Opens Up About the Expansion’s Name, New Norgan Region, and Performance Goals](https://cdn.gamerbraves.com/2026/07/Dragons-Dogma-2-Dark-Arisen_Interview_FI-360x180.jpg)
CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama is pulling back the curtain on the Japanese game industry’s hiring process with his upcoming book “The Game Industry Guidebook,” set to release February 16 for 2,200 JPY (around $14 USD). The book draws from surveys of roughly 40 Japanese game companies and aims to help job seekers navigate an industry where only 1.9% of applicants get hired.
According to an excerpt published by Famitsu, most Japanese game companies follow a similar interview playbook. The first major hurdle? Applicants must be able to list the games the company has developed or published that they’ve actually played. Those who haven’t done their homework are quickly eliminated.
But Matsuyama highlights one question that particularly stands out: “What’s your favorite piece of media?” Whether it’s a manga, anime, game, or movie, how you answer can make or break your interview.
Using One Piece as an example, Matsuyama explains that a basic answer like “I love how Luffy teams up with his friends and goes on adventures” won’t cut it. This surface-level response shows an inability to explain what makes something appealing, a critical skill for selling the company’s products if hired. But there’s another trap. Getting too excited and rambling incoherently about your favorite series will also get you rejected. Companies want to see you can communicate your passion clearly and effectively, not just that you have it.
Picking something as popular as One Piece is actually risky. Since interviewers likely know it well, they’ll expect fresh insights and unique analysis. However, choosing something obscure isn’t automatically better. As one company told Matsuyama: “It’s fine, even if it’s a work we don’t know. If we hear the explanation and think, ‘We’ve never heard of that, but it sounds interesting!’ then the candidate passes.”
The key is demonstrating you can make a stranger care about something you love, an essential skill in the gaming industry. These questions appear more often in interviews for publishing roles like producers, marketing, and sales positions. Programmers and game designers are less likely to face them, since their roles are more behind-the-scenes.
