Following the recent success of two of Level-5’s titles, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time and Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road, company president and CEO Akihiro Hino sat down and opened up about where the Inazuma Eleven series truly came from. Published through Yahoo News Japan, Hino shares why he thinks the series has kept fans engaged for nearly two decades.

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road had a rocky road to release. The game was first announced nine years before it finally launched, racking up over ten delay announcements along the way. Understandably, fans grew frustrated with each additional year added to the wait. But Hino sees that frustration in a positive light. He believes the criticism came from how much fans care about the series, and the numbers back that up. Victory Road debuted at the top of Steam’s global top sellers for eleven consecutive days and has since sold over 800,000 copies worldwide.

When asked why the franchise has kept such a dedicated fanbase since it began 17 years ago, Hino offered a somewhat unexpected comparison. He pointed to the way young children believe in Santa Claus.

“When you’re a child, you possess the power to truly believe that Santa Claus exists,” Hino said. “You don’t question why Santa exists or where he comes from. You just believe in the sole fact that Santa comes to your house, leaves you the loveliest of presents, and returns home.”

Hino’s point is that Inazuma Eleven is built around that same kind of belief. Soccer players leap through the air and pull off moves that make no physical sense, but the game is not asking players to question that. Interviewer Naohiko Ueno described this as Level-5’s “unwavering belief in the sensibilities of children.”

Hino explained that in most games or shows aimed at a broader audience, the more over-the-top elements get toned down to avoid looking silly to adults. Inazuma Eleven does the opposite. “Since Inazuma Eleven is aimed squarely at kids, at precisely that moment in their lives, there are plenty of things that seem completely crazy to adults.”