New Godzilla game steers clear of nuclear references

Godzillas galore will stomp on buildings, while thrashing about breathing fire in a video game to be launched next month. But it won’t include any references to radiation, the mutant reptile’s trademark affliction. Simply named “Godzilla,” it’s the first video game devoted to the irradiated creature in a decade. It’s also the first such game for the Sony Corp. PlayStation 4 home machine, ensuring dazzling digital graphics. Shunsuke Fujita, the game’s producer, is flush with excitement when he speaks about how he and his team are true Godzilla believers, having grown up on the movies. They were very careful to render what he calls its “totally cool” ferocity.

This is a game, made by people who love Godzilla, in which the love for Godzilla has gone wild. I know people who love Godzilla will feel that love.

Shunsuke Fujita, the game’s producer

In the original 1954 movie, Toho Co. studios concocted the giant animal that arose as a mutation from nuclear testing in the Pacific. That had special resonance in Japan as the only nation to have been attacked with nuclear weapons. Gareth Edwards, the director of the 2014 Hollywood Godzilla, also made a point to include backdrop references to atomic weapons and radiation. But the game steers clear of the horror of both topics and Fujita is reluctant to explain why. What substitutes for radiation in the game is a reference to “energy,” which Godzilla sucks up to gain strength. Nuclear issues have become particularly contentious in Japan after the March 2011 tsunami set off three reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant and irradiated the surrounding area, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.

We realize radiation is something that can never be disassociated with Godzilla.

Shunsuke Fujita, on radiation and Godzilla.

Technology Godzilla