The video game industry, while exciting and fun, is also a merciless one, as it pushes developers and producers to the breaking point at times. Street Fighter Producer Yoshinoro Ono is one such case of an overworked man reaching his limits, as he literally worked himself to the point of exhaustion several months back, resulting in a trip to the hospital and some time off.
You’d think that the loyal developer would be due a lighter workload and a welcome back cake when he returned, but Capcom had other ideas, as they threw him back into the deep end upon his return to the company.
Speaking to Eurogamer’s Simon Parkin at Capcom’s Captivate event last month, Ono described the working conditions at Capcom that led to him being so exhausted in the first place;
The situation is the complete opposite. Nobody told me to take a rest. When I returned to work, Capcom didn’t even acknowledge that I had been in [the] hospital. There was no change in my schedule.
I was at home for an entire week before the doctors allowed me to return to work. When I returned to my desk there was a ticket to Rome waiting for me. There’s no mercy. Everyone in the company says: ‘Ono-san we’ve been so worried about you.’ Then they hand me a timetable and it’s completely filled with things to do.
You have to remember at this point, that since Street Fighter 4 hit it big back in 2008, Ono has been helping promote the game since then, flying to conventions and going on tours, which require him to constantly fire on all cylinders at all times for audiences, across different time zones and nations.
As anyone who has travelled can attest to, those long flights can take a toll on you, but multiple flights and appearances is just cruel, coming from Capcom.
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