Many of our readers will recognize Chris as the man who regularly posts news stories on this site, particularly regarding the Japanese gaming industry and market. Doing this for so long, Mr. Winkler has gained a wealth of knowledge about the many developers and publishers out there.

Part one of the series features Masami Watanabe, the president of Japanese developer Flight Plan. To date, the only Flight Plan titles to reach North America were two Summon Night: Swordcraft Story titles for Game Boy Advance, published by Atlus USA. However, Flight Plan's track record is top notch, and importers will recognize game titles such as Black/Matrix, Summon Night, and January's Dragon Shadow Spell.

It was only a few weeks prior that Flight Plan announced a new PlayStation 2 Strategy RPG, Poison Pink. Chris discusses this game, next-gen hopes, and the possibility of more Flight Plan games reaching English-speaking audiences in this interview.

This six-part interview series will cover a lot of territory, so be sure to check in frequently to read the subsequent interviews!

• Exclusive Interview with Masami Watanabe