"Don’t think I’m in love with the mob [laughs]. I think it has great humor even though it’s about killing and murder and the design of all that. There were wonderful humorous moments in that film and it came from such a real earthy place. The humor was so steeped in the truth — it was the truth. I tell you, I happen to know that world because I ran night clubs. I know that world very well. So I think it was such an incredible depiction of the mob and their lives and the horrible things — I mean Joe Pesci — he was so mean and so ignorant and so arrogant and yet you loved him. It’s very hard to do and it was really great. I was torn between that and Raging Bull. I think Goodfellas was more textured — a more interesting study of character. But Raging Bull has a high place in my best films. Goodfellas is very funny. It’s not in any way billed as a comic film, but it’s quite a phenomenal character study as well, with great humor. Godfather doesn’t have any humor in it, but that’s OK."

"Stanley Kubrick, Hitchcock, Kurosawa: My father always showed me these directors’ movies, whether I liked it or not. I’m selecting Kurosawa’s High and Low because it’s a little different. It’s based on a story by Ed McBain, and it’s about a kidnapping. During those times in Japan, if you kidnapped someone, you weren’t penalized too much. To have a harsher sentence, other charges, like drugs, were needed. But because of High and Low, the law in Japan changed. The movie had made a positive impact in society. That’s my kind of wish when I create a game. I think entertainment has that power to change society. You don’t have to be a politician or run for a cause to create change. High and Low was, in that sense, really impactful. Entertainment isn’t really just entertainment. It leaves something in people’s hearts and that person might be moved to create something. It’s a push for that person the next day, and I think entertainment should be similar, including games. When you experience something, and then come back to the real world, I want people to feel a little influence in their world."