Ask John: Why is Evangelion 2 a Video Game?

Question:
Why do Gainax always do the Evangelion sequels into the PS1 and the PS2? I mean, why don’t they make them anime like the series? It would have sold more!

Answer:
The decision to produce more Evangelion as video games, toys and live action movies is motivated almost entirely by simple business strategy. It takes months and dozens of Gainax employees to produce new animation. It only takes an approval from the president of Gainax Studios, and someone to cash the royalty checks to allow a company like Banpresto or Alfa Systems or AD Vision to produce new Evangelion toys or video games or live action movies. Continuing to merchandise Evangelion in formats other than animation, produced by other companies other than Gainax, allows Gainax Studios to continue collecting profits from their franchise while not having to expend any excess resources. In effect, licensing Evangelion toys and video games is letting someone else do the hard work and just collecting the checks.

That’s not to say that Gainax Studios isn’t working on anything, nor is this a negative accusation. Instead of personally developing a direct anime sequel to an 8 year old title, Gainax has created new series including Kareshi Kanojo no Jijoo, Mahoromatic, FLCL, and Puchi Puri Yushi, and is presently developing the live action Cutey Honey movie, Kono Miniku mo Utsukushii Sekai (This Ugly and Beautiful World) anime TV series and Neppuu Kairiku Bushilord collaborative anime project with Broccoli, Nitroplus & Takara. And Gainax does supervise all of the new Evangelion spin-offs and sequels and merchandise released in Japan, but they seem to be more interested in personally moving on to new projects than devoting a lot of effort on older titles. It’s a perfectly logical business strategy to contract out or sub-license the Evangelion franchise to outside production companies. Doing so generates additional income for Gainax and satisfies eager Evangelion fans at the same time. Meanwhile, Gainax itself is free to continue to evolve itself creatively with new titles and franchises instead of revisiting a nearly decade old work. This policy may not fully satisfy fans longing for a true Evangelion anime sequel, but it’s the compromise that most satisfies all involved parties.