Deep Down producer elaborates on absence of female characters

In an attempt to clarify revelations that Capcom's free-to-play PlayStation 4 title Deep Down won't include playable female characters due to its narrative, producer Kazunori Sugiura states on the game's Facebook page that its story will focus on one male playable character and his Raven cohorts.

"From our overseas firm, there was big misconception in an article claiming that there were 12 main characters* in Deep Down, all of them male," Sugiura wrote (translated by Gematsu), referring to VG247 News Editor Brenna Hillier's article about the subject where she used the figure as an example only. "As the person in charge on the development side, I'd like to explain the matter. There is one male main character in Deep Down. The story is being developed around him and his surrounding Ravens comrades."

Earlier this week Sugiura stated during a livestream play of the game that the procedurally generated dungeon crawler won't include the option of playing a female character. Only male character models will be playable due to the game's narrative.

Deep Down centers on medieval-looking Ravens, who have the ability to collect the memories of dead or living people, by touching them, their prized objects or the surrounding ruins. The title features online co-op with up to four players and procedurally generated dungeons set in New York during the year 2094.

Sugiura states in the post that a release outside of Japan hasn't been decided at this stage but he is "grateful for the attention" the game is receiving. Currently only announced for Japan, the PS4 free-to-play title was first unveiled by Sony during the PlayStation Meeting last February. The game was slated to enter beta close to the PS4's launch in the region on Feb. 22. Sugiura revealed earlier this month that Deep Down will be delayed in Japan until after summer to fully utilize the hardware's next-gen specs.