As revealed in an interview with Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, Shinji Mikami is all set to build up a new videogame development studio at the end of the year, once work on the game he’s currently involved with, Platinum Games’ Vanquish, wraps up.

Mikami of course would be known for his work at Capcom on series such as Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, Onimusha, Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe, and after leaving Capcom in 2005 and becoming an independent developer, he formed the production company Straight Story and is currently a contract employee at Platinum Games, serving as the director on Vanquish.

With Mikami’s new studio based in Tokyo, called Tango, he aims to allow game developers new to the industry a chance to be creative and grow into their different roles without worrying about the pure business aspect of game development. From the interview with Famitsu, Mikami commented:

“One of the reasons I’m building a company is to raise the game makers of the future, people who haven’t gone pro yet. Game development is often overseen from a pure business perspective here, which is unique to Japan, and I have the impression that environment tends to prune away young talent.

“I really want to make Tango a company run from a creator’s perspective, one that expands upon new talent.”

Mikami says that Tango will handle all aspects of game development within the company, probably only using one team to develop one game at a time, while the first game may only see the light of day in “about three years.”

“I’d like to see it grow to 100 people or so in five to seven years,” Mikami continued.

As for what kind of game Mikami would like to make with his new studio, nothing’s been decided just yet, but there is a distinct vision behind the kind of experience he wants to deliver:

“We haven’t fully decided,” says Mikami. “I’d like to make a choice with the rest of the team as we grow our numbers. I’ve been speaking with a number of publishers as well, but we haven’t signed any contracts yet.

“When it comes to my personal desires, I’d like to make a true-3D horror game, something where you’d use glasses like in the Avatar film. It’s been my goal since the original Resident Evil to be the first in the industry to make a 3D game.

“There needs to be a large 3D television-owning userbase before that can happen, but I always like trying out new things first.”

If you can’t wait to find out what Shinji Mikami is working on next, not only can you browse through El33tonline’s coverage of Vanquish (which he’s… currently working on), you can also keep your eyes affixed to a countdown site (one of those things again), which is ticking down to an announcement of some kind that will reveal a “Mikami Shinji Project.”

Does the site count down to April Fool’s Day? Find out for yourself at the website.