In a 2000 interview with the game's planner and writer Yasutaka Masuda published in the Japanese official guide, he stated that the idea for the game first originated in about 1997, when he qualified for the Sony Computer Entertainment-sponsored program "Let's play games!" (also known by its official name: Game Creator Support Program). The concept behind that program was to try and make something brand new. He thought a game like Aconcagua, which sprung from his interest in adventure novels, would be good for the program, while wondering if the average person would find something like the game interesting.