Dear Reader:
THQ, Activision, Ubisoft, EA see a future in Revolution
In Stephen Totilo’s follow up to his article yesterday, he got in touch with a few game companys to discuss how they feel about developing on the Revolution. Everyone that got back in touch with Mr. Totilo had positive things to say.
Jack Sorensen, VP Worldwide studios THQ - “Within a matter of weeks we had literally dozens if not well over a hundred kinds of play patterns that could be done with the controller. There’s almost too much that people can think of, which is a sign that it’s inspirational. In certain genres this is going to feel so good that it’s hard to imagine Sony and Microsoft not also offering this as an option. There’s a certain freedom in being able to have your thumb on the joystick moving Mario around in a 3-D space — almost not thinking about it — and then having a separate cursor that says ‘Oh, there’s a fire, go put that out.’ And every time you shake your motion controller at it something can happen.”(Sorensen was unsure of how well the controller would work with driving games when compared to the traditional analog stick)
Guha Bala, President of Activision’s Vicarious Visions - “There are a number of things you can imagine that a Revolution controller [could do] that would be quite cool. Wielding a baseball bat, for example, or a golf club, tennis racket or anything like that or in a fighting game or a first-person shooter or Spider-Man casting a web or Tony Hawk trying to manipulate a skateboard. What we hope to do is unlock some creative potential in the user so they can start defining their own moves.”(Mr. Baha commented that some control schemes may not function well, and likened it to “patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time.”)
David Hawk, Ubisoft spokesperson - “We have some wonderful ideas for the console and plan to support Nintendo’s latest offering, with more details to follow at a future date.”
Tammy Schachter, EA spokesperson - “Although we are excited about the gameplay possibilities that it introduces, it is a bit too early for us to give specifics on how the new controller will influence the development of our games.”
Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo general manager of sales and marketing - “I’ve heard some of the reaction of the EA sports guys, and they’re the ones that are off the hook with what you can do with a two-controller setup.”
Reggie also commented on Nintendo’s relationship with third parties. “For them, what’s important is our launch lineup. What’s important is a very strong first six months out of the gate, and, frankly, some conversations and arm-twisting and encouragement to do unique titles that leverage the controller.”
Congratulations to Mr. Totilo on getting another great article together, and gathering a lot of great quotes from big name developers.