For my second interview at Games Market Europe, I spoke to Sam Cordier of Codemasters about Operation
Flashpoint 2, Operation Flashpoint: Elite and the company's upcoming Mac version of Colin McRae Rally '05. Here's a
transcription of the mini-interview.
Joystiq: Recently there was a bit of a scuffle
over the rights to the sequel to the popular battlefield simulator Operation Flashpoint, with the original developers
Bohemia Interactive starting development on Flashpoint 2 without getting the rights from Codemasters. What was all the
fuss about?
Codemasters: To start with, we own the IP (intellectual property rights)
[to the Operation Flashpoint series] and we wanted to make sure that we certainly got the best quality game out there.
We also wanted to make sure we got the best developers working on it. It was a challenge to choose the best developers
so we could get the game out to the best audience.
Joystiq: Operation Flashpoint: Elite is the next in the series and it%uFFFDll bring the franchise to
the Xbox for the first time. Do you have any news on the progress of Flashpoint Elite?
Codemasters: Yes, we%uFFFDre working closely with Bohemia Interactive on that one. Unfortunately we
don%uFFFDt have any playable code at the show today, but we%uFFFDre working on having a demo out on the magazine covers
shortly.
Joystiq: As a gamer with an interest in the Mac platform, I recently noticed that Feral Interactive announced they would be porting Colin McRae Rally %uFFFD05 to the Mac. How do Mac porting companies/publishers go about porting games from companies like Codemasters? Who approaches who first?
Codemasters: It was a sort of joint decision; we approached quite a few Mac developers to make sure we could get the right one. Again, it%uFFFDs a case of meet them, find what they%uFFFDre about and find out if they understand the value of Colin McRae. Feral turned out really well in this respect so we picked them.
Joystiq: Considering the dearth of quality racing games on the Mac platform, what are your hopes for the Colin McRae series on the Mac?
Codemasters: We%uFFFDve done a lot of research on Mac user%uFFFDs purchasing decisions. We%uFFFDve found that most people, and we know there are exceptions, that use a Mac tend not to use a Mac for gaming. So far the progress with Feral is going really well, we%uFFFDre really pleased with the information we%uFFFDve been getting back from them.
Joystiq: So are there any plans for any other ports of Codemaster%uFFFDs games to the Mac?
Codemasters: We%uFFFDre gonna take it slow, we don%uFFFDt want to rush it, but we%uFFFDll see how Colin McRae does on the Mac. If it does really well and a lot of Mac users buy the game then we%uFFFDll look into bringing more of our games to the Mac.
I%uFFFDd like to thank Sam Cordier for taking the time to speak to me at the show.
