interview posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Netflix: PS3 disc must remain in system until 2010 update; and other answers to your pressing questions
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Oct 26th 2009 at 6:04PM } 
Netflix was kind enough to answer a heap of nitpicky questions following the announcement that its steaming service would soon be available for PlayStation 3. Certainly, question marks hovered over the application "disc" and whether or not it would have to always be in the PS3 to use the Netflix streaming service. It turns out that Netflix won't have an integrated XMB solution just yet -- but it's coming.
Check out our interview with a Netflix representative for the full details:
Joystiq: Was the PS3 application developed internally by Netflix?
Netflix: Yes, with the help of the Sony team.
Can the Netflix application be installed to the PS3 hard dive from the disc? Or must the disc be inserted every time a user wants to access Netflix?
Insomniac Games took negative Resistance 2 fan feedback to heart
by Griffin McElroy { Oct 26th 2009 at 1:20PM }
Stevenson continued the analogy, stating, "you had this dog that loved you. You loved the dog, too, but they expressed all this affection for you. And then suddenly the dog bites your hand and it's that feeling of, ooh, ow, that really hurts." We can only guess how disappointing negative fan feedback must be for a developer -- however, couldn't this be seen as your dog telling you they're disappointed, and suggesting ways to do better in the future? Oh, like that adorable, illustrated anti-drug dog! We love that little guy.
Warren Spector would love to make a new DuckTales (ooh-oooh-ooh)
by Griffin McElroy { Oct 25th 2009 at 5:30PM }
We don't have an answer for your query, Mr. Spector. Perhaps we no longer live in a world where mallards can bounce through lunar canyons on walking sticks. Perhaps you can take us back to that beautiful time, someday. You know, when you're not busy fusing Mickey Mouse and Bob Ross.
[Thanks, Koshi.]
Interview: Bayonetta's Hideki Kamiya and Yusuke Hashimoto
by Andrew Yoon { Oct 19th 2009 at 6:20PM } 
Joystiq: Bayonetta has sex and violence, but do you consider it a "mature" game?
It's definitely not a game for kids. Being a parent, is this a kind of game I would want my grade schooler playing? Absolutely not. It's pretty straightforward: all the blood and violence and sexual overtones. My idea is even more than that. If you see a movie for adults, does that necessarily make it an adult movie that you wouldn't let your kids watch? Or, would kids really understand it and get any value out of participating in that?
Having made games like Viewtiful Joe and Okami, and Bayonetta as well -- it's never been a thought of "oh well, is this intended for adults or intended for children?" It's more like "we're making the best game we know how to make." And for a game like Bayonetta, because there's so much blood splattering on screen when you're in battle and stuff ... if it weren't for that, it probably would be alright for kids to be playing, on just the level that it's a game, an action game, and it doesn't really matter how old you are when you're playing it. You should be able to appreciate it and enjoy it. So the idea that we're targeting a specific demographic, or specific age rather, when making a game doesn't really enter in too much. Once the game comes in reaches this level of development, and reaches this stage of concept, it naturally gravitates in a certain direction.
Interview: Crackdown 2 lead designer Steve Iannetta
by Xav de Matos { Oct 19th 2009 at 3:00PM }
Gallery: Crackdown 2 (TGS 2009 #2)
Interview: Microsoft Game Studios' Phil Spencer
by Ludwig Kietzmann { Oct 14th 2009 at 12:15PM }
Mind you, the part where Spencer suggests that alternate forms of input (whether in addition to or in substitute of traditional controllers) might become a common expectation is pretty interesting. You should definitely read that.
Joystiq: We just came out of the Tokyo Game Show panel discussion for Project Natal ...
Phil Spencer: The creators panel.
Yes, the creators panel. Hideo Kojima was there; they brainstormed about all these games. How much focus is Microsoft Game Studios placing on Natal development internally in comparison to other projects?
It's a big focus for us in first party. As a first party, I think it's our duty, it's our responsibility to look at the new technologies that we bring to our platform. We did this with Live. We did at launch of 360. When we look at Project Natal as an opportunity for first party to truly innovate on our platform, creating new experiences, new intellectual property, we're very focused. A large percentage of the studio right now is thinking about Natal as part of what they're doing.
Interview: Valkyria Chronicles 2's Takeshi Ozawa and Shinji Motoyama
by Andrew Yoon { Oct 8th 2009 at 9:10PM }
Joystiq: Obviously, many people were surprised to see a sequel not on PS3, but on PSP. Does this open up the chance that the franchise will move to even more platforms, like the 360, for example?
Translator: It's difficult for us to comment on because, actually, we weren't thinking about specific platforms when designing the game. And it just turns out, we developed for the PS3 and this time we chose PSP as the platform. We do take into consideration, in terms of game design, and delivering the game world and experience to the users. This time, we thought PSP was the ideal platform to do that. It's as simple as that. But, it's because of this that discussions became kind of widespread, and people started asking questions "why there's no 360 version?" We don't want to say anything that would enrage the fire of that discussion.
Interview: SCEA's Eric Lempel on Amazon's PSN offerings
by Andrew Yoon { Oct 8th 2009 at 2:30PM }
Joystiq: Is Amazon.com an exclusive retail partner with Sony, or will we see this program expand to other retailers?
Eric Lempel: Amazon offers a lot of great benefits, but we're definitely open to exploring other retailers in the channel. There's nothing exclusive about this. If it makes sense, and works for both sides, yeah, we'd definitely be open to exploring this with other retail partners.
Which party was responsible for getting the project rolling? Was it Sony, or was it Amazon?
We have a lot of meetings with [Amazon] on a regular basis, because they are one of our customers for all of the physical product. So, we're talking with them all the time. I've been in meetings with them for years, so I can't really say who brought this up but we've all been talking about this for a long time. And I will say we've been talking about this way before the Xbox integration as well, so it wasn't one of these, "Hey, we're doing this, do you guys want to do this as well?" We've thought about this, we've been talking about it. We've kind of had to get the right timing where all of us can do the implementation. We thought now would be a great time just in light of PSP Go being released and the surge of digital content that's become available over the last few months.
SCEA: Developers responsible for keeping PSP minis prices competitive
by Andrew Yoon { Oct 7th 2009 at 5:15PM }
Even worse, many of these minis are priced higher than their iPhone counterparts. While Hero of Sparta costs $1.99 on iPhone, it costs $5.99 on PSP. Fieldrunners costs $2.99 on iPhone, but $6.99 on PSP. We chatted with SCEA's Eric Lempel to talk about the lack of apparent value in the minis program. He explained that Sony has no hand in determining the prices of minis. "As far as pricing goes, the publisher of the title sets the pricing," he explained. When quizzed if publishers were allowed to create a $1.99 game on PSP, he told us: "Yes, absolutely."
Lempel agrees that publishers must seriously think about the kind of prices they're setting on the Store, to ensure their content offers the same value as other PSP titles. "I think they have to carefully look at that, carefully price their content. Minis was intended to be something a little different and we wanted to see a lot of different types of content through minis. If it's not priced correctly, consumers may be turned off at the proposition and say 'I'd rather just go for this kind of stuff instead of minis.'"
Interview: Level-5's Yoshiaki Kusada
by Andrew Yoon { Oct 2nd 2009 at 8:40PM }
Joystiq: White Knight Chronicles has been out in Japan for a very long time. Why has it taken so long to find release in America?
Kusada: When Level-5 launched the Dark Cloud series in the past in Japan, we tried to incorporate feedback from users to make updates before releasing it overseas. In terms of White Knight Chronicles, since it's an online game, we have received a lot of feedback from users. So, we wanted to improve the title more based on the feedback from the users before releasing it overseas. In fact, in the Japanese market, these improvements have been made available through patching. We are awfully sorry we have been keeping the US users for so long, but we wanted to make sure that all the updates and improvements of everything up to the so-called "Second Wave," which includes Georama, before delivering it to the US users. After the "Second Wave," we started the localization of the game for the international market. We are so sorry that it has taken so much time. For the time, we believe we are able to deliver a much better game for the US market. So, I would like to ask for a bit more patience.
TGS 2009: Interview: Suda 51
by JC Fletcher { Sep 29th 2009 at 1:56PM } 
All we did was ask him some questions about No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle and Grasshopper's other work.
TGS 2009: Interview: Gran Turismo 5's Kazunori Yamauchi
by Andrew Yoon { Sep 28th 2009 at 12:19PM }
Selected excerpts below:
Joystiq: Are there any plans to bring Gran Turismo PSP's "Party Mode" to GT5?
Yamauchi: I'm glad you noticed that. What we really worked hard to make the PSP portable fun and interesting is in those types of details. Obviously, these are ideas we worked hard on and they will be carried over in some form into GT5.
In Gran Turismo, with its ten years of history, the people that who good at playing the game are really, really good at playing the game. Of course, there are a lot of first-time players that want to get into the game, and it was a major theme for us to develop the game so it would be easier for them to get into it. With the party races and these game modes we've developed for the PSP, we've come to one solution for that aspect.
TGS 2009: Interview: The Last Guardian's Fumito Ueda
by Andrew Yoon { Sep 25th 2009 at 9:00AM }
The Japanese title of The Last Guardian is much longer than the English one. Can you explain what the Japanese title means?
Initially, the project started as "Project Torico." In the past, we haven't used the project name in the actual title of the game. For example, Shadow of the Colossus (Wanda to Kyozo) had a different project name, "Nico." I wanted the project name to be in the title this time, but it wasn't so well received by the international crew. They said a more simple, more direct title would be better. My hope, or my intention is that the Japanese title is the original title of the game.
[A literal translation of the title, as suggested by Sony in the presence of Ueda, was "Man Eating Giant Eagle: Torico."]
Interview: Trent Reznor
by Dustin Burg { Sep 24th 2009 at 6:30PM } 
Prior to taking the concert stage this month, The Trent Reznor, along with NIN Creative Director Rob Sheridan, opened up to us about their gaming pasts, the direction they see the industry headed in, and whether or not Trent will have a role in shaping that future.
Continue reading for Joystiq's first-ever NINterview ...
Video interview: Inside Halo 3: ODST
by James Ransom-Wiley { Sep 21st 2009 at 3:40PM }
We train the lens on Bungie game designer Alex Pfeiffer and Microsoft global product manager Ryan Crosby for this look into the design and marketing of Halo 3: ODST, and the future of the franchise.
Be sure to check out Joystiq's Halo 3: ODST Review, as well as in-depth analysis of the Campaign and Firefight games modes.
Be sure to check out Joystiq's Halo 3: ODST Review, as well as in-depth analysis of the Campaign and Firefight games modes.
