| NEXT BOX 2005-02-24, 9:42 pm |
| http://xbox.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3138614
Peter Moore Speaks of Sakaguchi
Xbox marketing VP digs deep on RPG deal
By Christian Nutt
In a follow-up to the announcement of Mist Walker's involvement in two RPGs
for the next-generation Xbox, Peter Moore, Microsoft's Worldwide Vice
President of Marketing and Publishing for Xbox, shared some insights into
the deal.
Of the deal itself, he offers: "This is the result of 10 months of
negotiations back and forth between myself and Sakaguchi. We met in Japan,
we met here, and we even met up in Maui while I was there on vacation last
year. We've spent a lot of time discussing exactly what we feel next
generation gaming should be."
He goes further to explain the nature of the companies' affiliation.
"Sakaguchi's relationship with us is for the duration of these two titles,
and while he isn't an employee of Microsoft Game Studios Japan, our
arrangement with him is exclusive for the next generation platforms..." This
seems to confirm that the exclusive deal does not extend to handhelds,
giving the all-clear for development to continue on Mist Walker's previously
announced Nintendo DS title.
As for Sakaguchi's part to play in the Xbox 2 saga, Moore explains, "His
role extends beyond working on the games -- he's also helping us with the
positioning of the new platform in the Japanese market, and making sure that
we're adequately resourced to deliver on everything we need in that market.
Sakaguchi is helping guide us to build content that's relevant to the
cultural lifestyle of Japanese gamers. None of our previous games in the
territory have had impact, and we've not enjoyed as much success as we would
like in bringing Western games into Japan. Although the games have been
good, they've not had the impact we need."
Of course, we're sure you're wondering about more specific details on the
games. Moore doesn't have much here. "It's not determined yet when exactly
the games will be released. We're just getting into the early stages of the
code and getting the gameplay mechanics pinned down, but we have worked on
these titles for a number of months already. It's premature to really start
talking about dates." The next Xbox system is currently expected to be
revealed at May's E3 2005 and released for this year's holiday season, so
presumably we'll know more about these games in the coming months.
What we do now know is whether they'll continue to hone the story-driven,
offline legacy of the Final Fantasy series that Sakaguchi helped create or
prove to be online projects. "The games will have a Live element, but that's
not to say they'll have any multiplayer features. They'll be Live Aware, as
will all next generation Xbox games, but the decisions about multiplayer
gameplay just don't need to be made yet. What's most important is that we
won't force any gameplay ideas. The games will be what they need to be."
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