Sonic Team not a “sweat shop” afterall?
Posted by Graham. Filed under G, Interviews, Japan, News. Tagged with Sonic Team, Sweatshop, Tetsu Katano.
You might remember some very controversial and saddening reports about how mistreated Sonic Team had become by Sega. The reports came from an obscure blog, which was run by an ex-Sega employee and even though it is often hard to believe random blogs this particular blogger made comments about Sonic Unleashed long before it had even been announced.
Anyway the reports indicated that Sega had transformed the once highly respected development team into a “sweatshop,” forced into pumping out sub-par Sonic titles and that Sega made Iizuka-san move development of NiGHTS: JoD from the 360 to the Wii.
But in a recent interview with Sonic Team veteran, Tetsu Katano, who has worked on such titles as; Clockwork Knight, NiGHTS, Sonic Adventure series, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Riders: ZG, Secret Rings and Black Knight - (plus more), the guys at Kikizo asked about the blog and just how ’sweaty’ it really is at Sonic Team HQ.
According to Tetsu life at Sonic Team isn’t all bad and the ex-Sega employee might have been a bit disgruntled at work:
“Obviously, I’m aware that some people lose their inspiration and motivation in making games”, he told us. “But each person has his or her own view about their work.”
“For me personally, I simply enjoy making games, and that’s what I wanted to do when I joined Sega and Sonic Team.”
In the article posted on Kikizo, Tetsu never actually goes as far to say that life at Sonic Team is all sunshine and lollipops, but at least this might put some minds at ease over the way Sega treats it’s staff.
But I’m going to be blunt now and say that this doesn’t ease my mind at all. At least when we thought that Sonic Team was being mistreated we could see a decent excuse for the spree of sub-par titles over the last few years - now there’s no excuse.
Read more comments by Tetsu Katano on Sonic Team, here.
[Source: Kikizo]
[Special Thanks: Cube_b3]
Surprise! Itagaki shares his opinions about Bayonetta
Posted by George. Filed under George, Interviews, News. Tagged with Bayonetta, Drama, E3 2009, Hideki Kamiya vs Tomonobu Itagaki, Tokyo Vikings.
You’d think that Itagaki would just drop his feud with Kamiya, since they both have already left their old companies they worked for and are starting fresh. I guess that means we don’t know Itagaki, man does not roll that way.
When asked what he thought about Bayonetta, Itagaki had little good to say about the title…
“If I made a similar game as a game I made in the company I quit, people would say, “What an idiot, can’t he make anything else?” Well, that is more or less the opinion I have for, uh, that Bayo-something game.”
Well at least it wasn’t personal right? He goes on…
“Covered in hair, is she? I dunno, Mr. Kamiya must have a lot going through his head. Well, in any case, I would first recommend laser eye surgery. I’m sure he’s not that strapped for cash, right? “
Why is Itagaki making fun of Kamiya on issues about money? The guy directed Resident Evil 2 and Devil Mary Cry, both of which outsold any game Team Ninja has made and Kamiya’s team, Platinum Games, is actually backed up by a real publisher, while “Tokyo Vikings” is totally independent.
[Source: 1up]
That Bayonetta model in action at E3
Posted by Graham. Filed under G, Interviews, Microsoft Xbox 360, Multi-platform, News, Sony PlayStation 3, Video. Tagged with Bayonetta, Cosplay, E3 2009, Hot, Model, Penny Drake, Platinum Games, Sexy.
~Couldn’t get the sodding video to stop auto-playing, so click on the above image to view the real Bayonetta in motion~
Still can’t get enough of the real life Bayonetta? Well neither can we - or various other sites it seems, including USA Today.
USA Today has managed to score… (tempted to end the sentence right there, but I won’t). USA Today has managed to score an interview with Penny Drake, the lovely model who has been portraying Bayonetta at this years E3 show.
Turns out that she’s not actually English, but can, apparently, put on an English accent. I say “apparently” because she sounds more Australian at the end of the video. But what the hell, she still looks fantastic and very sexy. Hmm I wonder if she’s available for birthday parties…
And if you want to see of the hopefuls who auditioned for this part, then check out this video here.
[Source: USA Today]
G4TV gets hands-on with Bayonetta
Posted by Graham. Filed under G, Interviews, Microsoft Xbox 360, Multi-platform, News, Sony PlayStation 3, Video. Tagged with Bayonetta, E3 2009, G4TV, Gameplay, Hands on, Platinum Games, Witch.
With all the E3 shennanigans happening, G4TV was able to get the “World Exclusive Premiere” hands-on look at Platinum Games’ Bayonetta.
In essence it is an interview with one of the Sega reps, while an attractive girl plays the game behind them (with plenty of close ups of the on-screen action). For the interview itself, I think we already know most of what is spoken about.
But the video does give us a decent look at how the game plays, showing one of the levels and one of the mini-boss fights. And it’s looking pretty damn sexy.
[Source: G4TV]
Exclusive: High Voltage Software interview
Posted by Graham. Filed under G, Interviews, News, Nintendo Wii, Video. Tagged with Eric Nofsinger, Exclusive, FPS, High Voltage Software, The Conduit.
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v18410329Jg643rJf
Last Friday, when I was at Sega HQ to get some hands-on time with The Conduit’s multiplayer modes, where I also managed to get some time with High Voltage Software’s Chief Creative Officer (and one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met), Eric Nofsinger.
After being led into one of Sega Europe’s more barren rooms (note the distinct lack of wall decorations), I was able to ask Eric some questions about their upcoming Wii exclusive.
Annoyingly we were right by a busy hallway - so you can hear lots of doors shutting throughout. Also I have only now worked out that my video camera has a weird auto-focus/motion detection feature (that I can’t seem to turn it off) - which is why the camera appears to move when Eric makes a swift motion, even though the camera is perfectly still.
Anyway, enjoy.
Gametrailers TV talks to Obsidian about Alpha Protocol
Posted by Graham. Filed under G, Interviews, Microsoft Xbox 360, Multi-platform, News, PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Video. Tagged with Alpha Protocol, Gameplay, GameTrailers TV, Obsidian.
Well we told you the other day that Gametrailers TV would be doing an exclusive interview with Obsidian and looking at Alpha Protocol, and here it is. The show also looks at GhostBusters and Fallout 3’s new add-on, but Alpha Protocol is the main game featured (they cut between the other games and back to Alpha Protocol).
Geoff Keighley speaks to a couple of members from the game’s production team about the title and how it came about. The best thing is that we get to see plenty of sexy in game action and hear a little bit more on the game’s story.
I’m definitely looking forward to the game still, what about you guys?
[Special Thanks: Sir Xmas via, The Forums]
“Sega was the first third-party publisher to believe in the Wii”
Posted by George. Filed under George, Interviews, Nintendo Wii, North America. Tagged with Love Letter, Simon Jeffery.
According to Sega of America President Simon Jeffery, Sega was the first publisher, not one of the first, to believe in the Wii. A new interview with Simon was done by San Francisco Chronicle about the Wii fanbase.
“70 to 80 percent of Wii owners are young males, and there hasn’t been much fodder for them on the Wii.”
Really? According to Nintendo a huge chunk of their profits come from females, who do I believe? I will just go with Sega, if I say otherwise people will call me a Nintendo nerd, don’t want that to happen.
I think Sega should try to have this sort of success on HD consoles and fill up PSN/XBLA with some goodies, seriously they are pretty bare boned right now, outside of some Sega Genesis games.
[Source SFC]
If MadWorld sells we might see MadWorld 2
Posted by George. Filed under George, Interviews, Nintendo Wii, North America. Tagged with MadWorld, Platinum Games.
In a new interview, Astushi Inaba was asked if they would do a sequel to MadWorld, if it sells enough. He obviously did not say yes, but a maybe is better than a no.
“Platinum Games has several rights so we’ll be developing something new after this, but if there is a lot of interest in MadWorld then maybe we will make another one”
I’m now pretty interested in the new games they will be developing. I hope the new games are with Sega! Talking about Sega, they pretty much thanked Sega of America for helping with the title. I think most people will find this interesting:
“So since SEGA is the publisher they didn’t have much impact on the game’s development. But the game is for the western market and there is a lot of humor and western style things in it that SEGA of America has been really helpful in getting nailed down.”
We will see if this Sega and Platinum Games relationship flourishes to something really special. As of right now, we will sit back and enjoy the games they bring us.
[Source That VideoGame Blog via Go Nintendo]
Exclusive Interview: Headstrong Games on House of the Dead: Overkill
Posted by Graham. Filed under Europe, G, Interviews, News, Nintendo Wii, Video. Tagged with Exclusive, Guns N Gore II, Headstrong Games, House of the Dead Overkill.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-240625913037887823
Apologies that this interview has gone up a little later than I had wanted. Let’s just say it was to do with red-tape and rubbish video upload speeds. Anyway it’s here now, so let’s get on with it.
As you should remember, last week I was invited to the Guns ‘N Gore II event at the Wii flat in London, where I got close up with the new House of the Dead, plus had a hands-on play with The Conduit and MADWORLD.
After being guided into one of the Wii flat’s more ‘elegant’ rooms; a place that could be best described as a boudoir or, (with the round, red bed), a sex pad - I was able to get an exclusive interview with a couple of the guys from Headstrong Games, plus one of the game’s producers from Sega Europe.
So, like the guys in the video, sit back, relax with your favourite soft toy and enjoy the interview.
[Thanks to all Sega Nerds who contributed questions, via The Forums]
Eurogamer interviews Yuji Naka
Posted by Graham. Filed under Europe, G, Interviews, News, Nintendo Wii, Video. Tagged with Eurogamer, Let's Tap, Prope, Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic Team, Tetsu Katano, Yuji Naka.
Eurogamer has managed to score a pretty rare exclusive video interview with Yuji Naka, the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and founder of the relatively new development studio, Prope (which is apparently pronounced “Pro-pay”).
Invited to what one might call “a day of Sonic,” Eurogamer was given a chance to play some classic Sonic titles, plus have a look at the new Sonic and the Black Knight and the Western build of Let’s Tap.
Speaking to Tetsu Katano, the man now in charge of Sonic games since Naka left the company, Eurogamer asked whether they would consider making a simple 2D Sonic outing again, to which Katano replied:
“Obviously we do like to target the core users of Sonic games, but it’s still under discussion so I can’t say a lot about it.”
What does that mean? Well, I guess you can interpret that as you wish, but I get the feeling that the idea of a 2D-only Sonic title might have been tossed around over at the Sonic Team studios. So who knows, we might get a new 2D Sonic outing - but will it be as good as everyone imagines? (No doubt people will still complain about it).
[Source: Eurogamer]
