Game space sits down with Playstation manager
Published Thursday October 23rd, 2008
Game Space
[here]'s Nelson Hum sits down for a chat with Matt Levitan, marketing and public relations manager for Playstation Canada.
Game space: What can gamers expect this fall and holiday season?
Matt Levitan: Gamers can expect a very busy three months of gaming. There's a tremendous amount of triple A software to play. I think PS3 has got all of the biggest hits from a first and third party standpoint. We've been very excited and very aggressive to talk about LittleBigPlanet because we think we have a very unique product. There's really nothing like it out there. It's the one I'm most excited about, but then you look at the lineup as a whole - you have a shooter like Resistance 2, a racing game like Motor Storm: Pacific Rift, an online game like SOCOM: Confrontation. But then there's the third party stuff like Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Prince of Persia, Fallout 3. There's just so much content.
GS: LittleBigPlanet is arguably the Playstation 3's flagship title this fall. How excited are gamers about this game? What has some of the feedback been from the beta test that was recently held?
ML: I haven't had an outpouring of need for a beta key like I had with LittleBigPlanet. People were e-mailing me at work, sending me messages on my PSN (Playstation Network) ID, asking to be on the beta. I heard that people on eBay were selling their beta keys. It's crazy. I just want people to be excited about it because I want people to share the same enthusiasm that I have for the game. I've had the chance to play it and see it evolve - when I first saw it 18 months ago I thought to myself, "If this ends up turning out the way we all hope it will turn out, it will be a defining moment for the PS3." It's going to be a major step forward; not only for the PS3 but for gaming, because gamers never had the chance to create levels with this kind of toolset before. It's so easy and so fun to do. This is something where, by pressing a few buttons, I'm creating levels and sharing them with the world. That's never been done before.
GS: Any other exclusives coming out this fall?
ML: Resistance 2 - it's such a 180 from LittleBigPlanet but it's important to have a variety of games. I think Resistance 2 is a great first-person shooter. It just goes to show you that the guys at Insomniac are able to pump out a triple A game every year. Everything from the game's size and scope has been increased. The levels are bigger and you're seeing things off in the draw distance dozens and dozens of miles away, you're seeing ships sailing across the sky, enemies like the 300ft Leviathan who is filling the entire screen with his presence. It blows you away and it really shows you how the PS3 is capable of pushing out some amazing graphics.
GS: It seems to be that the philosophy of the holiday line up is to offer a variety of games, everything from hardcore titles like Resistance 2 to casual fare like Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
ML: Someone asked me earlier if I consider the PS3 as a social gaming machine. I don't know if I would go so far as to classify it as that kind of a console as it wouldn't speak to the games like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Grand Theft Auto IV. But we do have Guitar Hero: World Tour, Rock Band 2, the Sing Star titles, and the Buzz games. You could also argue LittleBigPlanet which is quite a casual game as well. It's important to have a balance and we've always done that very effectively.
As we've seen in the last couple of years, you can't really depend on third party for exclusives anymore. Fallout 3 is an awesome game and it's going to be awesome on the PS3 but I know it's on the Xbox 360 as well. So is Call of Duty: World at War and other titles. You have to have good internal development teams. We look at some of the franchises we have now like Gran Turismo, God of War, and Resistance - those are some amazing franchise that are among, in my opinion, the best in the industry. I think we have enough product that we develop ourselves that sets us apart.
GS: To borrow some political jargon, do you think first party titles/exclusives is a key battleground issue for undecided gamers i.e. those that still don't know what system to get?
ML: I think so. There will be two factors when deciding whether you want a PS3, a 360, or a Wii. Software, without a doubt, is one major factor. There are ton of great games out here like a Prince of Persia or the new Guitar Hero but they are available on all three systems. You have to then decide: is price a factor? I certainly think we've come down to a point where, for $399, the PS3 is certainly affordable.
Functionality is kind of hand in hand with price - you have to say to yourself, if you've bought an HDTV, 1080p resolution is important to you so maybe you want a Blu-ray player. If that's something you're considering, then obviously you're going to pick a PS3. You can go to any chain store and pick up a Blu-ray player but for an extra 100 bucks, you can get a PS3. You get something that not only plays the best games but you can surf the Internet with it, download all your pictures to it, or listen to music. I think that functionality will separate us from our competition.
GS: Will the Playstation Network play an important role in the holiday season?
ML: It's been nice to see content grow on the PSN and I think there's definitely a place in gaming nowadays where you can have a big budget, high profile $20-million blockbuster on a Blu-ray that sells for $60 versus a game that was developed by two people that sells for $9.99 on the PSN. It serves a purpose and it's just as important of a game in the library as anything else.
GS: Speaking of the Playstation Network, do you feel downloadable content is a must-have feature for games nowadays?
ML: I don't know if it's 100 per cent necessary but I certainly think it's a great way of keeping your game current and top-of-mind with gamers. You can keep your games fresh and people will keep coming back to your game.
GS: Looking ahead - what can we expect in 2009?
ML: MAG (Massive Action Game), which is going to have 256 players online. Infamous is another game. Everyone has their likes and dislikes about sandbox games but this one has a new take on it. I also think 2009 is going to be the year of the PSP. We have Resistance: Retribution coming in February but I've seen a lot of the stuff in development and it is not a mistake by any means to a buy a PSP now.
Send your comments and questions to: the_big_n_@hotmail.com
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