Jaffe to play on Sony team 'for a long-time' (2 of 2)

Do you feel like Calling on Cars didn't get a fair review rap by gamers and the media then?

David: The immediate install base is more for the hardcore early adopters and stuff and so they are naturally going to be our toughest critics, so I don't think we really got a good cross-section of what the casual market enjoys... and that will grow so I don't think it got a bad rap; I think we were just surprised by the response of some people. It doesn't mean that they were wrong, it is just like, "Oh, we weren't thinking about it from that direction, and now we are going to take those thoughts into account with our next game." As much as I would like to think people got their money's worth for $10, some people didn't feel that way.

Speaking personally, if a game is fun, I don't care what category it falls under. That said, it seems like we're at a point where casual games are being marginalized by the gaming press or by core gamers who feel alienated with these types of games. So is casual gaming (spearheaded, of course, by Nintendo) a good or bad thing for the industry?

David: I am a big fan of all games, like you are. I play Flash games online but I also go out and buy Gears of War when it comes out. (Side note: I sent Cliffy B a free copy of God of War 2 when it came out, but did he send me Gears of Wars when it launched? No! I was out $60!). Anyway, I love all games.

I saw a review on a hardcore game site - it was for either Diner Dash or Take Mania. If you asked gamers who were fans of casual games, that is like one of their seminal games. That is like a huge game and the site rated it like a 3 out of 10. So that right there made me go, "Okay, you know what, there is definitely a divide." There is something going on where they are not just judging it based on the intent. I understand that to an extent... It is a tough time for critics. Does everything need to be reviewed based on just fun factor or is it based on value? Those are questions that I don't have answers to, and so it is tough. I really hope that whoever you put on reviewing these games, that you at least recognize the intent of this game.

"I sent Cliffy B a free copy of God of War 2 when it came out, but did he send me Gears of Wars when it launched? No! I was out $60!"

With this company and the Sony deal and things that are outside the Sony deal, we are going to delve into the casual space, as well as keep our feet in the hardcore space because we like them both. We hope that players who consider themselves fans of what we have done in the past and hopefully what we are going to do in the future will kind of give it all a fair shake because we put the same level of passion and energy and imagination into all of it.

Once this exclusivity deal closes with Sony, are you guys looking to release games for other platforms and if so, which ones?

David: Right now in the console space and the handheld space, we want to be partners with Sony as long as they will have us. We have great relationships with Sony and they have been so good to us from both a business standpoint and a personal standpoint, I would like to be on Sony's machines for as long as they'll have me. Now, that doesn't mean that after this we're not looking at doing games that are totally non-competing.

It seems like the low PS3 install base could be somewhat disheartening to someone trying to get their games out to as many people.

David: You know what, we are really excited about helping Sony build that install base, and we are hoping that the games that we start to show from this company are going to make people say, "Hey, I want to play my PS3 more, and I want to buy a PS3 along with other consoles." We want to work with Sony on PS3, PS4 and PS5.

"We are really excited about helping Sony build the PS3's install base... We want to work with Sony on PS3, PS4 and PS5. I would be really surprised if you saw us leave the Sony console family."

You know, install base, market share - that rises and falls, but if you look at what Sony has done since '94 when they got into the business, we see no reason for us not to be involved with them. They might stumble as everybody does, and if you look at where Nintendo was four years ago, people would say "I don't work with Nintendo." So you either believe in the vision of the company you are working with or you don't. We have been Sony employees for 13 years. We know what their intent is, we know what is going on behind the scenes, and we are really here to stay with Sony.

Would you like to avoid multi-platform releases then?

David: Right now all of our energy is going towards these first couple of games with Sony, and I would be really surprised if you saw us leaving the Sony family when it comes to consoles.

Scott: Yeah, there is a lot of history there. It has worked and, we chose to stay with Sony just because of who they are and what they are able to offer us and allow us to do.

David: I didn't even realize until I saw what people had posted on blogs about sports teams. People are like, "Jaffe, don't go work with Microsoft. Don't go work with Nintendo. We need you!" It is like getting traded from a sports team [laughs]. To those concerned fans, we plan on playing on the Sony team for a long time to come. I think they will really like the games that we have in the queue right now.

One last question, how would each of you grade the gaming industry today taking into account its past? Is it better than you expected? Worse?

Scott: If I were to factor in the current transition into next-gen, noting its potential, I would give it a "7" or an "8." But based on its current state, I would probably lower that score by a few points.

David: I would give things probably a "B-". I think things are good and in some cases things are stunning and great. I am a little bit disappointed both from a business standpoint and creative standpoint with the world of game design and emotive game play. When the game is over, does it stay with you? I think some do. But more often than not, that hasn't really lived up to what I hoped it would be as when I was a young kid playing Atari.

A lot of that has to do with the business models where these things are really expensive to make. I do think the future is very, very bright for this medium. I think right now there are a lot of people trying to figure out how they are going to make money on it. There are a lot of people trying to figure out the independent game scene, but I think in 5 years it is going to be a lot different and in 10 years it is going to be totally different in terms of looking at what we have learned from games.

Go back to part one...

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