E3 Round-Up: Major Publishers, Developers Speak

Author: by Staff

Continuing Gamasutra's E3 highlights, we look at what major companies told us in Los Angeles, with exclusive comments from Valve, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Crytek, Disney, and more. This set of comments gathered by our reporters, many of which extracted from a larger Gamasutra interviews to debut in the near future, span many of the top companies exhibiting at E3 last week. Also covered in addition to the interview highlights -- summaries and commentary on the third-party company press conferences going on in Southern California earlier last week. The full set of stories is as follows: Interview Highlights E3: Brink Marks Major Console Focus For Splash Damage "Splash Damage already made a console-converted game with Quake Wars, but the studio with hardcore PC shooter roots tells Gamasutra how the upcoming Brink will place even more emphasis on console game creation." E3: Peter Moore: Do We Need a Controller? "Peter Moore's EA Sports imprint has had access to Natal for months now, and feels that the best software experiences will be those that make more sense without any physical controller." E3: Can Shadow Complex Modernize The Old School? "Gamasutra speaks with Chair Entertainment's Donald Mustard, who hopes that the Super Metroid-inspired Shadow Complex can bring old school 2D gameplay into the next generation." E3: Disney Boss Says Warren Spector's Game On Track "Gamasutra had the chance to catch up with Graham Hopper, general manager of Disney Interactive Studios, and get an update on Warren Spector's Junction Point studio, its project, and how Disney's creative process is allowing Spector's creativity to flourish." E3: Ubisoft's Detoc Looks To Game, Film Convergence "Ubisoft is looking decidedly to the future -- new announcements at E3 have shed light on CEO Yves Guillemot's cryptic predictions, and now NA boss Laurent Detoc talks about why film and game tech is getting "more and more close every year." E3: Valve's Lombardi On What Happened To Turtle Rock "Left 4 Dead creator Valve South, the redubbed Turtle Rock Studios, no longer exists as a Valve subsidiary studio -- marketing VP Doug Lombardi explains what went down, and hints at a new Turtle Rock/Valve collaboration." E3: 'We Launched Too Many New IPs At Once' - EA's Gibeau "EA Games label president Frank Gibeau has told Gamasutra how the company's influx of new IP in 2008 should have been spread out, and talks about an aggressive initiative to build in two to three months of polish time for new games." E3: Crysis 2 'Maxing Out' the PS3 "In an interview with Gamasutra, Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli denied the Sony assertion that it would take developers years to maximize the potential of the PS3." E3: The APB Interview "In a rare interview, Gamasutra speaks with Realtime Worlds boss Dave Jones about APB, the EA Partners publishing deal, Counter-Strike's influence on the game, and "eco-gangs" roaming the beta's streets." E3: EA's DeMartini - EAP is a 'Backseat Driver' "Speaking to Gamasutra during EA's E3 press event, EA Partners senior vice president and general manager David DeMartini likens the company's third-party approach to "backseat driving - better than front seat driving."" E3: Bringing Story To The Forefront In Star Wars: The Old Republic "BioWare Austin senior producer Dallas Dickinson wants the upcoming MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic to have the same strong storylines associated with single-player RPGs. Can BioWare pull it off?" E3: Valve Talks Left 4 Dead 2's Quick Sequel Strategy "Following Valve's announcement of Left 4 Dead 2 coming just a year after its predecessor, Gamasutra spoke with project lead Tom Leonard about why the sequel is coming so soon -- and what it means for the original game." Press Conferences E3: Konami's Briefing Reveals New Castlevania, MGS Arcade "Hideo Kojima surprised audiences at Konami's E3 briefing with news that he had four titles to announce -- three Metal Gears, and one... European-developed Castlevania? Press conference quotes, analysis within..." E3: Ubisoft Commits To Strong Cross-Media Convergence "Ubisoft pledged to take its investment into cross-media development further than ever, partnering with such figures as James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and Peter Jackson." E3: Inside Electronic Arts' 2009 Press Conference "In Los Angeles on Monday, Electronic Arts' presentation showed the breadth of their content, spanning everything from The Old Republic MMO through the new Charm Girls Club tween franchise - details within." Gamasutra has already published an initial round-up post, covering the first-party press conferences taking place during E3. A third round-up, with discussion on what the first parties told us after their conferences, will debut in the near future.