Support NeoGAF

[DrEvil]

As much as an anti-pimping person I am, I believed these two interviews deserve their own collaborative thread.

We did an interview with Tom Harlin of Nintendo, as well as Denis Dyack at Silicon Knights.

to read each interview,

http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=471 - Harlin

http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=470 - Dyack

Included within are the 'real' reasons SK split with Nintendo, as well as some specifics on the DS hardware interaction with the network etc.

Enjoy.

 

[akascream]

Man, I'd be upset if I were paying for gaf adspace!

 

[SantaC]

harlin didn't even had a clue who developed mario soccer, lol.

 

[Solid]

denis is as usual not ready to talk about too human. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

this game won't be out for a loooong, loooong time.

 

[miyuru]

Q: Heh, figured it was worth trying. Anyways, can you give more of an explanation of the DS wireless online network?

Harlin: Sure...have you guys seen a Micro?

Q: Yeah.

Harlin: [pulls out micro] I have my Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones in here. As you can see it’s very small, very sleek, compact. Its got the headset adapter on the bottom. On/off switch. On the side is the volume, as opposed to a dial, it's more of a toggle.

Q: Does it use the same Lithium Ion batteries as the DS/GBA?

Harlin: Yes, it uses Lithium Ion batteries, rechargeable right here.

Q: Can you use the SP/DS charger with it?

Harlin: It’s a smaller slot in this one, and we’ll see if there’s any modifications before the launch in the fall. It’s looking pretty good at the moment.

:lol Jedi mind tricks!!!!!!

 

[olimario]

Q: The official PR line of why your company and Nintendo discontinued your relationship was "business is business", is that all there really is to it?

Dyack: You know, I spoke with Matt from IGN about it, but at the end of the day, Nintendo is going down a strategic path where we believe they want to make smaller, simpler games. But Silicon Knights is not built for smaller, simpler games. We love those guys but as much as we tried to come to a half-way point to make a Silicon Knights game that fits within a strategy that Nintendo wants, we just really couldn’t do it. So it’s really strategic differences. The industry is massive, so we both could be right, but at the end of the day, we have to take the company in directions that we think will be successful for us, and that is the bottom line. So it’s pretty straight forward.

This I just don't understand. I think Nintendo wants to stray from too much complexity in a game to make it more fun, but they haven't shown they want to make smaller, simpler titles. N-Sider should have followed up with, "What about the new Zelda? It's larger and seems to have more content than any other EAD title this generation. ".

Harumph...

 

[SantaC]

:lol Jedi mind tricks!!!!!!

clueless guy.

This I just don't understand. I think Nintendo wants to stray from too much complexity in a game to make it more fun, but they haven't shown they want to make smaller, simpler titles. N-Sider should have followed up with, "What about the new Zelda? It's larger and seems to have more content than any other EAD title this generation. ".

Harumph...

or metroid primes

 

[Tiktaalik]

Also we watch the boards, Reggie watches the boards, it helps us make marketing decisions.

hey Reggie get them to make another Yoshi's Island game!

 

[Ruzbeh]

Hey, this is old... May 19, 2005. But still interesting, thanks. I liked the interview with Harlin.

 

[ToyMachine228]

What the heck is Silicon Knights working on for Sega? Think there is any truth in the western third parties resurrecting Sega franchises rumor?

 

[akascream]

So it’s really strategic differences.

It's funny. Wasn't he saying just the opposite before, about how similar the two companies are?

 

[Frank the Great]

Harlin doesn't know anything :lol

And I still think that excuse for SK leaving Nintendo is bullshit. I'm thinking something more along the lines of what happened with Rare took place; SK was unprofitable so Nintendo got rid of them.

I really doubt Nintendo would try to force a team like SK to make simpler, shorter games, especially after publishing MGS:TS and ED.

It's funny. Wasn't he saying just the opposite before, about how similar the two companies are?

Yup. He even said something along the lines of "SK and Nintendo are made for eachother, we'll never leave Nintendo."

The guy always talks out of his ass.

 

[ToyMachine228]

Yeah, Dyack used to say that Silicon Knights are as much a part of Nintendo, as EAD, or Intelligent Systems is. Regardless, I have respect for SK, as they are very talented developers. I'm looking forward to what they have in the pipes for next-generation.

 

[Cheerilee]

Q: The official PR line of why your company and Nintendo discontinued your relationship was "business is business", is that all there really is to it?

Dyack: You know, I spoke with Matt from IGN about it, but at the end of the day, Nintendo is going down a strategic path where we believe they want to make smaller, simpler games. But Silicon Knights is not built for smaller, simpler games. We love those guys but as much as we tried to come to a half-way point to make a Silicon Knights game that fits within a strategy that Nintendo wants, we just really couldn’t do it. So it’s really strategic differences. The industry is massive, so we both could be right, but at the end of the day, we have to take the company in directions that we think will be successful for us, and that is the bottom line. So it’s pretty straight forward.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[DrEvil]

We talked with Denis off the record about the sega game, but unfortunately, I can't divulge it.. So why do I even bother making a post saying so? Cuz I'm a dick.

 

[Redbeard]

This I just don't understand. I think Nintendo wants to stray from too much complexity in a game to make it more fun, but they haven't shown they want to make smaller, simpler titles. N-Sider should have followed up with, "What about the new Zelda? It's larger and seems to have more content than any other EAD title this generation. ".

Harumph...

If it's a matter of SK either having to scale back their ambitions to a level where Nintendo is comfortable with or go somewhere else, then it makes sense that they'd choose the latter.

Look at it this way; do you think Nintendo would've given SK the same kind of funding that MS is for Too Human? Nintendo won't even fully orchestrate Zelda's soundtrack due to fiscal concerns, and it's their biggest game ever.