Adam Kovach: Sakaguchi had this vision of incorporating Akira Toriyama's art style into Blue Dragon and Takehiko Inoue's art style into Lost Odyssey. Two different worlds, two different concepts. So, like I said, Blue Dragon focused on bringing out the inner strength that you as a gamer have, helping you see that you have a shadow. The concept is that the light of the heart creates the power of shadows. So it's a physical representation of what you are inside.GameSpy: So, looking at the release schedule--this is pretty close to done, right?
Adam Kovach: December 6th is the street date that Japan has right now. The current plan for Lost Odyssey is to release to the rest of the world in February.GameSpy: Lost Odyssey seems like a pretty traditional Japanese RPG from what we've seen. How do you think it's going to compare to something that's very Western and very innovative, in its own way, like Mass Effect? Do you feel like these are even competing for the same audiences?
Adam Kovach: Sakaguchi and all the developer talent had gamers of all sorts in mind when designing Lost Odyssey. We hope that, and we believe that, the serious art style and tone helps with gamers in the West. I know that the art style will resonate well with gamers in the West. With respect to the game mechanisms -- this is a turn-based game, make no mistake about it -- he wanted to really remind gamers of the good old days of RPGs. So you see a lot of innovation that's happening within the framework of a turn-based system. People talk about turn-based systems being outdated, very old-school, and so forth, but we believe there are areas that can be innovated within the context of turn-based combat.
So, for example, Unreal Engine 3 incorporation. We've got a precision aiming system and wall system that are in the combat system, as well a great storyline that RPG enthusiasts love. I mean, people around the world crave a great storyline. This game boasts 40+ hours of gameplay, most of which you're in combat and cut scenes. Movies -- I mean, who doesn't love a blockbuster movie with a great storyline, right? Lost Odyssey is sort of like that. It promises to evoke a lot of emotions, let you get caught up in character advancement and interactions, and then turn-based mechanisms compliment the way you play.
GameSpy: Was there any temptation to try different publishing schemes, like what Namco Bandai did with .hack, as opposed to a traditional 40-hour RPG?
Adam Kovach: I'm not in a position to talk to that. I manage two RPGs -- Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey -- and all I can say is that these two titles have really helped to diversify the portfolio. It's true that a lot of gamers and consumers view the XBox 360 as a shooting game box. It's true in some respects, because there are a lot of games like that out there that are truly embraced by gamers of all sorts, but Blue Dragon was very critical to our proclamation that the 360 has a broad selection of games. Especially with respect to gamers who are thinking about what to buy as far as next generation platforms are concerned. So it had a great appeal to PS2 owners who are thinking "what should I do with next generation platforms? Should I think about 360 or buy a PS3?" and we hope that Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey will help them to really get the overall picture of what they should be considering, because we have so much to offer.
