The Xbox Interview: J Allard

J Allard: I hope so! The cool thing about the web is that the readers became writers. The consumers became the producers. The number of web sites almost mirrors the number of people on the web! Your voice is as big as the biggest voice that used to be out there in the media. An interesting comparison is that the most important type of musician that everyone is aspiring to be, is the D.J. And they don't actually make music... or do they? They were listening at first, then they wanted to participate in a non-traditional way. Gamers want to be game creators. And not like Peter Molyneux... they don't say, [frowns and rubs chin] "how do we confront the conflict between chaos and order and assemble that in a way that accelerates the human psyche and..." - they don't think like that. But boy - I'd love to have a reputation as the best skate park designer on Tony Hawk. You might want to be the guy known for putting together the best soundtracks. You might want to be the number one coach in the football league. So we can maybe make the gamer more like the D.J.

Kikizo: How can all that work through Live?

J Allard: Beats the hell out of me! I don't know. The concept of peer-to-peer is interesting, where gamers can share with each other. Take TimeSplitters 2 on the PS2 - they had a great level editor. Look at what it took to create a Half Life mod, versus what it takes to create a level in TimeSplitters. You can create a pretty cool level just with the Dual Shock! So if we can create peer-to-peer experiences like that, and let gamers share their experiences where they use each other's hard disks, and then if you can publish it, you can download Joe's... erm, theme park. I think that'll be really cool. But I don't know how that works yet... that's what keeps the job interesting!

Kikizo: Does it annoy you when publishers create games for all three platforms, but essentially the Xbox version ends up as a PS2 port without the system's strengths utilised?

J Allard: I'll answer that on two levels. The first level is - yeah, of course it's frustrating, but in a lot of cases it's very easy for developer to take advantage of the capabilities of Xbox. And more and more reviews are coming out - take SpiderMan last year for example, every single review I read said it was better than the PS2 version. They did 80% of the volume than on PS2, and when you consider the installed base ratio, that says a lot for these cross platform games. The development and publishing community is not only figuring out how to do it, they're figuring that it's important. So while it's disappointing on the one hand, it kind of self-corrects. And it's not always about the best technology; the best gameplay is what really matters.

The thing that frustrates me more about all of that is that the money we waste as an industry to pour into cross-platform hassles. What I'd like to see us do as an industry is create more standardisation. Gaming is this big [tiny indication with hands] and the world is this big [large indication with arms]. I want gaming to be that big. That means the big players in the industry have to get together and standardise. Before television was standardised, there was no television. Before video was standardised, there was only Beta.

Kikizo: Is there anything that you're dying to say about Halo 2 especially?

J Allard:, Yes, it's going to kick supreme ass! It's going to be great. The Bungie guys really get it. If you look at the acquisition of Bungie, and of Rare, Ed [Fries] and the firstparty team are really bringing new family members into the Xbox fold, who have patience, attention to detail, and commitment to quality, that we have with the console itself. They're really passionate about moving the medium forward - and they'll do it on their timescale. So the most important thins with Halo 2 is not when, but that they do it right. And Ed is going to give them the flexibility to do it right.

Kikizo: How productive do you see Rare's output being? Will it be anywhere like it was for Nintendo in the Nineties, where most Nintendo big sellers Rare games?

J Allard: Well, we wouldn't have bought them if we didn't think it would work! They'll probably ship five or six games in the first two years. Some of their projects have been in development for a while, and some have just kicked off. They'll have dramatic impact on our sales, not just in this generation, but in generations to come. I mean, these guys have been around for twenty years. They were here before all of us. Having them bring their philosophy and their commitment to quality, and giving them the opportunity to explore online, is going to be a really potent and exciting combination. To have them think about their magic in an online space, I think is going to create some breakthrough experiences.

Kikizo: Aren't you worried they take too long to make games?

J Allard: Who cares?

Kikizo: Shouldn't you? Firstparty games are what drives so many sales...?