IG: Right, and then there's the super expensive collector's editions! That's become THE way for publishers to make some extra revenue these days it seems.
LC: Yeah, way back when in the '90s we did expansion packs and then collector's editions for Command & Conquer, where we upped the graphics and included some expansion packs. So I'm sorry for helping to start that trend! [laughs] But that's just another way for publishers to find a way to make the money to deliver the content that consumers are demanding. ... So the pricing issue is a problem because we have to continue to charge fewer and fewer people more and more money upfront. I believe that can be changed.
IG: Before we wrap up, I wanted to get your take on the motion sensing trend since you obviously have already worked with the Wii on Boom Blox. With the two new technologies from Sony and Microsoft, do you think this trend will really change the industry, or is it a passing fad?
LC: I have to be careful here because I'm under NDA with some people. [laughs] I can say defnitively that motion-sensing technologies and devices are not a fad. They are another way for people to entertain themselves; they are intuitive in the way they interface the person to the machine and I believe they're here to stay. I had a great time working with Steven Spielberg on Boom Blox and we barely scratched the surface of what could be done with the original Wii Remote, much less the other great technologies I've had the privilege of seeing.
IG: And Spielberg would appear to be on the Microsoft side of it, since he was on stage at E3 to promote Natal. But that's very different than Sony's because their tech involves holding a controller like the Wii.
LC: I think there's pro and cons to both systems, and there are other ones that are out there actually that are just not as well marketed or positioned. I think what people need to most focus on is that as entertainment creators it's imperative to pay attention to what your audience wants and how you're going to deliver that to them – the interface device is a huge component to that. What made Boom Blox such a successful product was a passion for understanding what the Wii Remote could deliver as a human-machine interface, as well as what the Wii could do. I would say for both Natal and the Sony platform and other platforms, the thing that will matter most is people paying attention to what that system does well and not just trying to map what another system does well onto it. That's always a formula for a Frankenstein experience, which is never as good.
How that all relates to InstantAction is that it's an incredibly robust form or series of technologies that allows for a specific type of experience to be delivered across a specific type of hardware – or not so specific hardware, as it turns out – and designing products around that is what excites me about the opportunity. As a designer, I love to build around the puzzles that are presented to me and design it for the consumers I'm looking to build for. You'll see some of our new product announcements over the next few months and year that will really resonate as to what happens when designers focus on the platform as a platform and the consumer with the value we think they're looking for.
IG: And I guess it's not inconceivable that you could still work with motion-sensing if a peripheral manufacturer makes something available for PC, and that could probably work with InstantAction, right?
LC: Sure and there's no reason that some of the things we're talking about today couldn't exist on consoles; they just don't today.
IG: Right, and that's what I was asking you earlier...
LC: I know. [laughs]
IG: Lou, it was great speaking with you. Thanks.
