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[Hitler Stole My Potato]

GameSpot: Is the deal exclusive? Are these gentlemen designing for Xbox Next only?

Shane Kim: No. We don't have an exclusive relationship with these guys. But they are going to be pretty focused on the Xbox titles. It’s a big decision for them to commit to a platform like this.

GS: Will either of Mizuguchi's titles, Meteos or Lumines, make it to Xbox Next?

SK: You’d have to ask them. It's not our intellectual property.

GS: What's behind this effort to line up Japanese developers of such caliber?

SK: We've been saying it for a long time--that we're committed to the Japanese market. We’ve learned our share of lessons with this current generation, but there’s no question in our minds that the Japanese market is very important to our future success. It's still the cradle of a lot of amazing creativity.

And it's a big market. So, we want to do well there. In order for us to do well, we think we need to make a significant investment in the market, and I think we've done that.

GS: What do you look for when you seek out a development partner? What are the elements or the criteria that you look for?

SK: Of course, you [need to] care a lot about their ideas, and you want to know that it's something that's unique and compelling. We don't want to be doing 'me too' titles. So we're looking for that compelling idea. There's no question that we believe that the pretty fundamental part of any of these guys' success is the passion for the idea.

But the other thing that's important to us is a passion for the platform. Each of these guys, each of our partners who work with us make a commitment to work with us on a first-party basis, which is very different than being a cross-platform developer/publisher. So they've got to be passionate about wanting to tie their cart to our horse, and they've got to be passionate that the platform is going to enable them, whether it's Xbox or Xbox Live, for example, to help them realize their creative visions.

I think if you talk to these guys, that's exactly what they would say--this is why they’re partnering with us, and I think it's especially compelling in Japan where we haven't had the greatest amount of success--this generation.

More....

 

[sonycowboy]

The boy is making his rounds, ain't he.

Tomorrow. Spong's exclusive interview with Shane Kim. A few pints of Lager and he opened up like a cheerleader on prom night.

 

[Mrbob]

Less interviews, more videos!

I can't wait till E3 when the lid is finally blown off and we get to see the Xbox 360 unveiling!

 

[Shard]

Or at the very least some new MGS games to talk about.