CVG interview Steel Battallion Producer!

[XboxGamers]

Now this is a great intervew! More support confirmed! I still have to pick up Steel Battallion.

It's one of the most audacious videogames ever, it'll cost you an arm and a leg, and take up half your living room - producer Atsushi Inaba tells us why we need to experience Steel Battalion

18:18 "What the...?" is most people's initial reaction on sighting Steel Battalion plus controller for the first time. Mech games are nothing new, but no-one has ever attempted to recreate what it might be like to ride in one in such astonishing detail and scale as this Xbox effort from Capcom's R&D Studio 4.
Steel Battalion proves beyond doubt that joypads are for the weak. Real gamers want a giant three feet long behemoth with twin sticks, a gear shift and more switches and buttons than the Enterprise. Truly awesome.

With the game due to ship to Europe next February or March at an unspecified price, it's sure to become a must-have item in double-quick time. So, with only a few months to start saving your pennies, we caught up with producer Atsushi Inaba to get the full, diesel-spurting scoop on this epic creation.

What inspired you to create such a unique game for Xbox?

Inaba: I drew on experiences from my earliest gaming memories. I used to play a lot of flight simulators when I was a kid; I remember the thrill I used to get from starting up my plane and pressing various buttons to start up the engine. I have taken this to the next level with the invention of the Steel Battalion Controller.

It's a very niche title, and also a very expensive one - who do you feel will buy Steel Battalion?

Inaba: Hardcore gamers and gamers who want to take their in-game experience to the next level. Steel Battalion is one of the most immersive gaming experiences you will ever have.

Steel Battalion seems on the surface a very Japanese game. What do you believe makes it appeal to Western gamers?

Inaba: Western gamers have been fans of mech-style games for a long time now. The attraction of top quality gaming coupled with such an involving controller will hopefully be more than enough to satisfy the European market.

Can you describe to European gamers the experience offered by Steel Battalion?

Inaba: There are already several mech action games on the market at this time so I wanted to make a game that would challenge everything currently available. Everything about this game has been painstakingly planned and designed to look as real as possible. I wanted to give gamers the chance to experience what it would actually be like to pilot a gigantic VT [Vertical Tank - Ed].

The in game experience is like nothing seen before. We hope that European gamers will be totally absorbed by this title - we want it to suck them in and not let them out again until they've had an intensely visceral and ultimately 'real' experience.

Furthermore, can you describe how the controller operates and what you feel it brings to the overall experience that simply wouldn't be possible via a joypad?

Inaba: The controller was designed at a very early stage in development and everything in-game has been built with the controller in mind. Steel Battalion is not a simple action game with a big controller. Every movement of the mech is designed to fit with the movement of the controller. We think the controller will add deep value to the gameplay and hope that this controller will become part of videogame history.

We've heard you're also building a set of large, self-contained arcade-style units to help promote the game - can you tell us a little about these?

Inaba: They will be big enough to fit a person, a widescreen TV and the controller inside. It will add to in-game immersion - we believe that the experience will feel so real that you may well forget you are playing a game!

How is Steel Battalion going to support Microsoft's Xbox Live service?

Inaba: We are planning to release an online version next year. I can't comment on the details at this time.

Which aspect of the game are you most proud of?

Inaba: The realism and unity between software and controller. Everything is exactly how I envisioned it would be - this project has been my dream project to work on.

What are your thoughts on Xbox's performance in Japan so far, and also globally?

Inaba: Good so far. I think Xbox has a long road in front of it and we have not yet seen it reach its full potential. Hopefully this will be put right in the near future.

Do you plan to continue the series and provide updates for gamers who make the investment in the controller?

Inaba: Yes - as long as there is enough interest in the game we shall continue to support it.

[Cloud Strife]

The game is selling out in the U.S. so I would figure the game must be selling well.

[Unreal]

Originally posted by Burning Ranger
The game is selling out in the U.S. so I would figure the game must be selling well.

Or selling on pace to meet their target to be considered successfull. The game sold around 17,000 when it launched in Japan I believe and dropped off after that. So optimistically speaking it could have sold around 20,000 in Japan to date. From the sounds of it, North America (U.S and Canada) have hit that or passed it on its first shipment. I say after everything is said and done (Euro release as well) the game will have over 100,000 sold worldwide. Which in my book based on the price of the game is a success.

[Slacker]

a hundred thousand at 200 bucks a pop is a success I wonder how many euro's it will cost, probably equal 200 dollars , anyway I want this game bad, when it goes online it's going to be insane

[Cloud Strife]

Originally posted by Unreal

Or selling on pace to meet their target to be considered successfull. The game sold around 17,000 when it launched in Japan I believe and dropped off after that. So optimistically speaking it could have sold around 20,000 in Japan to date. From the sounds of it, North America (U.S and Canada) have hit that or passed it on its first shipment. I say after everything is said and done (Euro release as well) the game will have over 100,000 sold worldwide. Which in my book based on the price of the game is a success.

That sounds about right. I constantly go to Capcom's official site and I see the game sold out all the time. I am about to go crazy because I really want this game.

[Unreal]

I am building my Steel Battalion Stand now. So when it is done I wll take pictures and post them.

[Cloud Strife]

Originally posted by Unreal
I am building my Steel Battalion Stand now. So when it is done I wll take pictures and post them.

Are you a master craftsman like me?

[Unreal]

Originally posted by Burning Ranger
Are you a master craftsman like me?

NO. Think of me as a producer. I know what I want, I just get someone else to do the labor and I point them in the right direction

[Cloud Strife]

Originally posted by Unreal

NO. Think of me as a producer. I know what I want, I just get someone else to do the labor and I point them in the right direction

That sounds like a better idea. Its better not to hurt yourself playing with power tools. If I had Steel Battalion, I'd make mine out of cardboard. I made a cardboard chair once and it was able to hold 200lbs.

I know this is off topic but I'm surprised you don't own Tech Romacer for Dreamcast.

[hebgbz]

Completed my stand today and fired it up for the first time. Unfreakinbelievable. I got killed once before ejecting and actually got fired because I was so pitiful and had to start over, but I am loving every minute of it. The sound is the most incredible ever and the controller and interface showing on screne make extremely immersive. I can see this taking weeks to perfect, which I love. Like Halo and Splinter Cell, it will be a cold day in H*ll before I let this one go.

Get it. You won't regret it. So very real and you feel you are really driving a huge mechanized vertical tank. Not skippin around and arcade popping toy cars like in MA. Much Much better than that imo.

Can't wait for the sequels.

[Cloud Strife]

Originally posted by hebgbz
Completed my stand today and fired it up for the first time. Unfreakinbelievable. I got killed once before ejecting and actually got fired because I was so pitiful and had to start over, but I am loving every minute of it. The sound is the most incredible ever and the controller and interface showing on screne make extremely immersive. I can see this taking weeks to perfect, which I love. Like Halo and Splinter Cell, it will be a cold day in H*ll before I let this one go.

Get it. You won't regret it. So very real and you feel you are really driving a huge mechanized vertical tank. Not skippin around and arcade popping toy cars like in MA. Much Much better than that imo.

Can't wait for the sequels.

I'd love to buy it but I don't have much $$$ right now.