November 9, 2009

Skate 3 Interview – A look into 2010
By: Dakota Grabowski

“For people who are new to the franchise, skateboarding doesn’t have to be intimidating.”

I was able to pick the brain of Nitesh Mistry, a product manager at Electronic Arts Black Box, on his thoughts of gaming for the year of 2010, Skate 3, digital distribution and much more after a recent trip to Visceral Games at Redwood Shores, California.

Over the course of our short chat, I was able to learn that fans of the Skate franchise may possibly be able to “try out” to join the virtual EA Skate team to show opponents how it’s done online. So without further ado, here’s GameZone’s exclusive interview with Nitesh Mistry.

Where do you see 2010?

Nitesh Mistry: “If you look at what’s coming up in the first part of the year, it looks exciting. With games like Bioshock [2], God of War [3], Dante’s Inferno, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 it’s going to be a great start of the year. I’m really excited at where gaming is going.”

What games are you personally looking forward to?

Nitesh: “Personally? Personally, I’m a big Bioshock fan. I’m looking forward to where they are taking that franchise. I love the parallels between Dante’s and God of War. I think both are going to be very good and very fun to play. So I’m looking forward to both.”

Would you be able to speak on the marketing for Dante’s?

Nitesh: “Nope, sorry buddy. I can’t speak on it at all.”

Have you seen the recent mystery box (Link: http://www.viddler.com/explore/Destructoid/videos/1098/)  the team sent out for Dante’s Inferno and, if you so, was it entertaining to watch the journalists open it?

Nitesh: “I did see it. It’s always fun to see journalists struggle with things that marketing guys come up with. It’s a real cool campaign that they are doing. They have the nine circles of hell and it’s tackling that at a unique perspective, so it’s definitely innovative marketing.”

What’s the most innovative marketing scheme you have done?

Nitesh: “Oh god, off the top of my head. I think what we have done with the Skate franchise, while it’s not necessarily traditional marketing, but what we have been able to do with our community for the Skate franchise and give them innovative tools to create their own content and really cultivate their experience, that, to me, is one of our biggest achievements. From the game development side of it, if you give these guys the tools, ultimately, what they create is just awesome.”

With the customization tools you are providing fans, what is the first thing they are going to create? Will profanity be the first thing that will be expressed through user-created content?

Nitesh: “You know there will definitely be some profanity since there are guys out there that like to do that. But for the most part, these tools are for the guys who enjoy the game and really play the game. The first thing they are going to create will probably be their team logos. They are going to create their team and marks to get their brand out there.”

Has EA Black Box created their brand, logo and team ready to go with Skate 3?

Nitesh: “We have an EA Skate team. I’m definitely one of the guys on the outskirts. We have our core guys that play the game. We have Chris Parry, that I am sure you talked to, and a couple of other guys on the team that are online and playing with our community. They are a part of this EA Skate team. We might hold our own tryouts to get some new guys on our team.”

On a scale of 1-10, what’s your skill level as a Skate 3 player?

Nitesh: “Me, personally, I’d say I’m a 7.”

What about the rest of the team and developers? Are they all excellent at the title?

Nitesh: “Just like any other game, there are some guys who are really good at it and some who aren’t that good at it. On a whole, most of the guys are at least at a 7 or an 8.”

All right, last question of the day. Where do you see the industry going forward? Is digital distribution and/or digital content that are exclusively tacked on the way of the future?

Nitesh: “I think it’s a little of both. You are kind of seeing it with games like Fable [2]. It re-released online through digital distribution. You know, at the end of the day, as publishers we are trying to get to our consumers in the best way possible. So with online becoming a better facet to connect to our consumers, I see a lot of publishers and not just EA sort of traveling to that model. Not necessarily will the full game be available, but at least a lot of downloadable content. Maybe one day we will get to have every game available online. It’s definitely a trend on where we are going. I don’t see us getting there in the next year or two but it’s definitely in the future.”

Thanks a bunch Nitesh. Feel free to sell our readers on why they should buy Skate 3 in 2010.

Nitesh: “For fans of the franchise, it’s an evolution of where we have been. We know people love playing the game together and skating with friends is a great social experience. For us, it’s an evolution of where the franchise is going. We are totally excited for the team concept and really delivering that experience. For people who are new to the franchise, skateboarding doesn’t have to be intimidating. That’s what Skate 3 is all about as we have dialed up accessibility features. We are making the game accessible for everyone. You don’t have to be a fan of the franchise or skateboarding to have fun with Skate 3.”

If you haven’t read our companion piece that included an audio slideshow conducted with narration by Chris Parry, an associate producer on the Skate 3 franchise, you can see the presentation here.

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