29-Dec-2003 The Ratchet & Clank creator dishes the dirt on his highs and lows of the year Chief operating officer of Insomniac Games Ted Price is probably best known for last year's wondrous flash of platforming coolness, Ratchet & Clank.
The dubious duo return this year in the even funkier Ratchet & Clank 2; but more importantly, we collared Price and got him to tell us his thoughts on the stupdendous gaming era that we call "2003".
What's been the big event for you this year, gaming wise?
Price: For us at Insomniac it's been the release of Ratchet & Clank 2 for the PS2. It's the biggest and most complex game we've made. In general though I think the announcement of the PSP was the biggest event for the industry.
And what was the biggest disappointment?
Price: There were a few games that didn't live up to the hype this year... But I'm not naming names...
What games have you seen that have really impressed you?
Price: Viewtiful Joe, Need for Speed Underground, Star Wars Galaxies, Desert Combat mod for Battlefield 1942, and SSX3.
How's the year been for you guys, industry-wise?
Price: Very good. the original Ratchet & Clank has been selling great, Ratchet & Clank 2 got excellent reviews and has sold a lot of copies in its first few weeks. And we've expanded significantly as a company.
So what's going to be big news in 2004?
Price: I imagine we'll all hear announcements from every console manufacturer about their next generation systems.
Where do you see the games industry going over the next 12 months?
Price: I think by the end of the next year the hype about the next-gen systems will really start to build. At that point the industry focus will probably shift to rampant speculation about the launch titles coming out for those platforms.
On the other hand, some of the best current generation titles will probably be released in 2004 since we've all had several years to get used to the existing hardware.
Outside of gaming, what's really impressed you from a creative viewpoint, i.e. movies, music, TV?
Price: Not a whole lot unfortunately. Personally I think the Lord of the Rings movie series has been the most consistently impressive non-gaming entertainment released in a while.
Outside of that it seems that in music, movies and TV there's more derivative content than ever. For instance, Reality TV was pretty cool when it hit the big time a few years ago but now everyone is doing it.
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