I was invited to participate in a 2K Sports developer conference call for their upcoming title Top Spin 3. The interview was moderated by Chase, the Media Relations Director for 2K Sports' PR firm and was with Anthony DeLuca (Top Spin 3 Producer). The call lasts about 30 minutes, and the recording quality is much better than the last interview (MLB 2K8) we had.
Per the standard format, Chase asks about twenty minutes of pre-submitted questions from the audience regarding the upcoming release of Top Spin 3. I have transcribed and posted several of the questions from the interview including those that are relevant to the Xbox 360, but there are many questions that were not transcribed. At the bottom of this piece is a link to download the complete interview. All questions and answers are paraphrased unless direct quotes used:
MOD = Chase asking the question
AD Anthony DeLuca
To get the interview started, Anthony was asked to provide a brief overview of Top Spin 3.
MOD Can you tell us about the game Anthony?
AD Top has been the #1rated Tennis Franchise the last. Since the release of Top Spin 2 on the Xbox 360, the developer has been hard at work developing the sequel. The game will be released at the end of June on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and Nintendo DS and Wii. Staple of the Top Spin franchise featuring the best players, well-know licensing use, superior graphics and superior gameplay. This time will be no different.
MOD What is 2K most proud of with this version of the Top Spin franchise?
AD The thing is that we kind of went back to the drawing board a little bit as far as the gameplay. Take it up a notch, as tennis games have kind of become static. We wanted to bring the game play up and make it act more fluid. As far as what we did, the buttons and utilizing the perfect hold feature and actually more accurately portraying what you character is doing on-screen with the animations.
MOD How close have you come to matching the real game of tennis and what sort of things have you done to make it more realistic?
AD We went back to the gameplay and jam packed the controller We took everything into account including ball physics, the environment (grass or clay), actual characters like a baseline player like Federer of playing on clay like Nadal or a great server like Andy Roddick. We took all this and really wanted to bring it out and we did a great job.
MOD During the development cycle, what was the biggest challenge to bring this version of the game to life on multiple consoles and how did you deal with it?
AD We did the Xbox 360 version as a launch title, so simultaneous developing with 2K China on the Wii, DS and the PS3 are all new consoles to us. Different markets to different consoles, as the Wii is more family friendly and has the Wii remote, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions are more graphically intensive. It was a challenge, but we definitely took advantage of what the hardware offered and really portrayed the sport of tennis really well on each system.
MOD So how much cooperation does Take-Two get from Pro Tennis players in regards to input on the game?
AD Its like something you kinda worry about in the beginning, as there is no players association like in MLB or NBA, you have to deal with the individual players, agents and their brand. There is an enormous amount of work to do I was nervous about it, but it went very smoothly as all the players, agents and brands were very excited. We had them come in for an initial photo shoot, as well as a second shoot and they were very cooperative and fun to work with.
MOD So what was used to decide on and choose the tennis legends for Top Spin 3?
AD We had a wish list and we had to negotiate individually with the agents, players, lawyers and brands. We chose the people that were really into it and felt good about the project. Someone like Boris Becker, who I loved the fact that we got him as he was one of our top three on the list.
MOD So what are the differences between the Wii, PS3 and 360 versions of the game?
AD Well, the PS3 and 360 are graphically better, visually better with more animations. More in your face. The Wii version we took full control of the Wii remote, with a more family friendly atmosphere with party games, mini games. And also the DS as well. Nintendo systems graphically are not as good, but take advantage of the stylus.
Feel free to download (right click and save as) the entire interview HERE and listen to an additional 25+ minutes of Q&A with Anthony DeLuca.
A special thanks to Chase, 2K Sports and Anthony for taking the time to set up this conference call and interview with the media.
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Per the standard format, Chase asks about twenty minutes of pre-submitted questions from the audience regarding the upcoming release of Top Spin 3. I have transcribed and posted several of the questions from the interview including those that are relevant to the Xbox 360, but there are many questions that were not transcribed. At the bottom of this piece is a link to download the complete interview. All questions and answers are paraphrased unless direct quotes used:
MOD = Chase asking the question
AD Anthony DeLuca
To get the interview started, Anthony was asked to provide a brief overview of Top Spin 3.
MOD Can you tell us about the game Anthony?
AD Top has been the #1rated Tennis Franchise the last. Since the release of Top Spin 2 on the Xbox 360, the developer has been hard at work developing the sequel. The game will be released at the end of June on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and Nintendo DS and Wii. Staple of the Top Spin franchise featuring the best players, well-know licensing use, superior graphics and superior gameplay. This time will be no different.
MOD What is 2K most proud of with this version of the Top Spin franchise?
AD The thing is that we kind of went back to the drawing board a little bit as far as the gameplay. Take it up a notch, as tennis games have kind of become static. We wanted to bring the game play up and make it act more fluid. As far as what we did, the buttons and utilizing the perfect hold feature and actually more accurately portraying what you character is doing on-screen with the animations.
MOD How close have you come to matching the real game of tennis and what sort of things have you done to make it more realistic?
AD We went back to the gameplay and jam packed the controller We took everything into account including ball physics, the environment (grass or clay), actual characters like a baseline player like Federer of playing on clay like Nadal or a great server like Andy Roddick. We took all this and really wanted to bring it out and we did a great job.
MOD During the development cycle, what was the biggest challenge to bring this version of the game to life on multiple consoles and how did you deal with it?
AD We did the Xbox 360 version as a launch title, so simultaneous developing with 2K China on the Wii, DS and the PS3 are all new consoles to us. Different markets to different consoles, as the Wii is more family friendly and has the Wii remote, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions are more graphically intensive. It was a challenge, but we definitely took advantage of what the hardware offered and really portrayed the sport of tennis really well on each system.
MOD So how much cooperation does Take-Two get from Pro Tennis players in regards to input on the game?
AD Its like something you kinda worry about in the beginning, as there is no players association like in MLB or NBA, you have to deal with the individual players, agents and their brand. There is an enormous amount of work to do I was nervous about it, but it went very smoothly as all the players, agents and brands were very excited. We had them come in for an initial photo shoot, as well as a second shoot and they were very cooperative and fun to work with.
MOD So what was used to decide on and choose the tennis legends for Top Spin 3?
AD We had a wish list and we had to negotiate individually with the agents, players, lawyers and brands. We chose the people that were really into it and felt good about the project. Someone like Boris Becker, who I loved the fact that we got him as he was one of our top three on the list.
MOD So what are the differences between the Wii, PS3 and 360 versions of the game?
AD Well, the PS3 and 360 are graphically better, visually better with more animations. More in your face. The Wii version we took full control of the Wii remote, with a more family friendly atmosphere with party games, mini games. And also the DS as well. Nintendo systems graphically are not as good, but take advantage of the stylus.
Feel free to download (right click and save as) the entire interview HERE and listen to an additional 25+ minutes of Q&A with Anthony DeLuca.
A special thanks to Chase, 2K Sports and Anthony for taking the time to set up this conference call and interview with the media.
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