We adopted the tilt controls at the very beginning, at the stage of creating a rough design. It's a game that's easy for everyone to understand - even people who don't play games regularly. What was the original concept for the game? And when did you decide to adopt the tilt control system? It's due out on June 23rd in Europe, and with this in mind Sony granted us the opportunity to swap some words with Sony Japan's Tsutomo Kouno - he of the commute, and the game's design. With a simple 2D platform game approach using tilt as a control mechanism, it's also a game that really needs a CD quality soundtrack and a wide screen to get the most out of it, and a game that's been designed, from the ground up, not as a reaction to other things but as a simple, old-fashioned collection of ideas knotted together across many lengthy commutes.
Good news for PSP owners then - if it turns out the way it's looking right now, LocoRoco could look as handsome on the PSP's walls as Katamari Damacy does on the PS2's, and owe as much thanks to the personality and charm infused by a creative developer as Namco's celebrated series does. Sony's simply nicking stuff from PS2's bedroom, and probably pinching all the Blu-Tac while it's at it. While Nintendo seems to be running out of wall-space for all its handheld poster-children - Nintendogs, Brain Age, Advance Wars, Mario Kart, etc. What's a bit more reasonable to say is that the PSP lacks significant new games of its own, whether they draw upon existing genres or not. Or was it the Judean People's Front? I can't remember.Īnyway, the point is that it's worth remembering that while traditional archetypes aren't as sexy as they used to be, there is still a place for them. "What has Sony ever done for us?" we all bluster, with about as much historically viable consternation as had the People's Front of Judea. Naturally, this is a bit of a reaction to the DS. While nobody would argue against celebrating the PSP for offering gamers previously unthinkable home-console-style experiences on the go, there are plenty who would contest that it hasn't brought anything new to gaming as a whole.