GR:At the Namco Bandai event, we noticed the motion controls were kept to a minimum on the Japanese preview build- any plans to add more functionality to the North American release?
TG: We don’t want to place a huge emphasis on motion controls since the game is an RPG and it’s not really necessary for our type of gameplay. Our philosophy with motion controls is to try and use them to make the gameplay as easy and intuitive as possible, so we may look into other uses before the game is released to reinforce this philosophy and make things simple for our users.
GR:Any plans for a monster trading system online? If you’re going to go Pokemon, you might as well go all the way, right?
TG: This isn’t in our plans right now, but is something that we’d like hear from fans on if it’s something they would really want.
GR:Do you worry that the emphasis on monster collecting/coddling is going to alienate core Tales fans?
TG: We don’t think this is the case. Everyone who has tried the game at this early state has let us know that they think the collection adds a lot to the game. Although Tales is a long-running franchise, we’re always looking into new ways to improve our gameplay or give players new things to enjoy as they play. While you might not see it in every upcoming Tales game going forward, we think the monster collection fits well in Dawn of the New World.
GR:There will be drop-in, drop-out multiplayer, right?
TG: You can’t directly control monsters, but if you have four human characters in your party, can you enjoy multiplayer combat for up to four players at any time in the game.
May 9, 2008
