“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 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.”
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