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WWE: SmackDown vs RAW 2011 Interview
We discuss what's new about this year's edition of the world's greatest wrestling franchise with creative director, Cory Ledesma.
Written by Andy Griffiths, 20 August 2010
GamerZines: Could you tell us a bit more about the plan to charge players who buy pre-owned versions of WWE: SmackDown vs Raw 2011 to get access to extra content?
Cory Ledesma: Everyone is aware of used games and their impact in the industry, I think we are following suit with other publishers by having a strategy where we reward new game buyers with bonus content. So this year new game purchasers will get a single-use token which appears on the back of the manual. What that token user will get is the first DLC pack free which is Chris Masters as a playable character, Kelly Kelly's optional attire which is kind of like a sexy devil, and Ray Mysterio's 'Day of the Dead' outfit. Both of which are themed around halloween, which is when the game is out.
They get that and they also get the online feature set of the game. Used game buyers will have two options - either purchase a single-use token at the price point of $10 for PS3 or 800MS points for Xbox 360, or if they want to try out the multiplayer experience there's a 7 day trial period, where they can try the online features, however they won't get the bonus DLC content as a new purchaser would.
GZ: Are you expecting a backlash from the community?
CL: I'm not sure, I don't think we really care whether used game buyers are upset, because new game buyers get everything. So if used game buyers are upset that they don't get the online feature set, I don't have much to say. It's a little blunt, but we hope it doesn't disappoint people, we hope people understand that when the game is bought used we get cheated. I don't think anyone wants that.
So in order for us to continue to make strong, high quality WWE games we need the loyal fans that are interested in purchasing the game and we want to reward them with additional content. So that's where the free DLC pack comes in, that's also a strategy with DLC in general where we will continue to support DLC and offer free content which comes with each pack.
GZ: Have you taken any cues from other publishers?
CL: I think we just track what is going on in the industry. It doesn't mean we follow what others are doing per se, but we adjust our strategy game to game. It doesn't mean all THQ games will have the same strategy, or that all games in the industry will have the same strategy. We think with all the content that we have in the game and the amount of online features we have there's a lot of value there, so we want to make sure we reward players with that value.
GZ: Do you think this kind of strategy will become standard for all publishers?
CL: In my humble opinion, I think the industry is moving towards an online content driven model where you purchase content online and you get away from purchasing packaged goods. Packaged goods are slowly dying out. We want to be able to buy things digitally, so digital ownership can be tracked publisher side and it reduces the cost, due to the elimination of packaged goods, it simplifies a lot of things.
As users become more online savy, I think that part of the industry will grow more. It also allows us to continue to keep content fresh and keep the whole setup fluid, so we can introduce new content post release. That's what most online games do nowadays, so consoles games will mimic that style a little bit more. But that is my humble opinion, who knows what direction the industry will take? We evaluate it year on year and we adjust accordingly.
360Zine Issue 51
For our latest WWE coverage, click here to download 360Zine Issue 51 for free.GZ: WWE titles have always been known as being very feature rich. Is it difficult to come up with something new every year?
CL: It is probably the easiest thing we have to do. I don't know why that is the case, but it seems like we are never short of ideas. If anything we are disappointed because we couldn't introduce more, which is crazy because we produce very feature rich games.
Personally I think you get more than your value of $60 in this product, you see a lot of games out there which are a fifteen hour experience or whatever, with this you could play the game for a whole year but still feel satisfied, still have different areas of the game to interact with and really get your value. We are always chomping at the bit to add as much as possible, but we do need to hold ourselves back.
GZ: What was the hardest thing to cut in this year's edition?
CL: That's a tough one. I think the hardest thing this year was the story content. You always want a lot of story content in the game. We do work with the WWE talent which are on the road all the time, so we can only get so much recording time. We can't be in their face forever, so there's only so much content we can add. We want tons and tons of story content, we want people to be able to play for years and years, but we need to be realistic. It's always about finding the balance and that's always tough for us. We're selfish, we want as much as possible.
GZ: WWE has moved to a PG rating, has that had any effect on the game?
CL: I don't think the show has drastically changed, it is still the great entertainment we all know. Obviously blood is the biggest issue, with PG you don't want blood in the show and we totally understand and support that.
We haven't removed blood from the game, but it is defaulted to off so when you first jump in it isn't part of the experience. But we have always been big on customisation, every year you customise your experience. There's a long history of blood in WWE, so we want people to still be able to have that option. So I think that has been the biggest change, the rest really hasn't changed - the storylines haven't and the character outfits remain the status quo.
GZ: Road to Wrestlemania was a fantastic feature last year and captured the drama of WWE so perfectly. What sort of input do you have regarding the storylines in that feature?
CL: We work with the head writers on both RAW and SmackDown.
GZ: Do you get carte blanche to include the wrestlers that you want?
CL: Absolutely not (laughs). We work closely with them to establish stories that make sense in the WWE world, we want to tell new stories and that's the challenge. We don't want to rehash anything, so they tell us what is realistic, what is something they would do on their show, as well as which talent is up and coming. We have to plan this out way in advance, so we are making the game 18 months out, so they help us by advising which talent will be in the position to play a part in these stories.
So we work really closely with them and make sure that they are completely bought in with what we are doing and vice-versa, it's the coolest relationship! They don't let us have free reign, which is good because we are a more authentic product because of their involvement.
WWE coverage available in 360Zine Issue 51 - click here to download it for free!
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