GameDaily BIZ: So I’m surprised to see you here at a Nintendo event.
David Jaffe: Well I’m with a buddy of mine and she had an invite, and she said, “Hey you wanna go to the Nintendo party?” and I’ve never met Miyamoto before, and maybe he’ll be here, but I don’t know… I love Nintendo. I can’t get my hands on a f***ing Wii. I go to my GameStop every couple mornings, and they’re like, “No, sorry!”
BIZ: [Nintendo of America president] Reggie [Fils-Aime] is right over there; why don’t you go ask him for one?
Jaffe: I don’t know, it’s not like he’s carrying them around like Santa Claus… but I’m grateful to be here. It’s pretty exciting.
BIZ: Let’s talk a bit about PlayStation Home and LittleBigPlanet. You’ve probably known about this for months or longer, right?
Jaffe: I have known about Home for quite a while, even before it was called Home, and it certainly has come a long way. It’s very, very exciting. It makes me real proud to be a Sony employee. I think the fans have responded in an incredibly, overwhelmingly positive way, so I think we’re on to something. I’m proud to be part of a company that’s doing something so cool.
BIZ: And how long has that been in development?
Jaffe: I can’t say, both because I’m not allowed to and I’m not entirely sure. You hear about things in hallways and meetings, but I don’t know where the original idea came from or how long it’s been. [Note: it's since been revealed that Sony was at one point working on Home for PS2, so it's been in the works for many years – Ed.]
BIZ: People have been saying, “Where’s Sony’s answer to Xbox Live?” Do you view this as the answer?
Jaffe: You know, I think Phil Harrison’s a guy who believes in and pushes innovation, and this is me guessing—I haven’t talked to Phil and the guys in England who came up with this—but my guess would be that this came out of a place of pure passion and excitement for something they’ve been really excited about, and that passion seems to be translating to gamers. So I don’t think Sony really works that way in terms of, “This company is doing this, so let’s counter with this…” I just think we’re all kind of following Phil’s vision for innovation and cool stuff. And this is just another thing in a long line that fits that bill.
BIZ: I met with Chris Satchell and Aaron Greenberg over at Microsoft [Stay tuned for that interview, folks! – Ed.], and they thought the idea for Home is interesting but that gamers would get tired of walking around a virtual world just to view trailers or interact with others. On Xbox Live you can do these things without using the virtual world as a means to an end. How do you respond to that?
Jaffe: Well, what do you want them to say? They’re the competition, and they’re clearly having to respond to some news they weren’t expecting that I think does make it very clear, and one of the many things that’ll make it clear, the significant difference between what we offer the consumer and what they offer the consumer. So I think it’s a good attempt at spin. Good for them for trying to spin their way out of a pretty bad situation.
BIZ: I think LittleBigPlanet basically stunned everybody. The audience erupted in cheers. Are we going to be seeing more and more of this user-generated content focus from Sony?
Jaffe: I can’t really answer that, but Phil’s a big proponent of innovation and new stuff and everything that you heard him say at the keynote yesterday is stuff he’s been saying since he took over a year and a half or two years ago. I think the man puts his mind where his mouth is, and he puts his energy and the teams’ energies behind what they believe in and he believes in. I’m not in any position to speak to what’s coming down the line, other than to say it’s exciting stuff… and it’s an exciting time to be at Sony right now.
BIZ: I know nothing’s been announced yet regarding rumble, but what’s your reaction to Sony settling with Immersion? I found it a bit funny because back at D.I.C.E. Phil Harrison had just told me that it’s a “last generation” feature. So what do you think about bringing rumble back to PS3?
Jaffe: I can’t tell you if it’s going to happen because: (a) I wouldn’t be allowed to; and (b) I don’t know.
BIZ: Right, but as a designer, just speaking in general, do you feel that it’s important?
Jaffe: In general… important, no. It’s one of a number of small things that helps add to the enjoyment of a game. I don’t think having it not be there is anything close to being a deal breaker for me as a designer or player. It’s a nice thing to have, but it isn’t like anything close to being ultra cool and important.
BIZ: I think you’d have to agree though, if we’re playing God of War or God of War II and we took the rumble out, that simply wouldn’t be as good an experience, right?
Jaffe: I definitely think it adds to the experience but what I don’t necessarily agree with when you look at the fan boards and things like that is how much it adds [to the experience]. Sure it’s nice. No one would say, “Yeah rumble sucks, nobody cares about it.” It’s a nice feature… but let’s put it this way: when I heard we weren’t going to have rumble I wasn’t like, “Oh my god we’re f***ed.”
