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Interview: Super Monkey Ball's Yasuhito Baba
Who would've thought that a simple game about monkeys trapped in plastic balls would go on to become one of Sega's biggest franchises? We talked with Sega producer Yasuhito Baba at Tokyo Game Show about the upcoming Step & Roll for the Wii Balance Board, and talked about the future for the franchise. Will it include support for Natal and the PlayStation Motion Controller? Read on. Joystiq: How long after the Balance Board was announced did you think of making a new Monkey Ball game for it? Yasuhito Baba: So actually, as soon the Balance Board game out, we thought this would be a great match for Super Monkey Ball. But the problem is, because we can't bundle with the Balance Board, we had to wait and see how the Balance Board would do. We had to wait for it to sell and wait for there to be a market for more Balance Board games. Monkey Ball is really well suited for new devices. So pretty much whenever there's a new device or new platform, we're always thinking about if Monkey Ball would work on it or not.
Rumor: PlayStation Motion Controller codenamed 'Sphere'
Neither Microsoft nor Sony have "official" names for their respective motion projects. At the very least, Microsoft has donned a far more attractive (and marketable) codename for its tech: "Project Natal," versus the clunky-but-aptly titled "PlayStation Motion Controller."One name Sony may be using with developers is "Sphere," a word that highlights the glowing, colored orb central to the motion controller's technology. Sega producer Yasuhito Baba and his translator both referred to the controller as "Sphere" during an interview at Tokyo Game Show last month. Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamauchi also talked about the PlayStation Motion Controller when we asked him if Gran Turismo would support the "Sphere" peripheral.Sony representatives we chatted with admitted they were unfamiliar with the "Sphere" name, meaning it may be strictly a development codename for now.
