GDC 07: a quick chat with Aaron Greenberg
After the Microsoft blogger's breakfast (which will be written up shortly) we caught up with Xbox Live's Aaron Greenberg (also known as BIGVIP) for a quick chat. Unfortunately, we lacked the presence of mind to shoot a candid photo, so we present you with this handsome stock photo instead. We can tell you, however, that he was wearing this shirt. Along with Spencer from Siliconera, we had a chance to ask Greenberg a few questions. When asked about specific Arcade releases, in this case Ikaruga, Raiden IV, and Every Extend Extra Extreme. Greenberg said that it's rare for the team to concentrate on distant games. According to Greenberg, in the world of "internet time" he mainly focuses on games coming out within the next 6 to 8 weeks. In other words, don't expect Ikaruga anytime soon. He did mention that the XBLA games on display here at GDC -- Minigolf Adventures, Boom Boom Rocket, Jetpack Refuelled, etc -- will be released within a few months. We should get some hands on time with these games later this week.
We asked about the possibility of seeing some RPGs on Xbox Live Arcade, and Greenberg said there was no reason we couldn't see them, citing Castlevania as an example of a deeper Arcade experience, though perhaps not a traditional RPG.
When asked about the possibility of Final DOOM hitting the Arcade -- its ESRB entry was recently discovered -- he noted that Id is definitely interested. Talking about DOOM's surprise launch last year during X06, Greenberg said that their were more surprise launches involving famous franchises in the future. So, RPGs heading to Live Arcade ... surprise launches ... famous franchises. Anyone care to make some wild speculation?
