Spikeout Battle Street
Spikeout Battle Street is based on the lesser known Spikeout arcade games, should we view this game as an update to the arcade games or more of a sequel?
Nagoshi: Well, there’s a lot of updates, but the main characters have changed from the original. (Though you might still find the original characters in there.) The base gameplay hasn’t changed, so if you enjoyed the arcade game, you will most certainly enjoy this, as well.
Will there be any references to the older games in the series, and what will this mean for the many people whose first visit to the world of Spikeout will be this Xbox game?
Nagoshi: There are connections, yes. I think maybe many of these people may have heard of the arcade game before, at least, and upon playing this they’ll discover what exactly it’s all about. Maybe not so much in territories outside Japan, so I’m not so sure about that...
Like Monkey Ball, the arcade game had limited distribution in the west so there isn’t a large existing fanbase for the game worldwide. Do you think this might have an effect on the reception of the game?
Nagoshi: Hmmmmm...since it’s an online real-time action beat-'em-up game, I’m sure that will attract the interest of many players.
While incredibly popular in the late 80s and early 90s with games like Double Dragon, Final Fight and the Bare Knuckle series (Streets of Rage in the west), we don’t see too many games in the beat em all genre these days. Do you hope to bring the genre back to the attention of the general public?
Nagoshi: I think myself and a lot of others kind of hope for that. There’s a lot of retro game fever going around right now, especially here in Japan. Lots of revivals are coming out in all kinds of forms. I’d like to make something like this with more story, more dynamics for all those hardcore genre fans. But I think with communication of the sort Xbox Live enables, this sort of game could be even more fun.
What sort of features will be implemented in the Xbox live play beyond the multiplayer mode?
Nagoshi: I can’t talk about too many details. There will be extras, of course. But the main draw is the online multiplayer mode.
While MMORPGs have become very popular in Japan recently, it seems like other types of online games still have a ways to go in appealing to the general public here. What sort of reception do you hope the game will receive?
Nagoshi: There’s kind of a glut in the MMORPG market right now, as there’s a whole bunch of game competing for a similar audience, with little variation. I think that there’s people who would like to play different kinds of games online. We’re aiming for a different type of online gamer with Spikeout than MMORPGs are.
