Interview with Peter Moore at the Xbox 360 Launch in India

Mr. Peter Moore Age: - Not known,
Profession:-Corporate Vice President, Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division (…err in short concerned with the gaming division),
Purpose of Visit in India: - Launch of the grand Xbox 360.

And I was ‘The One” to get an exclusive chance to get an opportunity of a one on one chat session with him. Mr. Moore has been with Microsoft for three years now and in addition to everything else is one of the reasons for the success of the X-Box Console across the globe. He has served as COO of Sega of America. Under his command the online world was brought alive on the Erstwhile Dreamcast and he played a crucial role in the company’s decision to change its business strategy from a hardware developer to a software agnostic publisher. He also held positions of power in Reebok and Patrick U.S.A.

Coming back to the launch I had a few aces up my sleeve to let Mr. Moore know that our country was not behind in any way in the sphere of the Video gaming sector. Here are a few Tidbits from the conversation that I had with the Man himself at the Xbox 360 launch.

It all started out with “Emergence Day”- the name give to the official launch of the already critically acclaimed title of the year “Gears of War” (if anyone out there owns a 360 this is the killer app you’ve been waiting for), as soon as the words had escaped my mouth there was a smirk on Mr. Moore’s face and he asked me to explain the term to the bewildered press. Mr. Moore took over by saying that the title was shaping up to their expectations and the gaming community combined and they expected it to be one of the top five titles of this fiscal year and India will also witness the “emergence” of the Locust horde from the dark pits within the planet and the one man that shall stand to prevent this global disaster to spread shall be Marcus Fenix. Next up the role of Indian developers globally, we have already seen Dhruva Interactive work on “Froza Motosport,” Microsoft’s answer to Polyphony Digital’s “Gran Turismo” so further opportunities should be given to Indian developers on the 360 and P.C platform, the smirk on Mr. Moore’s face now had grown into a full fledged smile and he said Indian developers are getting recognized slowly and gradually time shall may the developers more obvious and apparent onto the global platform (although, I personally believe its just creativity not the programming skills) Next up was some talk on the critically acclaimed Halo franchise and the Xbox live service. Mr. Moore did agree that the Halo Franchise has become a world phenomenon. If this was a Hollywood movie this would be one of the biggest blockbusters of all times and the Live service did give them an edge in the previous console wars and they were able to carve a niche for themselves creating a whole new world out there and this experience is going to get better with the 360. My friend quipped in by asking him about the Tattoos he has got for himself on both his arms one a Halo 2 and the other one is of GTA IV. A little amused Mr. Moore explained to the disoriented press that he engraves his body with tattoos of games that are very near and dear to him and these are a few of them. This concluded the press conference but I was far from done with my inquisitiveness, so my friend and I followed him to the amphitheater to quench our thirst.

Once outside we followed him like a tiger strafing around his prey. Once we caught hold of him our session continued with the upcoming Japan centric RPG “Blue Dragon”. This game is being crafted by the legendary Hironobu Sakaguchi. Mr.Moore told us that this title was being specially designed keeping in mind the Japanese community and will make the presence of the 360 felt all across the land. Coming back to the subject of Indian developers Mr. Moore believes that the first step to reach out to the global audience is through the Xbox Live service and the XNA development kit to promote small time developers. “Geometry Wars” is one such striking example available on the Xbox Live Arcade service. The game is not complicated at all and even a 4-year-old can get the hang of the game in a matter of minutes and also crazily additive, which is why it was lapped up by millions of gamers worldwide. All countries have an exclusive magazine dedicated to their console; I asked him if it was feasible for our country where gaming yet to come up in a big way, according to Mr. Moore it is possible if the market seems feasible enough and big time publishers like Ziff Davis agree then it can become a reality. Since in our country the word “PROTOCOL” assumes huge importance before being whisked away by the so called employees of Microsoft India, I had the opportunity to have a rapid fire round with him

Halo 3 VS Metal Gear solid 4 : Answer - HALO 3 (DUH…)
Graphics Vs Gameplay, : Answer - Gameplay
Wii Vs PS3, : Answer - Wii
Sonic Vs Mario : Answer - Sonic

The only franchise apart from Mario which he would like to bring onto the Xbox Platform – The Legend of Zelda series

That was all we could manage from him, loads of our questions were left unanswered but it was a proud moment for the Indian gaming community as a whole.

By Neelesh Mukherjee