C3 Exclusive Interview | Hudson Talks Deca Sports Wii, Plans for Future

Cubed³'s Adam Riley: First of all, what made you bring a game like Deca Sports to the Wii?

Mike Pepe, Brand Manager for Hudson USA: The Wii platform and the Wii controls (Nunchuk and Wii Remote) make sports games so much more interactive than they have ever been in a video game. Have you ever leaned left or right playing video games or jerked the controller as you would want to in real life? Well, the Wii controllers respond nicely to these natural movements.

We found 10 sports that we believed would be the best fit for a sports compilation. Of these, five are summer Olympic Events, three Winter Olympic, and two X-Game Type Events. Each person who plays the game seems to have a different favourite inside and we are happy to see this. There is truly something for everyone inside Deca Sports.

AR: Was there a fear that people would think this project was nothing more than a copy of Wii Sports?

MP: Not really a fear. We wanted to compliment Wii Sports. We are all big fans of Wii Sports at Hudson. Wii Sports gives people a taste of what the platform can do. What we set out to do in Deca Sports was to provide more sports (10) and deeper gameplay. The game contains five modes of play: 2-4 person versus and co-op multiplayer along with four single player modes.

AR: How has your experience with Wii development been so far? Were you able to achieve everything you wanted?

MP: The Nintendo Wii is a terrific system to develop for. Hudson has always had a close relationship with Nintendo and you will see more titles announced in the upcoming months for the system. There are certain things that were not available to us at the beginning of development such as the use of Miis or Wi-Fi multiplayer. These are now available to third party developers so look for them in future iterations of the game.

AR: Out of the ten events on offer, what are some of your favourites? And what are some of the most 'fun' uses of the Wii's motion controls?

MP: We don't like to play favourites, but personally Beach Volleyball and Curling are my go-to's. The controls in all the sports reflect what you would do in real life. I play volleyball and can tell you that the same mechanics are used in the game as they are in real life. Curling surprised me as I had never heard of it prior to the development of the title. Since then it's a favourite in the office. It makes a great party game and people who have never played a sport on ice really get into it.

The controls in Deca Sports are great: Tilt the Wii Remote left or right to steer in Kart Racing and Supercross, overhand spikes in Volleyball and Badminton, pulling back the Wii Remote to draw your bow in archery, etc. Some really cool controls are performing axels in figure skating (don't make fun of me), blocks in volleyball, and slam dunks in basketball. These are all really fun in the single player modes but taking these up against someone else in multiplayer truly shows what the game is all about.

AR: What is there in terms of multiplayer content? And do you think this is a game that can last players for a long time? Is there an unlockable content, for example?

MP: Deca Sports takes a page from Wii Sports in that multiplayer is the true draw of the game. Having friends and family compete against or with you in events really shows what Deca Sports is all about. Every new game against someone comes with a new chance to take back a record, add to bragging rights, or just plain have fun.

Deca Sports ships with all modes and all sports unlocked. That said there are unlockables that have not been announced yet.

AR: Do you plan to bring Deca Sports to the Nintendo DS in the future? Or perhaps even any non-Nintendo platforms?

MP: We are exploring ports to other platforms. The DS being one of them. The controls and mechanics need to make sense though as the gameplay within centres around both of these.

AR: And considering the strong performance of the game in Japan so far, does this mean we are likely to see more Deca Sports on Wii in the future as well that will include a different array of sporting events?

MP: Definitely. In fact, if you or any of your readers would like to have input in sports you would like to see in future iterations of the game, please visit the forums of http://www.decasports.com and let us know!