The Japanese gaming giant chooses London to unveil its stunning PS2 action-adventure based on the animated classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas
17:18 On a cold, dark night in central London, with an icy autumnal wind howling through the gridlocked city streets, select members of the European press were led on a \'ghost walk\' through some of the capital\'s most famous \'haunted\' locales.
The occasion? To celebrate the world premiere of Capcom\'s videogame interpretation of the cult Tim Burton animated flick, The Nightmare Before Christmas.
That this is a very big deal for Capcom was in no doubt; the company had arranged the press unveiling to take place in the depths of the magnificent St Paul\'s cathedral, attracting the likes of top Disney excecutives and Mr. PlayStation Europe himself, SCEE President Chris Deering, who mingled freely amongst scruffy, canapé-scoffing hacks.
About to celebrate its tenth anniversary, Disney felt the time was right to produce a videogame of the classic animated feature, and owing to its long established relationship with Capcom, there was only one place for the game to be made.
Set one year after events of the movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas on PS2 puts you in control of Jack Skellington who must roam through the lugubrious streets of Halloween town attempting to undo the insidious machinations of Oogie Boogie, who\'s back and causing even more trouble than before.
A third-person action-adventure, the brief sections of Nightmare that were shown dazzled with their uncanny similarity to the look and feel of the movie. And Jack, armed with an all new \'rubber soul\' weapon - essentially a green blob that stretches to make a whip-like motion - looks sublime as he bounds around the winter wonderland.
With the game set for a simultaneous worldwide release on Halloween 2004, there\'s still a way to go and Capcom is keeping much underwraps. But we were still able to get a fascinating insight into the title when we sat down exclusively with Nightmare producer and general manager of Production Studio 3, Tatsuya Minami.
How did you come to work on the game with Disney? Did they approach you or did you pitch for the title?
Minami: Capcom has been collaborating with Disney for quite some time on other projects, and when it was wondering what to do next, Disney actually came to Capcom and said: "We have this idea..." And it was The Nightmare Before Christmas.
So it was a case of Disney saying: we have this licence, it\'s the tenth anniversary - what can you do? And you\'ve said you\'re a big fan of the film so you must have had plenty of ideas?
Minami: In a nutshell, yes!
As a fan, is this something you\'ve wanted to do for a number of years; a dream opportunity?
Minami: I\'m a big fan of Tim Burton and the last movie of his I watched was Nightmare Before Christmas. At that point I never ever thought it would become one of my games! The film itself uses puppets, but that is unfortunately impossible with the game, so that had to change to a normal 3D game - but that was good.
With an original game, you obviously develop it from scratch, but with such a big licence, especially a film by a director you admire, does that make the process that much harder?
Minami: Original games have their own difficulties, just like licensed titles. With an original game, if I\'m happy that\'s fine, but with a licence everyone has to be happy!
Have you met Tim Burton yet? What does he think about the game?
Minami: No comment! [laughs]
One of the key things you\'ve revealed is that, after a number of months, you brought in the film\'s art director Deane Taylor to provide art direction for the game - can you explain what problems the team were having which required you to bring in an external team member?
Minami: As a game producer, I will make the game as a game; but Capcom can\'t 100 percent know the precise artistic ins and outs of The Nightmare Before Christmas itself, so we needed some points to be checked by Deane Taylor.
What effect has bringing in someone like Taylor had on the team? Has it been an educational experience in terms of people learning techniques from movies they\'ll be able to use in games in the future?
Minami: Drawing beautiful artwork can be done by Capcom, but the team were able to pick up on the artistic pointers provided by Deane Taylor.
The game\'s set a year after events depicted in the film. Why not make a game based on the film itself? Was this a Disney directive?
Minami: Disney and Capcom were of the same opinion. There are some games that are based on films which are not really great, which is disappointing to both film and game fans. So Capcom and Disney came up with the idea of doing something different.
From the little we\'ve seen of the game tonight, it\'s clearly a stylistically beautiful game, capturing the look and feel of the film. But in terms of action, what separates it from any other third-person action-adventure on the market? Will the gameplay be as unique as the visuals?
Minami: The \'rubber soul\' plays a key part in the gameplay, helping catch enemies - it\'s a wire action. If you think about that a little more, you may be able to figure it out!
Where did the idea for Jack Skellington\'s rubber soul come from?
Minami: Capcom came up with some other ideas as well, we discussed it with Disney, and then decided to go with the rubber soul.
When the game comes out on Halloween 2004, PS2 will be approaching the end of its illustrious lifespan - why should gamers still be so excited about The Nightmare Before Christmas?
Minami: Nobody\'s making any titles for PS3!
That\'s not strictly true though, is it?
Minami: It\'s true! [laughs]
Will the game remain a PS2 exclusive?
Minami: Yes.
Moving on to another game you\'ve created, Gregory Horror Show - it\'s received some good reviews over here but many people may not know a lot about it. Can you describe what it\'s all about?
Minami: The game was originally based on a Japanese animation. The story is very serious and scary, but the characters are comical and I believe players will appreciate this unique blend.
Whereas Nightmare Before Christmas is a huge licence in the west, Gregory Horror Show means nothing to most of us - what are your expectations for the title in this territory?
Minami: Nightmare is a big licence and because everyone knows about it, there is the potential for it to do big business. With Gregory Horror Show, I realise it\'s not very well known and I see it more as my character.
It got great reviews in Japan but didn\'t sell to well!
Well we say go check it out. You\'re also currently working on Mega Man - is this guy ever going to run out of steam?
Minami: Well, I\'m working on Mega Man X. I think people are tired of Mega Man as just an action hero, so as I announced at TGS, this will be an RPG version of the game.
How do you feel the fanbase will respond to that?
Minami: It will be a challenge.
Do you feel this is now demanded by gamers, in the sense that characters need to be more rounded and have depth to them rather than be two-dimensional sprites that just jump and punch? Are you giving Mega Man this depth now?
Minami: There\'s only so far you can go in an action game in terms of this, but with an RPG there are many more possibilities.
We\'ve had a great night here in St. Paul\'s; what are your plans for the rest of your stay in London?
Minami: I only arrived yesterday and I\'m leaving tomorrow! [laughs] But I managed to go to the British Museum to see the mummies. And I\'m going back to have a look at the tomorrow! [laughs]. I\'ve been to London over ten times, but it\'s my favourite city. As long as it doesn\'t rain, it\'s a great city - and it\'s not raining tonight! [laughs]
So can we expect a game set in Egypt, now you\'ve seen all these mummies?
Minami: I\'ll think about it! [laughs]. Johnny Minkley
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