Seite 2: Interview mit Gameloft zu Real Football 2009

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PlanetDS.de: We fear that a “new” title of a game series just changing the year of its release means getting old stuff in a new box. Concerning Real Football 2009, what will be new, how does this DS game differ from its predecessors?

Nicolas Rodeghiero: Real Football 2008 was our first football game on Nintendo DS and allowed us to build a foundation. With the 2009 opus, we went even further and are able to create an even more comprehensive football simulation that makes the most of the Nintendo DS platform. Improvements are on different levels:

• For the first time, you can play a football simulation with your DS stylus. You move your player with the cross pad and you pass, tackle, dribble and shoot by drawing simple lines on the touch screen. You can also perform some special moves like the “Zinedine Zidane Roulette.” For this rotation move, you just have to draw a circle on the touch screen.
• We have the FIFPRO license. It allows us to have the majority of the real players’ names from clubs and national teams.
• The 2009 version is a more realistic football simulation thanks to entirely reworked animations, ball physics and graphics, and more realistic and dynamic artificial intelligence. For instance, it is harder to get past the goalkeeper.
• This year, you can coach your team entirely with the stylus in real time. For instance, you can change the position of each player on the field.
• We have more stadiums: 12 vs 9. For instance, fans of Munich will be delighted to feel at home in their stadium.

PlanetDS.de: Despite some dribble artists who sometimes seem to forget about this, soccer is a team player game, how will this be realized? What kind of multi-player-modes will be implemented? Is there any chance that there will be an online mode?

Nicolas Rodeghiero: We have a multiplayer mode which allows you to face up to 3 of your friends in heated tournaments.

PlanetDS.de: Currently, Ubisoft’s advertisement is a lot about the Games-for-me-Series, which addresses different types of gamers. Most of the titles in this series are easy to play, have easy handling, and most of them are even instructive and scientifical. Is Real Football 2009 going down that road, too? Is it simple and catching enough to address a huge target audience or is it more soccer fan specific?

Nicolas Rodeghiero: The Nintendo DS is played by a very large audience. So our objective was to please sports game fans as well as football fans who are not familiar with sports video games.

The tutorial and the easy mode will allow beginners to become familiar with the game controls. Moreover, stylus controls

The most experienced players will face a challenging artificial intelligence in the most advanced difficulty levels. Moreover, they will have the ability to try to master the most complex special moves.

PlanetDS.de: How will the game compete with games like FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer?

Nicolas Rodeghiero: Real Football is the only football simulation DS game that was especially designed for this console. The exclusive stylus controls will provide players with a new way to play football. They will discover new sensations.
With its polished gameplay and its advanced artificial intelligence, Real Football 2009 is also a very immersive football simulation which is perfectly equipped to deal with FIFA and PES.
We worked a lot on the playing rhythm in order to have a game with more responsiveness and flow than its competitors.
Overall, it is also better than its competitors in terms of graphics. For instance, stadiums offer a higher level of detail in Real Football.
All in all, Real Football DS has been created by football fans for football fans equipped with a DS.

PlanetDS.de: With Real Football 2008, a lot of soccer fans missed the audio-background of a stadium. Especially the parts when there were goals, substitutions, fouls and other important sound features – will this change in the future?

Nicolas Rodeghiero: You’re right. The audible atmosphere of a football match is very important. We work continuously on this aspect.
In Real Football 2009, the crowd is reacting whenever something hot happens on the field. It contributes to the immersion during the match.

PlanetDS.de: Your recent sports game is announced to be released on the iPhone, too. How does this version differ to the DS version since the input device is in both cases a touch screen?

Nicolas Rodeghiero: The iPhone doesn’t have buttons like a DS, so we had to find another solution for the game controls.
We created a virtual pad on the touch screen with a cross bar, plus 2 buttons to shoot, pass, press and tackle. Like in the DS version, you can also perform special moves by drawing simple shapes on the touch screen.
The iPhone also offers some accelerometer functionalities which are exploited in Real Football 2009. When you play a throw-in, you can orient your player by tilting left or right your iPhone. When you tilt it forward, he passes the ball to a teammate.

PlanetDS.de: Since we just talked about the iPhone, are there any intentions on the part of Gameloft to develop more games for this “strange” mobile phone? What are the future prospects of the iPhone as a gaming device?

Nicolas Rodeghiero: Gameloft will make 20 titles available on the App Store before the end of the year. 8 games were already launched.
The new games will be representative of the Gameloft catalogue, and we will continue to support this major platform in 2009.

PlanetDS.de: Until now everyone has been cozy about a timeframe for the release of Real Football 2009 in Europe, could you give us a hint when we can expect the game?

Nicolas Rodeghiero: The game will be released on November 13 in Europe.

PlanetDS.de: Our last question is about the future of the Real Football series. Until now it has been a platform spanning development like FIFA, how about exclusive development for the DS? Would you give us an insight of your future plans?

Nicolas Rodeghiero: Each version of Real Football was specially designed for each platform. Our objective was to develop the best football game on mobile, iPhone and DS. The mobile version allows short game sessions for people who are on the go. As for the DS and iPhone versions, they each offer a new way to play football with touch screen controls and accelerometer features for the iPhone.
Our objective for the future of the Real Football series is to push the capabilities of mobile phones, iPhone and DS even further and to offer an even more immersive football simulation to players.

The interview was held by Jakob Nützler [Miroque] for PlanetDS.de.

Thanks to Nicolas Rodeghiero for his kind support.