Interviews// EA Sports' Oliver Hughes

SPOnG: It is interesting that Grand Slam Tennis goes for this style though - given that Tiger Woods and FIFA on the Wii enjoy more realistic presentation - and instead opts for the 'All-Play' control scheme to cater for all types of players. Would you say you're going for a FIFA Street approach to graphical style?

Oliver: Well, FIFA Street was more 'caricature' versions of licensed players. So Rooney had long arms and big shoulders. The players in Grand Slam aren't exactly designed to that kind of specification, but otherwise I'd say it is more of a FIFA Street approach. I don't think in any way that we've 'dumbed down' the game by doing that. I feel that people will still get as much depth out of the game as if we went for a more realistic approach.

With Tiger Woods, it's kind of easier to maintain that realistic presentation because there's only one person on the screen doing anything at a time. I think when you have loads of things going on at once like in Grand Slam Tennis, you need to concentrate your console power on the gameplay rather than processing lots of graphics.


SPOnG: These games are the first to use the Wii MotionPlus peripheral. Obviously there has been no confirmed release date by Nintendo, with the platform holder going so far as to pull Wii Sports Resort off its schedules. Has that impacted development at all, and how challenging was it to develop for the 1:1 movement in general?

Oliver: It was a great challenge for us, as it is with any new technology or platform. I think being one of the first guys out of the door with support for this peripheral is a challenge, but it's also an opportunity, so I'm sure there were happy challenges for the development team. But from a marketing point of view, it's brilliant. We've now got this under out belt and it makes EA Sports an even more authentic brand.

Obviously we don't know the exact date it's coming out, but I think whether you play the games with or without MotionPlus, you'll find a really enjoyable experience either way. We're not really worried about not having the peripheral for launch, because we think the game's good enough on its own, but it's just something that enhances the game.


SPOnG: Given that, to ensure games like these are accessible for all audiences there has to be some sort of difficulty cap - I mean, even Tiger Woods 10's Advanced Mode isn't that far removed from the All-Play configuration - is the MotionPlus essentially your way of offering a more challenging, advanced control setup?

Oliver: I don't think that's an outrageous conclusion. I mean Tiger Woods is pretty cool because it covers a whole spectrum of audiences in its control. Golf is not that easy a sport to play, it's something you've got to master - but having All-Play controls allows someone who has never played the sport to have fun. Having MotionPlus on top of that means that if you're a golfer and have some experience playing real golf, the 1:1 motion controls adds a level of authenticity and difficulty.

Grand Slam Tennis is a bit more of an obvious sport to get into, the rules are basically 'hit the ball, get it between the lines', so in the standard mode without the MotionPlus, it's quite easy to get into but you also have the addition of using drop shots, lob shots, rushing the net (using the buttons on the Wii Remote). So you can add that level of authenticity into your game and make it more difficult for your opponents regardless, but the MotionPlus just takes that tracking another step further.