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Saints Row 2 screenshot

VideoGamer.com: And what about Home?

DS: I'm actually not sure on where we're at on that to tell you the truth. Sony keeps delaying that and pushing it back, so if it's a possibility I'm sure we'll look into it. I think right now our focus is what we're going to do with our own downloadable content as opposed to worrying about Home until they actually bring that out and show us what it can do.

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VideoGamer.com: Gamers are certainly getting annoyed that it's not out yet, and from your point of view it must be frustrating that you've got a game coming out and you're not sure when it's going to be ready.

DS: Yeah, you want to have that in front of you, like a complete version, to see how it can integrate. Right now, seeing as they're still working on it, it's something that we'd have to look at as a patch. I don't think they've even released a date yet.

VideoGamer.com: In principle, the idea behind Home, how do you feel about it?

DS: I think it's cool. It's a cool system to do, getting your avatar in there, going round and visiting certain games. Maybe getting exclusive features if you go into the Saints Row room, wherever it's located in the Home world. Overall I think it's cool to integrate some of those features in there. Once we see what the final product is we can start developing towards that, whether it's in Saints Row 2 or Saints Row 3.

VideoGamer.com: What about a demo? Demos for open world games seem to be particularly difficult. Is a demo for Saints Row2 possible?

DS: It's possible to make, yes. We haven't said if we're going to or not, but it's definitely possible. We did it for the first one and it was really really good for us. We're definitely looking into doing that. Our main focus right now is making sure we get the game looking hot. After that we look into getting a demo out during out Microsoft submission time or PlayStation submission time. Usually with game companies you submit to them a couple of months before the final product and you have time between there to decide if you want to or not. I think it depends. PlayStation owners would definitely like to see it and have hands on, because it really sold the Xbox for us, having a demo I think. Especially as PlayStation hasn't had a hands-on, it would be beneficial. We're definitely looking at doing that. It's on our radar right now. It just depends what the big bosses at Volition and THQ decide. I think there are studies that came out like two or three weeks ago where they said that actually demos don't help sales. Which is tough for developers, as we want to give it to people too. With our game we have a fun enough game and a sandbox experience that people are only going to buy it because of that. As long as that stays the same we definitely want to do it.

VideoGamer.com: I guess it's a sequel, so the brand is already out there. It's not a new ip where you have to develop trust with consumers.

DS: GTA is lucky because they had that whole mystique behind it. They didn't have to release a demo, they didn't have to release gameplay stuff. They didn't have to do anything at all when it comes to that. With us, we know what we are, we want to show off the fun stuff. That's why you've seen the "would you rather?" trailers, the Gary Busey stuff.

VideoGamer.com: You mentioned DLC earlier. What kind of form could it take?

DS: In Saints Row 1 all we gave people was clothing packs. We're going beyond that for this one, I can't say that much right now. We're looking at the possibility of doing multiplayer maps, we're looking at the possibility of doing another mission arc as well. Those are the things that we're discussing right now. We have a team working on that. We're kind of keeping it a secret right now, but it is going to be a lot more than clothing packs. We're definitely looking at something a lot bigger than that.

VideoGamer.com: How does the game differ when playing in co-op? Can't people just run off in different directions?

DS: That was a big challenge with our streaming system. That's why we had to re-write our code for the second one, because now you can run around on one side of the city while your friend is on the other side, like in Crackdown, and on top of that be able to fly throughout the city and not have all the hiccups you'd see in a game like that. We haven't limited it at all. It's untethered. You can go any place. You can do anything you want to. When you play missions together they change. When you go to one of our strongholds, your partner can go upstairs and do something, you can go downstairs. Your objective might be to go downstairs and do something. We try to add replayability by at least changing the missions when you're playing in co-op. So there'll be achievements as well for co-op specific stuff. You see both your custom characters in cut scenes. Activities and missions do change depending on if you have one or two people.

VideoGamer.com: So steps towards a Saints Row MMO then? Is that something you've considered?

DS: We have to think about that. I think we want to continue on with the type of game we have now, but an MMO, it's a different type of game. I don't know if we'd detract people or embrace people. We have to put some research out there and see. I think we want to keep continuing to do offerings like this as well, where you have self contained stuff, but if there's a market for that, you know. It seems as though GTA has discussed that. There's that APB game that's going to be an MMO. If the genre goes that way, we might go that way as well. It depends on where stuff goes.

VideoGamer.com: The game obviously has hours and hours of gameplay. You look at what people are doing now with GTA 4 now they've finished the main storyline. What kind of things to you think people will be doing in Saints Row 2 after a similar amount of time?

DS: I think customisation knocks it out of the park for us. You're going to see people I mean, we have some ridiculous stuff in the game. You can create your own celebrities. You can create yourself. Some of the costume options as well. People can go around and make a zombie play, with a YouTube video of the city using the zombie mask we have in the game. Or have hot dog suit people running around the world as well. There's just so many options like that. I think the game itself, you have a long single-player version, but the multiplayer is so much fun. And we have the co-op. I don't know what people are going to do. Just look at YouTube to see how many videos of GTA 4 are up there and how many videos of Saints Row 1 are up there. It's just going to explode because of all the new things you can do in this one. Custom game types, custom cribs. You're going to see people do ridiculous stuff in our game. Absolutely ridiculous stuff. I think it's limitless. You have car enthusiasts who can just go and try to make the coolest car. Show boaters can make the coolest characters and share those online with their friends.

VideoGamer.com: Thanks for your time.

Saints Row 2 is due for release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC this October.

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