LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias Preview

VideoGamer.com: From a core gamer point of view, the Wii isn't known as the system of choice for downloading games. Is that changing or is that something you're going to have to battle against for the foreseeable future?

DB: On all platforms it's changing. What is on offer online is changing. What Nintendo announced today is also very interesting. This programme whereby you introduce friends and then you get gamer points, isn't that brilliant? But even if you just introduce one friend, that's 500 points. That's a lot. It will change with time. I'm very hopeful. The take up of Xbox LIVE, for example, has been quite quicker, probably because the people who are driving it are actually the more core gamers. The real beauty with Nintendo though is it's brought a whole new audience who are still not entirely familiar with the concept of gaming. So it's a step at a time. When they discover what's available online… I mean Nintendo brought my mum to games not that long ago with a DS.

VideoGamer.com: What game?

DB: Brain Training. But now, she's playing more traditional games.

VideoGamer.com: Like what?

DB: She was playing Animal Crossing and Professor Layton and the Curious Village. So she's now thinking, oh there's another one coming out. It is changing. The average age of gamers is now apparently over 30. Compare that with the average age of the population, they're not that far apart. So we've got a very big representation of games within a lot of ages. There are still a lot of people who haven't been introduced to games, but with online on Wii, it is gradually improving. There are a lot of people out there who don't realise it's even possible, and that the wireless network is built in - you don't have to buy anything separate.

VideoGamer.com: Why do you think that is?

DB: People buy it often for a specific game, whether it's Wii Fit or something like that, and see it as a Wii Fit device, and then only later realise, oh I can play other stuff on this. World of mouth does that. Friends, particularly the playground will help a lot, especially when there's 500 free points for everyone you can bag!

VideoGamer.com: So you see that audience engaging in online gaming and downloading games just by virtue of a process they go through over time?

DB: Yes, I think so. It's not going to be overnight. The Ambassador Programme is going to help a lot. People are already starting to connect. It's true with all consoles, on average it's fewer than 50 per cent are online, maybe Xbox is slightly higher. But it's interesting with time the percentage with Xbox has fallen. It's not risen. But the numbers have risen. It's those numbers that matter. It's quite obvious, the reason the percentages have fallen is as with the PS2 generation, where the early adopters are often core gamers like you and I, that then spreads to a lot more people who, to be honest, don't want the fiddle of connecting it up, until they realise, oh, cool, free stuff! I'll sign up after all.

VideoGamer.com: I can't let you go without asking you for an update on The Outsider.

DB: Oh it's very exciting. One of the problems with games, especially games with long development periods, is if you talk about them all of the time it becomes old. So I've intentionally gone quiet. And we will be quiet for a while, until we choose the right time to start talking about it again. I don't know, it's all opinion. If you talk about something all of the time then it becomes old.

VideoGamer.com: Do you have any idea what year it's going to come out, or is that still up in the air?

DB: We do. But we're not saying it!

VideoGamer.com: It's too late for this year, then?

DB: It's not this year.

VideoGamer.com: Finally, Elite 4, I read online that you're looking at it as a space MMO that you won't start work on until The Outsider's gone gold. Is that still the case?

DB: There is absolutely tons of stuff about Elite online. Hardly any of it's true! Some of it is, but I'm not going to say which. We are working on it and it's very exciting.

Lost Winds: Winter of Melodias is due out exclusively on WiiWare this October.