Apologies for my Hiatus...

Wow, it has truly been a very long time since I have updated. (blog rule #567 -- if it has been a long time, never start off your first blog update back talking about your absence) Where do I begin? Well, we're pretty much finished with SvR '11, only there are still a few touch ups that need to take place. We're very excited about the game to come out, but I'm already beginning designs on a project that you guys know, we just can't officially announce, because someone at our company doesn't know that we release a game every year....

I've seen recently, posts saying "is "Legend" difficulty going to be that reversal-fest, like last year?" My answer to you is that the CPU will reverse things, often -- that is if you're not thinking while you're playing. In SvR '11, you need to think about a few things:

1.) Who is my opponent? What are his / her ratings? Who am I using? What is my plan of attack going in?
2.) Mixture up strikes and grapples, and understand that the A.I. is smart, just like you are :)
3.) This is a game, and not a predetermined match, so if you're expecting to beat down your opponent for 3 minutes, then you should expect your opponent to beat you down for 3 minutes with no reversals (doesn't sound fun does it?)
4.) It's ok to lose, and not call it cheating -- just get 'em next time!

Anyway, this will be a short one for today, but I wanted to give you guys my Twitter account , and let you know that I will now be exclusively talking on our official SvR message boards.

I'll leave you guys with this:

1.) Roster Reveal is September 8th, on Gamespot.com
2.) Until we officially announce news, understand that I can't answer questions about news we haven't announced yet
3.) Play this SvR '11 this year on "Legend" difficulty, with reversal indicators "OFF"

Over the Lag / Limit

I'm extremely in to what Jack Swagger is doing on WWE programming as of late -- he's truly a refreshing heel that the fans consistently boo. I do wonder however, what his match will be like with Big Show on Sunday's "Over the Limit" PPV... Speaking of the PPV, have we seen the last of Batista? Only time will tell. I bet the match of the night will be CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio though -- watch!

This week was a rough one. I've never been off of this continent before, so I really didn't know how my trip to Japan last week would truly effect me. Well, I found out, and I'm just NOW feeling normal again (says the guy who is up at 1AM...). The game is really starting to come together. Working with an external developer is unlike any experience I've ever had, so it was important for me to go over to Japan to see the other side of things as I get acclimated to this new environment. I figured out the THQ side of things, but I really didn't get everything as a whole until I went over to Yuke's. Now I'm pretty happy with the knowledge I received while I was out there.

I know a lot of you want to know information about SvR '11, but please be patient. In this business, there are such things as timelines. We, the dev team, have no control over this. We're a public company, that has a ton of stakeholders, it's a much bigger thing than myself, so I'm never at liberty to spill the beans on things until I'm allowed. What I can do is take suggestions, and you guys have really given us a TON this year -- thanks for that.

We got our E3 schedule today, and I'm going to refrain from doing interviews this year. I'm happy with this, considering I came on late in the project, and the rest of the team would do the game more justice. I will be at E3 though, and I'm very serious about that community meetup. We just hired our new Community Manager, and I'm EXTREMELY excited about him coming on board. He's incredibly experienced, and shares the same passion for community engagement like I do. BTW -- I'm watching Smackdown (recorded) at the moment, and Kelly Kelly has really stepped it up a notch in the wrestling department (don't laugh at me).

Before I stop this random, late night post, I wanted to address something that I'm seeing pop up in the community a lot. Expectations. I can't say this enough, but apparently some out there are still not under the impression that we make a game every single year. I'm not saying this as an excuse, so please don't ASSUME that. What I'm saying is do the math. Your suggestions are ALL valid, we have a limited time from one game to the next to do things. Take a look at SvR '10 for instance. Before I got here I was AMAZED at the amount of "stuff" they were able to fit in the game. My experience with annual sports titles is pretty vast, and I can say that annual titles NEVER get as much in as SvR '10 did. But seriously, manage your expectations. Help us make a great game from year to year by giving us constructive suggestions, and understand what we can and can't do. We want to do EVERYTHING, but it will just take longer than a lot of you would expect -- no worries, we'll get there! I can't say enough how talented our design team is. We all share a huge passion for the wrestling genre, and strive to make nothing but ultimate wrestling game every single year.

Guys, I'm being open and honest to all of you. Don't take my words and scramble them please. The only reason why I say that is because I've seen it happen on boards.

I'm pretty excited for this weekend. I've got Red Dead Redemption to play (it's so dope guys), UEFA Champions League final, then a night out with my wife on Saturday night, then a LA Galaxy game on Sunday followed by the recording of "Over the Limit".

Enjoy your weekend everyone, and let me know what you think of "Over the Limit"!

Land of the Rising Sun

I was up until about 5 AM last night -- haven't done that in YEARS! Why is that? It's because I spent the last week in Tokyo, Japan. Yuke's, our external developer is headquartered there, and this was my first experience there. I didn't really know what to expect, as this was my first trip off the continent. I made sure to take my wife because of this, because you only get one first time...

We arrived in Japan, and after a 11 hour flight, we had to get on a bus from the airport to the hotel which took two hours. Needless to say, we were beat! The next morning was work time, as we boarded a subway train to Yokohama Station where Yuke's is located. I must say, if cars are not necessary in Tokyo -- the subway system is AMAZING!

Since we're getting pretty close to completion on SvR '11, we needed to review with the dev team (engineers), what was currently in the latest build, and give our detailed feedback on what exactly we'd like to see. The Yuke's office was cool, because it was my first experience at a Japanese studio, I didn't quite know what to expect. The office is rather small, but you definitely get a sense of what the studio has accomplished over the years (with SvR, UFC, Japanese wrestling games, etc.). We quickly got into it though, with the Yuke's 3 representatives from the game team watching us as we go through a build calling out our feedback (through a translator of course), while listening to their reasoning.

I'm not familiar with this process, because at EA, our dev team was right there with us. But, I quite enjoyed this part, as it's something different, and provides a challenge. The build is coming along nicely... We have alot of work to do, but we'll get there.

Tuesday was my birthday, and towards the end of the day, I heard a faint singing, and then the door busted open, and in came a herd of Japanese guys and girls, with a cake singing their rendition of Happy Birthday. I was overwhelmed, completely overwhelmed. They put a party hat and sash on me. They also gave me a hand drawing they did (picture above), and gave me a copy of Wrestle Kingdom 2 signed by the game's director. They hardly knew me, yet they treated me like they've known me for years -- this was a common feeling I got in Japan. I was humbled for sure.

By the time we left Japan, I didn't want to go to be honest. I loved my experience there, and can't wait to go back!

Next stop -- E3. Will you be there? How about that meetup!

Will Update Later Today

It's 4AM, and I'm still not quite caught up on the Japan / US timing.

I know a lot of people are anticipating an entry, so I'll update everyone on my trip to Japan last week tomorrow... (today?)

I Can't Talk About SvR '11 -- Here's Why (An Education)

What's up everyone? What did you think of the WWE Draft? Some exciting stuff there, particularly how it effects SvR '11 is what kept all of us at the office here interested. I did an interview with GamingRing.com on Tuesday night, which you can listen to here.

I'm getting alot of questions about whether or not I can talk about SvR '11. The quick answer -- no. Why you ask? Every single game in this industry has timelines on when they talk about things. There's a strategic element to it, that people smarter than I have jobs for. We (THQ) are a public company, and there's an order to how things are done. Therefore, I can't even answer the smallest question about SvR '11 though -- it wouldn't be fair to the franchise. I know, I know "But wouldn't telling us stuff early lead to more excitement?" Sure, but that's not my call guys. The people who read this are the guys I'm trying to educate about PROCESS. This, is part of the process. Then there are the assumptions (remember -- never assume ;) ). "If you can't say anything, you're holding something back!" That's never how it is done. This is a BIG industry with ALOT of games in it. When we release information, is an idea that is thought about constantly.

Hope this sheds some light on things guys.

Getting Prepared for Japan

Been a few days since I updated, but that's because we're knee deep in work at the moment. Our Japan trip is coming up soon (May 10th), and builds keep coming in from Yukes for us to look over. I went to the Yukes LA office this week to check out a latest build, and was encouraged to see alot of changes this time around. It's quite a different experience than what I'm used to, working with a Japanese developer. I'm enjoying it thus far though, because the culture is so different, and the respect that Yukes has for us is flattering, but the feeling is mutual on our end too!

I'm getting excited to start talking about SvR '11 with all of you. I know there's a lot of skepticism, excitement, and general wonder about what will be included -- you'll just have to wait and see though.

My attention lately has shifted towards you guys, the community. What can you guys do to help us out more? Right now the community is pretty fragmented, does that make sense? You have a bunch of different sites talking SvR, but no acknowledgment of one another. In my opinion, it would be more helpful for us to get one clear message from you hardcore fans. The Gaming Rings, the IGN boards, OS, CAWS.ws, and even Firepro's boards all have the same kinds of issues, but they're said in different ways. I'm wondering if maybe we could do some sort of weekly conference call with the "heads of the families," in a "Godfather"-like fashion, where we discuss the issues you guys are seeing on your sites. Also, maybe time booked at E3 would be good too so people could meet like-minded people face to face...

Just thoughts guys, tell me what you think...

Think Annually...

Happy Monday everyone! If you didn't watch last night's TNA Lockdown PPV, you missed an EPIC, MOTY candidate, showdown between Kurt Angle and Mr. Anderson. It's moments like these that make you appreciate watching legends in the now.

Anyway, I won't make this long, but I've been reading TONS of wish lists lately, and I must say thanks first of all for welcoming me into your communities. Now, as you write an idea down (or a complaint / demand ;) ), keep in mind that we make this game annually. This isn't a secret. Put SvR in the SAME realm as simulation sports games. Now that you've done that, does your wish list change? Do your complaints lessen? If not, let me know!