Well, I want to ask you about two specific games. How do you feel about Lumines, which is a beautiful game, and how do you feel about Tetris Attack?
HR: OK, well, Tetris Attack, well do the second one first, Tetris Attack. Nintendo came to me soon after we formed The Tetris Company, and we were just wrestling with what we were going to do. And so, at the time, we had the copyright, the gameplay, and the name Tetris, and our Russian partners, who knew nothing about nothing, and Im not talking about Alexey, Im talking about Electronica Technica, they wanted to make money, no matter what. Thats it, however you could make money, make money. When Nintendo came to us, and said we would like to take this Japanese game called Panel de Pon, and rename it Tetris Attack, Im saying, its not Tetris. But my partners saying but it is money! So, uhhhh, so, we, I, reluctantly agreed. In retrospect, we should never have done that. I dont think thats a good idea. It dilutes the brand, its like naming another cartoon character Mickey Mouse just cause you need the money. Its just a bad idea. So I wouldnt do that again.
AP: It wasnt a bad game.
HR: It was a good game! But the game should have had its own life, its own name.
AP: Unfortunately, it was too much corporate play
HR: It should have had its own name. It kind of got lost in history cause it got the name Tetris, but its not Tetris. It could have, it should have stood up on its own two feet. Thats how I feel about games in general. Lumines, great game. I mean, its funny, cause the guy, his name is Mizuguchi, hes a great friend, and Mizuguchi came to me a few years ago, before Lumines, and he said Ive got this great idea and I want to make Tetris on the PSP and at the time, I was kind of stuck. I had promised the rights to Sony, we were in the middle of negotiations, and I couldnt really give it to him. He goes Ok, well, Ill have to create my own game. And that was it, man [laughs]. Its like dang! I should have let him have a shot at Tetris! And now were in the same position again. The exact same position. We had breakfast with him this morning, and its like uhh, I hate to say this, but we already have somebody licensed for this, for, PSP 2 or whatever it is. [Sighs] It cant be helped [both laugh].
AP: Hell come up with another great game.
HR: Yeah, hell come up with another huge game.