http://www.glixel.com/interviews/peter- ... fc-w475540
^ Here's an interview with Peter Moore where he talks about his time at Sega. The highlight is his showdown with Naka. It seems back in the Dreamcast days, Sega's rockstar developers ruled the roost and they were unwilling to accept that the company was in decline. It doesn't really offer that much insight, but it's a somewhat interesting read.
Peter Moore interview: Moore vs Naka
Re: Peter Moore interview: Moore vs Naka
This was in 2001 or 2002 according to the article, so this is the period following the Dreamcast, when they were trying to find their footing as a 3rd party developer.
I have a vague recollection of having heard about that focus group before. Personally, I think presenting the information like that to a Japanese company was incredibly naive, and even reading it from his perspective, I have a hard time imagining that to some degree the results were not planted, just in the sense that giving people such a peculiar task in the first place is going to encourage them to get a little goofy (I don't know what to make of their description of Rockstar at all), and we don't know the details of the instructions they were given. I'm sure there's more to this story and Moore's effort to get SoJ on board with his perspective, but SoJ's stubbornness in dealing with their US side is pretty well documented all through the 16 bit period, I can't believe he really thought this would be a good way to get the message through. I mean he calls it a "classic question," but it sure doesn't seem like a normal one to me.
I have a vague recollection of having heard about that focus group before. Personally, I think presenting the information like that to a Japanese company was incredibly naive, and even reading it from his perspective, I have a hard time imagining that to some degree the results were not planted, just in the sense that giving people such a peculiar task in the first place is going to encourage them to get a little goofy (I don't know what to make of their description of Rockstar at all), and we don't know the details of the instructions they were given. I'm sure there's more to this story and Moore's effort to get SoJ on board with his perspective, but SoJ's stubbornness in dealing with their US side is pretty well documented all through the 16 bit period, I can't believe he really thought this would be a good way to get the message through. I mean he calls it a "classic question," but it sure doesn't seem like a normal one to me.