INTERVIEW: Greg Fischbach

With Microsoft shifting 8m units of Kinect and PlayStation Move also selling well at retail, the demand for motion-sensing games is stronger than ever.

But as technology improves, so too must games. With plenty of party, fitness and sports titles already on the market, publisher Yoostar is releasing a unique ‘movie karaoke’ game – Yoostar 2 – on March 8th, with Namco Bandai distributing the title in the UK.

MCV spoke to Yoostar CEO Greg Fischbach – who previously helped set up Activision Europe and Acclaim – about the game.

Can Yoostar 2 be the next big social gaming phenomenon?

Well, gamers have danced, they’ve been in a band and now they can act in a film. Yoostar 2 is the next step. We’ve created something that is pretty unique right now.

It was most encouraging when we showcased the game at Gamescom. We noticed players smiling when they watched their film clip back. Everybody seems to enjoy acting out a movie scene – it’s just a unique experience that’s really cool.

What makes the game so unique?

There are four pillars inside Yoostar 2. There’s a social pillar – uploading videos to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – then there’s the camera itself, which masks players into the game. There’s the content pillar which includes the hundreds of films we’ve acquired, as well as a library of TV series and images people can enjoy.

Finally, there’s the gameplay pillar – Yoostar 2 is the first time a company has created a situation where people can act out scenes so accurately. This makes the game very, very different.

How did you get so many film studios and actors on board?

It wasn’t easy. My friends from the film industry were very supportive of what we were doing and gave us the acceleration to get more studios. When the game comes out, it will be much larger and better than it was. We’ve also signed some very significant talent such as Ben Stiller.

Is Yoostar 2 specifically for the casual gamer?

We targeted the 18 to 34 year old age group, evenly split male to female.

These are not especially hardcore gamers but include much more casual players. Yoostar 2 is great in a party setting – it’s great to have a beer with and play with your friends. There’s also a challenge mode for more hardcore players which allows them to go through all the levels and be graded.

Will the game be available to download digitally?

Who knows what the future holds? The DLC that we’re creating is made up of all-new clips. There are 80 scenes out of the box and there’ll be 100 clips online on day one, with anywhere between ten and 20 new clips added per week.

And we’ll broaden the portfolio so you’ll be able to download Sesame Street if that’s what you want to do, and other types of current and relevant content.

But we are still in a traditionally boxed product marketplace and we enjoy our partnership with retailers. They are critical to our success.

We also know what the next Yoostar is going to be. We know where we want to go in terms of how to enrich the experience.