has been a game developer that has gone under the radar but the company has been working with Midway on a couple of projects, including the PSP title Mortal Kombat: Unchained and the upcoming Wii port of Mortal Kombat: Armaggeddon. However the company has been working on their own projects as well. FiringSquad got a chance to chat briefly with co-founder and president Daryl Pitts about their company and a bit about their plans.
FiringSquad: First, how and when did JGI Entertainment come to be formed?
Daryl Pitts: JGI Entertainment was founded in Sept. 2002 by a couple of my colleagues from Activision, including my co-founder, Linus Chen who serves as our Creative Director.
FiringSquad: How did the name JGI Entertainment come about?
Daryl Pitts: JGI Entertainment is a nick name. Our corporate name is Just Games Interactive.
FiringSquad: How hard is it to start up a new full blown pro game developer in this day and age?
Daryl Pitts: It's very hard. You have to convince the publishers that you can deliver a fun game, and you have prove to Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft that you are capable enough to be let into their developer support programs.
FiringSquad: What is the company's philosophy when it comes to developing games?
Daryl Pitts: Our primary focus is on animation-technology-driven titles, such as fighting, dancing, and 3rd-person action genres. We don't really have a philosophy per se, but all of our staff are keenly focused on improving our abilities in this narrow area.
FiringSquad: Why is the company concentrating its efforts on making games for Sony's consoles?
Daryl Pitts: Our company focuses on whichever platforms we feel are best for our products. The PS2 still has the largest home console user base, and it's not necessarily wise to abandon this platform just yet.
FiringSquad: You have an in-game trailer for your first game, Shaolin Streets, posted on your site. What can you tell us about the game at this stage?
Daryl Pitts: Shaolin Streets is our pride and joy. It's still a work in progress. We're still not sure when it will be released or on what platform. We primarily put it up on our website for employee candidates to see the types of projects we are working on.
FiringSquad: When can we expect to hear more about the game?
Daryl Pitts: Stay tuned. We'll be announcing something as soon as we can.
FiringSquad: Finally is there anything else you want to say about JGI Entertainment and its plans for the future?
Daryl Pitts: We've had the great pressure of working with Midway on the Mortal Kombat franchise for the past year. This has been a great experience for us, and we hope to be able to announce our work on other major franchises soon.
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