Could you explain a little about Sidhe's beginnings?
Sidhe Interactive was started in May 1997 by myself, Tyrone McAuley and Stuart Middleton. At the time each of us was working in other industries, but we decided to get together to start a videogame development company focused primarily on PlayStation development.

The first few years were pretty rough as it took quite some time to build up the contacts, relationships, and technology we needed to get a development deal. Eventually in January 2000 we got a development deal to do the PlayStation version of O'Neill Championship Surfer.

Since that time we have developed or contributed to the development of dozens of titles across platforms including PSOne, PS2, PSP, Xbox, and PC.


Do you feel that Sidhe is at a disadvantage due to the studio's geographical distance from most other studios and from publishers? Or do technologies such as the Internet mean that the distance does not matter much?

The physical distance from publishers in the early years was definitely a disadvantage. It can be very hard to build credible relationships with potential publishing partners using email and the phone, and trips to the US, Japan or Europe can be very expensive. Now that we have established relationships with several publishers and a successful reputation to leverage, this is much less of an issue.

On the plus side, New Zealand has a wealth of untapped talent, and our economy allows us to offer a value advantage over developers in traditional markets.


Why did Sidhe decide to start making handheld games?

Sidhe moved into the handheld space specifically for the PlayStation Portable. We feel the PSP allows us to leverage our last gen skills, provides a good opportunity to deliver original IP, keep our costs low, and the chance become a leading developer on the platform.

However, we have a multi pronged strategy, so we will continue to develop for other platforms also.


Was it difficult creating the company's first original IP?

There were certainly several false starts before the we managed to place GripShift. Game development is a complex process, and there is a lot to learn before you find both the right idea and have the skills to execute it properly.


Was GripShift originally a licensed title that progressed into an original IP, or did Sidhe plan from the outset to try a new approach?

GripShift was an original title from the outset. There were points during the pitching process when we were approached by publishers to bend the title towards a pre existing franchise, but we decided over the long run it would be better for the franchise to be completely original and owned in its entirety by us.


Have you seen the video comparing the loading times of GripShift with WWE Smackdown? (The video in question)

We have seen it, yes. An interesting comparison.


Was the transition from console to handheld eased by the similarities between the PSP and the PS2?

There are indeed a lot of similarities between PS2 and PSP. This helped us get up to speed quickly.


The general opinion of GripShift seems to be that it is one of the must-have games on the PSP. How pleased is the team with the game? Were there any features that had to be left out to get the game released on time?

We are certainly pleased with the game we released and have enjoyed the positive response from fans, though there are always things you wish could have been added or a little better.

For us, it was disappointing that the libraries relating to online functionality weren't ready enough in time for us to include the online functionality we wanted. It would have been great to be able to have had online multiplayer and server based uploading and downloading of tracks in the game.



Are Sidhe planning more games in the GripShift series?

Yes. Watch this space.


Do you believe Sidhe will continue to work on handheld games in the future?

We have made a commitment to the PlayStation Portable, and will continue developing games for the platform for the forseeable future.


Recently, Sidhe has been getting a lot of attention from the mainstream media due to Jackass: The Game. How much has Red Mile's decision to entrust Sidhe with such a popular license affected the company's status in the games industry?

At this stage, we are still somewhat of a low profile developer. It won't be until the game is released, when we are judged on the merits of the final product, that our reputation will change significantly (and hopefully for the better).


And lastly, the question that I am sure has been on everyone's minds: Is Sidhe planning on confirming the systems that Jackass: The Game will be released on any time soon?

We hope to announce which platforms the game is on in the coming months.

In the mean time, we have launched the official site for the game at http://www.jackassthegame.com