What are your thoughts on the Nintendo Wii and its success thus far?

It’s an excellent machine, which takes a new look at gaming. It’s great to see a company take a risk and do something different. I hope it’s every bit as successful as the DS.

Exclusives are becoming a thing of the past with rising development costs.  How do you think this will help or harm the industry in terms of sales?

Are they really becoming a thing of the past? After all, Nintendo’s brace of gaming characters aren’t likely to appear on non-Nintendo consoles any time soon. There are likely to be fewer exclusives on the PS3 and Xbox 360 for exactly the reason you state – rising development costs – but even then, I doubt they’ll disappear altogether.

What are a few of your favorite games of all time?

Tricky question. My ‘favorite’ games list is in a near-constant state of flux, but a few real classics stand out from over the years. In no particular order…  

• Time Pilot: Konami’s mid-Eighties coin-op is one of those games where if you die, it can only ever be your fault. No attack patterns to learn, no cheating enemies, no practice-makes-perfect obstacles, just you against the machine in a fair fight. Gameplay at its purest. 

• Loom: It’s not the best adventure to come out of the LucasArts stable, and it’s certainly not the hardest, but its breathtakingly beautiful storyline earns it a place in this list. Anyone holding an opinion in the ‘are games art?’ debate should make sure they play Loom.

• Call of Duty: One of the best first-person shooters ever, and one of the few games to put a World War II setting to good use. Tight, believable level construction makes you think as well as shoot, and the fact that you could be taken out by a single shell or burst of shots serves as a reminder that war is not a sport.

• Wario Ware: Such a simple idea, so well executed. This is a game that gets everything right, with its quirky but endearing visuals, wide variety of minigames and a decent game structure that keeps you playing and gives lots to aim for. 

• Suikoden: I love RPGs, and this is one of the best. The storyline is pretty standard fare, but the sense of progress as you gather new characters and expand your castle, adding in-game collectables such as library books and paintings, makes it a real treat.