Play.com Live Q&A Feature

Taking place at Wembley on March 15-16th, Play.com Live promises to bring this year's games to gamers, months ahead of their release

TVG recently spoke to Play.com Head of Games Gian Luzio, who shared further details on the event, chatted about next year's plans, and why Play.com Live will be the success that the UK deserves.

Can you tell us the final list of publishers attending?

We have Ubisoft, THQ, Apple, Sierra Entertainment, SEGA, Capcom, Konami, Codemasters, Warner Bros, Microsoft, Activision, Oxygen Interactive, EA, Square-Enix, Midway, the Blu-ray Committee, Sony, Dare to be Digital, plus exhibitors from other areas of our business - and, the best thing you want to be there for, the TVG stand.

Which are the major games that people can expect to see at the event?

We have a wide range of playable games that have yet to be released, including the likes of Project Origin and LEGO Batman from Warner Bros, Rock Band from EA, LEGO Indiana Jones, Codemasters' Race Driver: GRID, The Bourne Conspiracy and Ghostbusters from Sierra Entertainment, Viking: Battle of Asgard, Condemned 2, Iron Man and SEGA Superstars Tennis from SEGA, and Microsoft's Ninja Gaiden II.

Condemned 2 and Ninja Gaiden II are both 18 rated titles, how are you handling such games?

There will be an adult area which will be closely monitored where we'll have these titles and a few others.

Beyond the games what other forms of entertainment can attendees look forward to?

Warner Home Entertainment are presenting a Dark Knight feature (ahead of the forthcoming motion-picture return of Batman), along with The Wachowski Brothers' take on Speed Racer. We'll also have The Blu-ray Committee on stage showcasing films coming to the format during the summer.

One of the big features of the show is centered on the stage. We've got numerous top UK bands lined up, such as Elliot Minor and Supergrass. They will be subject to change, but we're working with upwards of 20 bands at the moment to ensure there's plenty of entertainment on the stage throughout the weekend.

Throughout the weekend we're going to have Gemma Atkinson and Iain Lee presenting the stage show, introducing the bands, the competitions and giving away prizes.

On the provision that Play.com Live is a roaring success, do you think this will turn into an annual event?

Yes. We're already in the planning stages for Play.com Live 2009, which will take place on the weekend of October 16-17th 2009. We've put together this years show in only three months and we look forward to having more time to plan next years show.

Do you foresee it taking place in different locations around the UK?

We're looking to take this to different locations around the UK, in order to get as many people to enjoy the unique entertainment experience that we will achieve with this year's show.

Can you tell us anything about the competitions taking place?

There's £50,000 in cash going to the winner of the Pro Evolution Soccer tournament that's been played online for the past three months. The top 32 are all going to Wembley to battle it out and find the king of Pro Evo and the winner will walk away from the weekend with a Premiership footballer's weekly wage.

In addition to that there's an Unreal Tournament 3 competition, which again is the grand final of tournaments taking place for the last few months. Again there'll be £50,000 in cash to be won on the day there as well.

There will also be prizes to win all over the weekend with various different competitions.

What single game are you looking forward to seeing and playing at the show?

For me it's Ghostbusters, it's something I remember going to the cinema way back when it first came out. It's a favourite film of mine, to actually not cross the streams and battle the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is where it's at for me.

It's a great franchise and it's been a long time since I remember playing it on the Commodore64; the world's moved on a lot since then so I'm looking forward to playing it on the current-generation of consoles.

How supportive have publishers been given this is an inaugural consumer driven event?

Fantastic. The response from publishers has been amazingly encouraging. Initially when we were considering doing a show we went to all of the publishers and 90% of them said "we'll support you, we're in", and that's been the case all the way through. They've been very supportive, they're working hard to get as much code as possible for the weekend. It's a difficult time of the year for the number of games released, but without doubt, publishers have come through with some excellent stands and it's shaping up to be a great festival. I think publishers were keen to have something for consumers, and that's what we're going to give them!

As a consumer only event where do you feel Play.com Live stands, particularly after numerous events such as Game Stars Live have failed in the past?

I think Game Stars Live and previous consumer shows have been very good because it allows the public to get hands on with games. Personally, I truly believe that UK gamers deserve to have their chance to play games before they're released, and that's really why we're doing the show. It's done in Japan, Germany, and in America, and it's frustrating that the UK hasn't had a show like this for the past couple of years.

For the UK gamer it is already going to be a success, and it's down to the fantastic support from the publishers because they want to showcase their games to the public.

Play.com Live takes place on March 15-16th, click here to get your tickets now before they all disappear.