GOW Billboard in Mexico City/IGN Interview

Check out these Billboards in Mexico City:

The caption says: "Eliminate 7,000 enemies and photos of you mother in law"

Also here is and interview with Stig Asmussen with IGN, enjoy:


God of War III Q&A
Sony Santa Monica fills us in on its progress with Kratos' latest, and maybe final, battle against the gods.
by Chris Roper

December 8, 2009 - The end is beginning. Kratos' god-killing adventure is set to receive its third and final installment (for now) this coming March in God of War III, exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Sony's Santa Monica studio is hard at work on finishing up development on the game, and though we haven't seen anything new from it in some time, that doesn't mean the excitement for Kratos' finale isn't still sky-high. We're just as eager as anyone to know more about the game, so we spoke with the director on the title, Sony Santa Monica's Stig Asmussen, to find out where it is in development, when we'll get our next tease at the game and more. IGN: How far along is the game? Stig Asmussen: We are currently in the final stages of development. The entire game is together from start to finish and we're working our butts off putting on the finishing touches. We've been conducting external playtests and evaluating and addressing the feedback we've received, doing our best to incorporate it into the game. However, there are a couple of parts that still have pretty big question marks left. We have to do our best to work these out. But that is par for the course on God of War. Things always seem to come together at the end.

IGN: It's been a while since we've seen anything new. Are we going to get an updated look at the game before it ships, or are you trying to keep as much secret as possible?

Stig Asmussen: I imagine we will be giving out more information in the next couple of months. This is a tough one because we really want to show what we have been working so hard on, but at the same time, we don't want to give too much away and spoil the experience. We totally understand that there are a lot of fans that want to hear/see more, and we appreciate that immensely. However, the reality is that whenever we spend time on demos, presentations—even something as simple as a screen shot—it takes a measure of time away from the core production of the game. We try to set our standard of quality as high as possible, so whenever we make something public, there is an enormous amount of work that goes into it. So, I wouldn't say we have been consciously trying to keep things secret; we just want to make sure that our primary focus is making the final game the best it can be.

IGN: What have you thought of the feedback you've received for the current demo, and has it impacted anything for the retail release?

Stig Asmussen: It has definitely made an impact on the retail release. As I mentioned before, we do a lot of external playtesting, and there is no better playtest forum than a public demo. We came back from E3 with tons of feedback, and today I continue to read posts on forums. Any observations or feedback is good, and the more critical, the better. I try to focus on the things that people REALLY like or REALLY dislike. These usually turn out to be the areas that we end up spending most of our time on in the final months. Overall though, we have had very positive support on the demo, and it helps reinforce to us that what we are doing is worth it and to keep pushing forward.

IGN: On a similar note, the anticipation for God of War III is immense, and we'd assume that a lot rides on its success (for the franchise and the PS3 as a whole). How are you guys dealing with that pressure? Have you gotten used to it?

Stig Asmussen: I don't think 'getting used to it' really describes how we feel. We are 'aware' of it. The pressure exists. Although I think most of it is internal, meaning, we put it on ourselves. There is so much that we want to show/share and getting it all together in one package can create some pressure. But, we have an opportunity to make something that could potentially reach millions of people and so we want to take advantage of that.

IGN: Can you give us any sort of tease as to where the story is going, or some other gods that we might see?

Stig Asmussen: Unfortunately not. I don't want to spoil anything. However, like I have said before, the game picks up right where God of War II left off, so from that point on you'll have to use your imagination.

IGN: Have you guys worked with David Jaffe or Cory Barlog (directors of God of War I and II, respectively) at any point during the development?

Stig Asmussen: Cory was with the team as Game Director for the first eight months of development, so he has had a major impact on the game. He laid out the original concept/design and a large portion of that is still intact. Since he's moved on there hasn't been any formal collaboration, although I have spoken with him several times and bounced a few ideas off him. Dave has been around the studio a few times and we've spoken as well. On a few occasions we've gone over some high level stuff with him to get his observations and feedback.

IGN: The end is near for you guys, and perhaps Kratos as well. Are you excited to finish the trilogy and maybe move onto something new, or is it going to be a bittersweet end of development for you?

Stig Asmussen: Honestly, I can't answer that question right now. I'm so deep into God of War III that I can't see beyond the next couple of weeks. What I am most excited about right now is getting all of the final pieces of this game in place. We are so very close!