We had an opportunity to interview Mike Samachisa, Head of the Console Division, Hudson Entertainment, as we talked about the upcoming Deca Sports.

Operation Sports: For those that haven't heard of Deca Sports, can you give them a brief introduction of the game?

Mike Samachisa: Deca Sports is a compilation of 10 sporting events revolving around team competitions. Eight teams make up the players in the game, each with their own attributes that lend to better results in certain sporting events. The game ships with all the sports and modes unlocked so players can begin play immediately in whatever mode or sport they choose.

Operation Sports: Can you tell us about the different modes in the game?

Mike Samachisa: Sure. There are 5 modes of play in the game. 1 multiplayer mode (co-op and versus) and 4 single player modes: Open Match, Tournament (A competition against 8 teams in one sport), Deca League (A competition between 8 teams in all 10 Sports), and Deca Challenge (A time/point based mode to train yourself as well as set individual medals in each sport).

Operation Sports: As we understand it, we can't use our created Miis during gameplay. Any chance we see a patch that can make them available?

Mike Samachisa: As much as we would have liked it, at the time of development the use of Online Multiplayer or Miis were not available to us. That said we are exploring both of these options for future iterations of the game.

Operation Sports: Which games use the dual Wii Remote configuration?

Mike Samachisa: As "Dual Wii Remote Configuration" I assume you mean the use of the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk. There are three sports that utilize these: Soccer, Figure Skating, and Basketball. We found that these sports in particular required an extra peripheral to execute the intricate moves involved in the games.

Operation Sports: We've heard about the pickup and play basic moves you can pull off with the Wii controls, but tell us more about the advanced controls, how will they be performed, and can advanced controls be utilized in all 10 sports?

Mike Samachisa: The game is designed with intuitive controls to reflect actual sport techniques: swinging the Wii Remote to Spike a birdie or volleyball, tilting it left and right as you would a steering wheel in kart racing, pulling it back as you would an arrow in archery, etc. For the hard core guys out there we also included advanced controls to take events to the next level.

Each sport has a way to dominate: power spikes in volleyball and badminton, airborne tricks in snowboard cross and supercross, slam dunks and 3 pointers in basketball, cycle kicks and power headers in soccer, etc. Deca Challenge, one of the single player modes, really brings these advanced controls out in that you are practicing these to break the individual records in each sport.

Operation Sports: How many difficulty levels are in the game, and how good would you describe the AI to be? If you are a single player gamer, is there any replay value?

Mike Samachisa: There are three levels of difficulty in the game and the AI has skills. The single player modes have a very strong replay value. Your first trip through the game would most likely be the open match in which you get the feel of the sports. After getting a taste of each sport single players usually gravitate to the Tournament and Deca League mode where you compete for trophies and medals in all three difficulty levels with unlockables.  If that isn't enough, Deca Challenge is truly addicting and I can tell you that our dev kits run all day with people in our office trying to break the high score. One day you have the high score, the next morning you come to work and it's been broken. The competition can get brutal!

Operation Sports: Have you Americanized the game at all or is it the same as the Japanese and European versions? If not, were there thoughts of maybe adding skateboarding and removing archery for example to appeal to the younger "X-Games" generation?

Mike Samachisa: Deca Sports is the same game in all 3 territories. There are five Summer Olympic, three Winter Olympic, and 2 X Games type events inside the pack. Our objective was to make it appealing to everyone around the world with a similar approach that Wii Sports took. We found through our focus groups that these 10 sports represented the most widely requested games in the compilation.

Operation Sports: When comparing Deca Sports and Wii Sports, where do you feel you have the advantage?

Mike Samachisa: Everyone at Hudson is a big fan of Wii Sports and we are happy to be mentioned with it. Our early focus groups told us two important things to work on: more sports and deeper game play. We designed to deliver to this demand. Deca Sports features 10 complete sporting events with deep single player modes and high replay value. The game caters to both the hard core and the casual players in that it delivers controls that both can use.

Operation Sports: In your opinion, which of the 10 games that are included with Deca Sports is the most entertaining and why?

Mike Samachisa: Although I've never done either of these in real life, I would have to say Curling and Figure Skating are tied for me. Curling is a bit of shuffle board on ice. Three players (a bowler and two sweepers) help to move the Stone down the ice to the best possible place on the House. It's a great party game and has a surprisingly strong strategy behind it as you plan your throws. Figure Skating is one I don't like to admit to. The one sport you never want your friends seeing you play is actually very entertaining. With the use of the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk you have complete control of your player as he/she performs to the preset routine and music.

Operation Sports: We would like to thank you for your time with this interview, is there anything else you would like to add?

Mike Samachisa: If there are any sports that your readers would like us to do in future iterations of the game now is the time to let us know! Visit decasports.com and vote for what you want to play inside the forums.