Metro 2033 wasn't "nurtured," sequel will address this, says Bilson

THQ's Danny Bilson has admitted the firm didn't market or support product development of last year's Metro 2033 as much as it should have, but the firm plans to do a better job of things with Metro 2034.

Speaking with Joystiq during THQ's Games Day in New York, Bilson said not only will the sequel be given a better promotional push, but a bit more support when it comes to helping 4A Games polish the final product as well.

"I'll give you the straight answer," Bilson said, "It wasn't properly supported in all areas. It was a cool deal where it was inexpensive and [4A] were doing their stuff.

"Did the game need polish in certain areas? Yes. So when I say it wasn't fully supported, it was product development and marketing that didn't support it the way it should've been. A great marketer picked it up with four months to go and did what he could with four months to go, but it wasn't properly nurtured by marketing.

"[Metro 2034] doesn't have any of those issues. I green-lit the sequel before [Metro 2033] shipped, because I know what [4A is] capable of -- I knew how cool it was."

Bilson said the sequel, which will have 3D support and possibly land on PS3, has had some of the gameplay issues prevalent in the first outing fixed, and will contain "some awesome technology, great art, [the] interesting world -- all the freshness" of the first one.

"I would say it's gonna have some better, more familiar shooting mechanics in it," he said. "And I would also say it's going to have a first-class marketing campaign that kicks off at E3."

Metro 2033 was released on PC (with 3D) and on Xbox 360 in March last year.