During the Electronic Arts pre-TGS press event, EA Japan's lead designer Takahiro Murakami confirmed that the popular god game Populous is currently in development. During the event, Murakami - also the designer for SimCity DS - was finally able to announce that the remake of Peter Molyneux and Bullfrog's video game will heading to the Nintendo DS.

He also told the press that Populous DS has only been in production for six months, so there's still no release date for the game; neither are there screenshots or video clips of Populous DS. Fortunately, Murakami was able to shed light on some important game details. He said that like the original Populous computer game, players will be playing the role of a deity who's responsible for nurturing a civilization and shaping the landscape in their attempt to win against another civilization under the rule of another deity. In this Nintendo DS remake of the game though, multiple deities will be featured. Some new powers had also been added to make the video game more interesting.

The Nintendo DS version will do away with the book layout and have a new design for the game. Murakami assured though that the game will remain recognizable as the original Populous. The interface has been revamped to accommodate the handheld's dual screen. Players can use either the D-pad or the stylus in the game. Populous DS will also have a story mode with a tutorial to help out the player.

The most interesting feature of Populous DS is perhaps the addition of a multiplayer battle mode where up to four players can compete. How the battles will play out was not discussed in detail, but EA's Murakami mentioned that, "Just because you move your controller or stylus fast doesn't mean you'll win; you'll have to think."

So will Populous for the Nintendo DS be as promising as the original version? We'll have to wait until Electronic Arts shows us more assets and gameplay details before we can finally say that Populous DS is worth another Origins Award for Best Military or Strategy Computer Game - or any award equivalent to it.

Producer of Electronic Arts Japan Takahiro Murakami revealed quite a lot about the highly-anticipated SimCity title headed for the Nintendo DS, as well as his thoughts about the Wii and the possibility of the number-crunching, fund-cutting City Simulator coming over to the Big N's white console. We're here to give you the facts and just the facts.

Takahiro Murakami began the interview with a little backstory on SimCity DS. Taking a little over a year of development with a team that consisted of 15 highly-dedicated individuals (expanding to 20 when crunch time came), the DS title is actually based on SimCity 3000 that came out on the PC. In fact, 30% of the elements in SimCity 3000 were used in SimCity DS, along with a simplified code tailored to fit the Dual Screen's capabilities.

It's not just another rehash, though. Takahiro Murakami makes it clear that while both games are essentially the same, SimCity DS offers a more on-the-go experience, providing fun gameplay in a short period of time - whereas the original home title was made to be played in leisure and at long intervals. The controls and maps have been simplified to augment this 'pick-up-and-play' orientation - and the development team went so far as to include a very detailed tutorial that even the newest of newbies to the series could learn the basics and start playing.

When asked about the game's Wi-Fi possibilities, Murakami revealed that the game does not have any Wi-Fi capabilities - it does, however, have a Wireless Communication Feature where players can trade landmarks with each other. He explained that he wanted to develop a good single-player experience first, before moving onto multiplayer - but he's certainly thinking about it, as he plans to assess players' interest in Wi-Fi play with the landmark-trading function.

Finally, when asked about a potential SimCity for the Wii, Murakami replied with a very positive-sounding note:

"We are always open to all available platforms. I would be very interested in hearing consumer feedback on the platform going forward."

SimCity for the Wii would definitely be a treat - and with the console's online capabilities, perhaps a SimCity game where you can actually see other cities (or maybe countries) of other players competing with your own isn't that far-fetched of a dream. We can only hope, can we?

The full interview can be perused at the read link we've provided below.