Marc Ecko is trying to bring his Bloc Party to Denver. This is the same party that led to him suing New York City over because they said it was just being thrown to promote his video game and graffiti. I had a chance to talk to Ecko yesterday in his Manhattan office. He seems like a really nice guy. And despite what a lot of people think (yes, including me), I now believe that Ecko actually is a hardcore gamer.

I broke my hour long interview into two parts. The first was about his decision to sue Denver. I used that chunk for a story that ran in the Rocky Mountain News today. The second check was about his game Getting Up, Ecko Games, and all other things gaming. I need to transcribe that part, but I'm hoping to post it up in the next day or two. It was pretty interesting.

For now, here's a taste of my Rocky article.

Ecko says he understands the concerns about graffiti, but doesn't want an overzealous approach to squelch what he calls the most relevant visual dialect of the past 20 years.

"I own property," Ecko said. "I'm a parent. I have a 4-year-old little girl and I don't like it when she writes on my kitchen wall with a crayon. I respect that.

"But there is a lack of understanding about the medium and the culture. We are just trying to educate through the event, trying to get people not to throw the baby away with the bathwater."

New Yorker Prepares to Sue [Rocky Mountain News]

Kotaku commentator Robert Summa recently had a sit-down with fashion's bad boy Marc Ecko. The designer has made his gaming debut with his controversial graffiti game Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure for the PS2 and the Xbox. Ecko shared his thoughts on topics ranging from its ban in Australia to the title's mixed reviews. When comparing gaming and fashion, he says:

If you think that the fashion industry is filled with divas, no, the worst divas are the guys who got wedgies in high school. Game divas are the worst divas than a guy reviewer in a Helmut Lang suit standing in the second row of a show. Those guys are easy compared to the pissy gamers.

This is just a taste of Summa's highly quotable interview with Ecko. Regardless what you think of Ecko or his game, the guy claims to be a gamer. So does Uwe Boll.

Find the Interview Here at Bottom of the Post [New York Metro]

Is blaming your game's slowish sales on some gamers "having a bug up their ass for anything urban" playing the race card? Ecko does in an interview for the Metro. Though, Ecko also intelligently points out that it is also the end of a console cycle and gamers aren't spending the money on current-gen games that they once did. Ecko raises an interesting point, however. Are gamers averse to "urban" games? Like the reader who sent in the tip pointed out - Ecko must've missed the sales figures for 50 Cent's Bulletproof.

Thanks, Jeremy

Marc Ecko discusses his scariest venture yet: creating a hit videogame [Metro]

I've been playing around with the cell phone version of Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure for a few days now and while it certainly isn't a deep game, it is a bit fun. Basically, you just run around on platform maps collecting cans of spray paint. Each can you collect increases your end-level total respect and unveils a bit more of the backdrop for the level. At some point you get to an area where you are supposed to do graffiti which is accomplished by collecting more cans of paint. The higher up you go in levels the more things you have to avoid, like cameras or motion detectors. The main disappointment in the game is that so far there doesn't seem to be any way to lose. I've played through about a third of the game and it seems to be mostly an exercise in the inevitable.