Sony Santa Monica: First off, tell us a little about you and how you became such a huge God of War fan.
Jacob Williams: I've been collecting God of War items for about 8 years since the first God of War game. I never meant to start collecting so much, it just kind of happened that way. I remember playing the demo for GoW 1 about 100 times over at a friend’s house. EBGames had one copy left and I grabbed it for dear life. After beating it countless times, I realized how much I loved that game. The story drew me in and the art was just amazing. I've always loved Greek Lore, and how each God, or beast, has a meaning behind it.
SSM: Who is your favorite boss from the series?
JW: My favorite boss is a tossup between a few of them but I loved smashing Zeus in the face in GoW 3. It was my anger releasing from all the games and I really felt like Kratos at that moment. I’m also partial to Ares and the Hydra in GoW 1 since that's what got me hooked. In Ascension I loved the end boss. It felt really cinematic. Last but not least is the battle against Kronos.
SSM: Which GoW game is your favorite so far?
JW: That’s tough, I love them all! GoW 1 will always be in the top slot for what it started with me. I liked GoW 3 for the epic story and how many different Gods were in it. I feel that God of War Ascension outshines them all for the combat. Also, in GoW 2 I liked the twist with Zeus and Athena. So, I liked them all for different reasons but they are all fantastic.
SSM: Is there a piece of your collection that you value the most?
JW: There's not really one piece alone, but I do have quite a few I'm very proud of. One of which is the white etched GoW III PlayStation 3. To my knowledge there were only two produced. One was given out at the Santa Monica GoW III party and the other was given out in a sweepstakes by GameStop. I managed to secure the GameStop one from the winner through eBay. One of my newest pieces is a signed poster of God of War Ascension from the Dev Team which was given to me by Todd Papy. While at the GameStop Conference last September, I also got TC Carson to sign it.
One of the coolest things was as TC was signing it he asked some of the Sony guys to get him one just like mine.That was a big surprise to me but a very awesome bonus knowing the man behind the face of Kratos wanted something that I have.
I’ve also been able to meet David Jaffe, at a GameStop conference two years ago. My good friend is also was a big supporter of my hobby and helped me shoot the video that won The Ultimate God of War Fan contest for God of War III. My name is in the credits of the Unearthing the Legend documentary, and my face pops up on the Directors Live Video when they start talking about their fans. So while some of these pieces of my collection aren't physical, the memories will be there forever and I want to thank the Sony Santa Monica Team for them.
SSM: Where do you keep your collection?
JW: I wanted to put everything in my living room but my fiancé said no. My GoW collection is on display upstairs. I put a neon PlayStation sign up above to light it all up. Almost all of my collection is official items from Sony. I have numerous shirts, posters, display boxes, etc. that I have to wait to display until I get another room to show everything off.
SSM: If someone offered to buy everything from you RIGHT NOW, would you sell it?
JW: My collection has grown with me and has become in a sense part of me. I don't think I would ever sell it.