Dante Posted February 11, 2007 Posted February 11, 2007 DICE: GameSpy Interviews Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan GameSpy sat down over lunch with Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan where we talked about the Wii, viral marketing and much more. By Gerald Villoria | Feb. 10, 2007 It's the start of Day 2 of the annual DICE Summit, and Alex Rigopulos has just given a presentation where he told a bleary-eyed early morning audience about the rise of Harmonix. Many of the attendees are tired and hoarse from overdoing it at the previous night's awards ceremony. Still, the very organized, single-track nature of DICE allows for its attendees to just sit back, relax and learn a little more about the fascinating industry we work in. The morning presentation has run a bit long after an already late start, and I have to race to make my appointment. It's not long before I arrive at the upstairs café, and wait to interview Nintendo Vice-President of Marketing & Corporate Affairs, Perrin Kaplan. The plan is to talk shop and maybe learn a bit about Nintendo's strategy going forward in 2007. Shortly after I grab a table, Perrin arrives, and she is clearly ready for a busy day of interviews and meetings, wheeling her luggage directly to her seat. As we get ready to begin, she mentions that while she ordered a lightly-dressed Tuscan salad, she'd much rather be having one of the café's remarkably enormous hot fudge sundaes. GameSpy: Thanks for meeting with me here at DICE. I'm curious to know how you feel about the state of industry trade shows now that E3 as we knew it is no longer. Nintendo Vice-President of Marketing & Corporate Affairs, Perrin Kaplan: I think every show is different, and a show like the Game Developers Conference has a completely different function than the DICE summit. And E3 had a different function from either of those, but E3 also got out of control. At least from the perspective of a hardware and software maker… GameSpy:… and from the perspective of the gaming press. Perrin Kaplan: Right. It was difficult in terms of the distance that people had to run between meetings, with no time to grab something to eat, and the halls being too far apart and then we had to build a two-story booth every year. The show's purpose was essentially a buying show, for retailers, and so many retailers said that "we're not going to come and have meetings, the show is just too big." So we'll see what the new version will look like this year. GameSpy: So the holidays are over, and we can now look back on the launch of the Nintendo Wii. How well did it really go for Nintendo? Perrin Kaplan: It's been fantastic. We're in awe that consumers have embraced it so readily, and that such a wide audience has embraced it, from core gamers to their grandmas. That's pretty cool, and really hard to achieve with any product. So while the launch occurred, and did very well for us, from our perspective the work has only begun. We have to remind ourselves that there are still so many people that have yet to experience Wii Sports and have yet to really understand what the Wii is about. We have to keep our nose to the grindstone and make sure that as many people as possible hear about the Wii, and have the chance to experience it. That's the key, because once you experience it, that's when you really understand. GameSpy: What launch title do you feel is more responsible for the Wii's success thus far? Is it Wii Sports, or is it The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess? Perrin Kaplan: Boy, that's a really hard question. The expanded user, the new people, they enjoy Wii Sports first and maybe ventured into Zelda. All the people who are core gamers bought Zelda, and that's a pretty wide group. But you, the enthusiasts, experienced Wii Sports too, since it was packed in with the system. So I have to say it was two different audiences that the games appealed to, which combined to lead to a successful launch lineup. GameSpy: There was an amazing attach rate for Zelda and the Wii… Perrin Kaplan: For the Wii and for the GameCube, we were floored! Well over a million units sold for the Wii, and I don't know what the latest count is on GameCube but that's what we were just talking about. The attach rate this holiday was just huge, our collective jaws dropped. But we're happy because it's an incredible masterpiece. GameSpy: No argument here. We gave it our 2006 Game of the Year award. So, the PlayStation 3 launch coincided with the Wii launch. What kind of impact did that have on your success? Did it help the Wii? Was it a non-factor? Perrin Kaplan: Well, we didn't have anyone in line that got shot waiting for our system. So there's one sign of the different approaches between our two companies. I think that there were really two different audiences. The core gamer probably went out and tried to purchase both systems. I think Sony's efforts were in trying to get the core gamer to accept and adopt it, which for them in the PS2 era, spread to the mass consumer. I think we were just really prepared. Years of experience doing this ensured that we would have a very good launch. GameSpy: You touched on this when you mentioned that the core gamer would try to pick up both systems or multiple systems over the holiday. Some contend that the Wii isn't a real competitor, as it doesn't push the state of the art in terms of graphics, and instead is focused on its unique control and trademark Nintendo gameplay. Do you feel that this is a three-way race? Or are Nintendo and the Wii in a completely other category, and it doesn't really matter what the other platforms do? Perrin Kaplan: I think that coming out as number one in terms of sales answers that question. We're not an afterthought by any stretch of the imagination. Each of us have anecdotal stories of consumers that couldn't find our system but wanted it, or those who went out and not only bought it but bought five or who are experiencing gaming for the first time on our newest platform and loving it. Core gamers wanted our system and bought it, and the really hardcore player probably bought several systems. We're happy to see that the majority of those core gamers picked up a Wii. GameSpy: Twilight Princess has shown that there will always be a place for compelling single player experiences. Wii Sports and Wario Ware: Smooth Moves tell us that party-setting multiplayer is still lots of fun. But then there are the incredibly popular online multiplayer games like Halo, the EA Sports titles and even World of Warcraft. Do you feel like Nintendo may be missing the boat by not making online gaming a significant part of the Wii experience? Perrin Kaplan: I think you're asking why we're not following the other guys. And we feel that everyone has developed their own niche of expertise. So for example, our Virtual Console has been astoundingly successful. People absolutely love it. We aren't giving up on online games at all, and Mario Kart for the Nintendo DS is an excellent example of Nintendo's online gaming that almost everyone is playing. Now, massively multiplayer online gaming is probably not a direction that Nintendo will be going. I think that's a niche area that other companies have more expertise in. But worldwide online play is a priority for Nintendo and you will see it. Our system had a lot of complex new components to it. We had to introduce the Wii remote, and it took nine to ten months for the gaming press to get their heads around it. At first, they said, "this is weird…" and then they experienced it and that turned into, "this is kind of cool…" It just took them a long time to get it. And once they did, they really embraced it. I think if we had just taken the whole package, here are all the channels, here are all the online games, here are the Miis, the news, the weather, I just think it would have overloaded the mass consumer. So instead we began rolling everything out in a fashion where people can really understand it. First the remote, then the system itself and Wii Sports. Then the Mii channel, and Virtual Console. Then we purposefully unveiled forecasts after that and most recently news. We have more things coming, and online is definitely one of them. GameSpy: So how well exactly has Virtual Console fared thus far? Do you have any specific numbers? Perrin Kaplan: I do, but we're organizing some things with our parent company before we announce global numbers. Suffice it to say that it's just phenomenal, and it has become in and of itself another separate thriving business. GameSpy: How many Virtual Console games will Wii owners have to choose from by the end of the year? Perrin Kaplan: We're trying to launch about ten a month, and every Monday we've launched Virtual Console products, about three or four a week. We're going to stick to that and start building a huge library. GameSpy: Releasing retro compilations is a big thing these days. I'll reference the Sega Genesis Collection, where you can get thirty games for twenty bucks. The same games downloaded via Virtual Console cost between five and eight dollars each… Perrin Kaplan: There's some overlap there. But they're also competitive in that Virtual Console downloads are about convenience. You already have your system at home, and you can get your game via digital distribution without having to set up a whole separate thing to receive your game. GameSpy: Nintendo's plan to keep the momentum going? Perrin Kaplan: We're involved in lots of viral stuff and will continue to have product exposed for people to touch and experience. GameSpy: You mentioned viral marketing. What does that entail? Perrin Kaplan: The two cool things that have happened are that on the one hand, Nintendo has done some cool stuff that has been well accepted, but the enthusiastic gamers themselves have been doing tons of stuff. People are publishing things like "How to have a Wii party" and there are sites dedicated to sharing friend codes. There was even a Mii Parade on MySpace the other day. Then there's the fitness craze with people losing weight by playing Wii Sports. The Mayo clinic said that it's a great product for people's health. This is all stuff that we've had nothing to do with and has just taken off on its own. GameSpy: Unlike Sony's infamous All I Want For Christmas Is A PSP campaign. Can you commit to print that Nintendo will not be going this route? Perrin Kaplan: I don't like to take shots at what Sony does, because every company has its imperfections, and I believe their intention was a good one. But Nintendo will never try to fool the consumers. We will always be up front and very transparent. If we're appearing somewhere, we're going to say it's us. And if it's not us, we'll let you know that too. GameSpy: Did you catch Stephen Colbert boxing Nancy Pelosi on the Wii? Or Conan O'Brien playing tennis against Serena Williams? You can't pay for that kind of exposure. Perrin Kaplan: It's a testament to the raw enthusiasm that the public has for the Wii. Did you know that Serena Williams lost a very huge, very expensive diamond earring playing Wii Tennis? She found it afterwards… as it turned out the earring just fell down the front of her dress. GameSpy: Did you notice that they weren't using their straps? The whole audience was in danger! Perrin Kaplan: Yes! I heard about that within five minutes of airing. But Conan was absolutely hysterical, Colbert was amazing. South Park had their own Wii episode, too. It's all fun, awesome stuff and we love it since it's all so damn funny. GameSpy: So what is it about the system that is putting it in the public eye and giving it this mainstream appeal? Perrin Kaplan: Ease of use. It's an absolute blast coming at a stressful time in the world. Our country's at war, there's weird weather being caused by global warming… sometimes people just need a fun way to take a twenty minute break from the stress. It's also a great way for families to come together. Families in America don't traditionally spend as much time together as those in many other countries, and the Wii is a great way for families to spend time together. GameSpy: Some gamers feel that Nintendo made a mistake by releasing a non high-definition system that doesn't make use of the latest technology in television displays. Do you think that this is still an issue? Perrin Kaplan: I think the enthusiasm speaks for itself. I don't feel that forcing people to pay extra for a high-definition system would have necessarily enhanced the experience. GameSpy: Many people still can't find a Wii in stores. What's Nintendo doing to correct this? Perrin Kaplan: It's really hard to anticipate demand. We ramped up supply as well as possible, and we're more experienced at this than any other company in the gaming business. Pretty soon we'll be shipping about a million a month, and our shipping numbers should even go up from there. We're shipping as fast and as often as we can. I want to say thank you to the consumers for loving our product, and please don't give up on us. Just keep checking back with your retailer. There are weekly shipments, and in some cases daily shipments, but we understand that it's stressful for people who want a system, and we just hope that we can get them a system soon. They can go on eBay, though! I know there are some people who are trying to sell their PS3 on eBay so that they can buy a Wii… GameSpy: Nintendo is personally responsible for the success of its first-party titles, but how does Nintendo feel about the initial batch of third-party titles developed for the Wii? Perrin Kaplan: We feel that our third-party partners have done an excellent job, pouring their hearts and souls into developing unique things that can be done with the Wii. Third-party development for the Wii is also more cost-efficient than developing for other platforms. We expect for third-party games to get better and better, just like they are for the Nintendo DS. Now that the developers have more experience with the system, they have the ability to create something truly original. GameSpy: A Nintendo Wii Browser will be released soon. Is there going to be a charge for it? Perrin Kaplan: We haven't announced that there will be a charge for the Wii Internet Browser, but I know that if you download the trial version, the full version will be free. So your readers should definitely make sure to get the trial version. Our goal is to make gaming and enjoyment of our system as easy and inexpensive as possible. Remember our system was the least expensive and was packed in with what was essentially five different games. GameSpy: Okay, here's some quick ones about specific upcoming games. Super Smash Bros. Brawl can't come soon enough. Yes or no, will it be playable with the standard gamepad controller? That's what many of us really want. Perrin Kaplan: How about I tell you that I'll pass on your message. I can't tell you, as much as I'd like, but I will let people know how the audience feels. I can tell you that you'll absolutely love it. There are some neat surprises. GameSpy: Rockstar games has just announced Manhunt 2 for the Nintendo Wii. Are we going to see Wii remote strangulations? Perrin Kaplan: Let me just say that I hope most consumers' minds don't go where yours just went! GameSpy: Well, the first Manhunt was a very violent game. One of our editors still cries himself to sleep thinking about it. Do you anticipate any negative backlash? Perrin Kaplan: I don't think so, but we have been going back and forth on it in terms of what it means to our audience. But it's not our game, it's Rockstar's game, and if the press decides to direct its anger somewhere, it should be towards them, as it's their content. It's also not the kind of game that most gamers are going to buy, it's for a very specific audience. GameSpy: I have here in my bag a GameBoy Micro with Final Fantasy VI, one of my favorite role-playing games of all time. Are these the last days of the Game Boy Advance? Perrin Kaplan: The Game Boy has not disappeared, but we're concentrating on the DS due to the popularity of the dual screen, the different colors and the DS Lite redesign. But Game Boy is something that is precious and dear to Nintendo, and we plan to continue to support it. GameSpy: What about the GameCube? Is Twilight Princess the GameCube's swan song? Perrin Kaplan: GameCube is going to turn into a really great starter product. Mr. Miyamoto made a pledge to have The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on GameCube, and he really felt that his personal integrity was on the line and wanted to come through on what he promised. We had a lot of internal debate on whether it should be just a GameCube game, or just a Wii game, and as you saw we released it to both platforms. So Twilight princess isn't necessarily the GameCube's swan song, as it will end up being a great starter product. GameSpy: Thank you for your time, it's been a pleasure. GameSpy
Zell Posted February 11, 2007 Posted February 11, 2007 That's a lot of waffle to waffle through. She said somewhere that online play was a priority? Anytime soon nintendo...
ShadowV7 Posted February 11, 2007 Posted February 11, 2007 Tell us some of these neat surprises, Or just news about the online system and Brawl.We need news about these things,been left in the dark for too long.
The Bard Posted February 11, 2007 Posted February 11, 2007 Same old pointless crap, that I can't believe I wasted my time reading through.
ShadowV7 Posted February 11, 2007 Posted February 11, 2007 Made it easy to read now. Ah thanks,much easier to read now. Nothing really new but meh.Just gotta wait till that new E3 thingy for some decent news or something.
Charlie Posted February 11, 2007 Posted February 11, 2007 Ah thanks,much easier to read now. Nothing really new but meh.Just gotta wait till that new E3 thingy for some decent news or something. GDC next month. I'm sure someone big at Nintendo has a keynote there this year...
McMad Posted February 11, 2007 Posted February 11, 2007 GDC next month. I'm sure someone big at Nintendo has a keynote there this year... Will Miyamoto have a translator or something because I swear he can't speak English that well.
ZeldaFreak Posted February 11, 2007 Posted February 11, 2007 DICE: GameSpy Interviews Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan GameSpy: Unlike Sony's infamous All I Want For Christmas Is A PSP campaign. Can you commit to print that Nintendo will not be going this route? Perrin Kaplan: I don't like to take shots at what Sony does, because every company has its imperfections, and I believe their intention was a good one. But Nintendo will never try to fool the consumers. We will always be up front and very transparent. If we're appearing somewhere, we're going to say it's us. And if it's not us, we'll let you know that too. GameSpy This from the "oh yes its region free when of course it isn't" is transparent good that you don't fool your customers then.
Dante Posted February 11, 2007 Author Posted February 11, 2007 This from the "oh yes its region free when of course it isn't" is transparent good that you don't fool your customers then. Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan: "Wii its region free" NoA: "It is? :wtf:" NoJ: "What?"
Goron_3 Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan: "Wii its region free" NoA: "It is? :wtf:" NoJ: "What?" You summed it up perfectly.
ShadowV7 Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 Just out of curiosity and a stupid question but what the hell.Has anyone/where actually tried playing an import Wii game on their console? I still find it strange how Perrin came out and said that.
Pit-Jr Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 GameSpy: Releasing retro compilations is a big thing these days. I'll reference the Sega Genesis Collection, where you can get thirty games for twenty bucks. The same games downloaded via Virtual Console cost between five and eight dollars each… Perrin Kaplan: There's some overlap there. But they're also competitive in that Virtual Console downloads are about convenience. You already have your system at home, and you can get your game via digital distribution without having to set up a whole separate thing to receive your game. Yeah my money overlapping in your purse, lady. Im glad someone grilled them about VC prices. Her explanation still baffles me though. If we divide $20 by 30, those games average out to be less than $1 a pop. Thats a $4-$7 dollar 'convenience' charge per game.
Gaijin von Snikbah Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 Who wants to play MMOs anyway? Only a bazillion people. And I think Miyamoto is goin to unveil some new channels and online info at GDC.
DCK Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 Perrin Kaplan is always so full of BS... Give us some proper announcements! When is the GDC by the way?
raven_blade2006 Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 Please Online Info soon. Wii needs it desperately.
ZeldaFreak Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 We know that pokemon battle game will be the first title to use online in America and also in Europe.
DCK Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 Pokemon is likely not to be a good example of the Wii's possibilities as it uses the DS online system still. That's the reason why you need seperate friend codes for that title. The first proper Wii online title is likely to be Battalion Wars II.
ZeldaFreak Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 Em sorry to break it to you but all wii games will have friend codes - Nintendo like it so they are going to keep it.
DCK Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 Em sorry to break it to you but all wii games will have friend codes - Nintendo like it so they are going to keep it. Nope, not really. People were afraid that was going to happen because of Pokemon, but it was made clear that the WiFi network was not ready for the Wii yet, so they used the DS system for it, which requires friend codes per game. That doesn't rule out that next games have seperate friend codes, but at least Nintendo haven't confirmed it will happen. The Wii Console code would be pretty pointless if they are going to stick with seperate codes though. The Wii e-mail system can do as well for pedophiles and murderers as playing a game anyway.
Razz Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 i think it's good that nintendo aren't being all bitchy like sony.
ZeldaFreak Posted February 12, 2007 Posted February 12, 2007 All is fair in love, war and videogame industry though.
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