Dante Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 After some unexpected delays, Nintendo has finally provided us with the completed interview based on your reader submitted questions. In the full Q&A below, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime talks about the company's marketing, varying tastes for gamers in Japan and North America, keeping up Nintendo quality and his own favorite games. Thanks again to all of you who sent in your questions, and to the hundreds of you who e-mailed to request that we ask about Nintendo possibly bringing Fatal Frame 4 to North America, we tried... but Nintendo simply couldn't/wouldn't answer (sorry). 1. Reggie, this is a simple question but I think it's something a lot of kids dream about: What's it like to be president of Nintendo of America? In other words, what's it like to be president of video games? It really is a dream come true. I was a gamer for many years before joining Nintendo. My very first home console was a Super NES, but I've played competitive game consoles too. In many ways, it may have been a bit of destiny for me to be at Nintendo... my kids remember spending countless hours with me playing Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy and a ton of other SNES, N64 and Nintendo GameCube games. Now, it's exciting for me to work so closely with Mr. Miyamoto and so many other talented video game developers and marketers. 2. Is Nintendo interested in developing many new IPs currently? And if so, are they interested in expanding to other genres and perhaps even more Mature games, not just in language and violence but in themes similar to games like Hotel Dusk? We're always developing new games and experiences and part of that includes looking at whether it makes sense to create new franchises and new characters. Some gamers want completely new games, while others want another Mario or Zelda game the minute they finish playing the one that just came out. Striking that balance keeps us all very busy! Nintendo makes games for everyone, so you'll find everything from E-rated to M-rated titles. I'm glad you enjoyed Hotel Dusk: Room 215. It flew a bit under the radar when it was released, but it's a different kind of game and I've heard from a lot of people who really enjoyed it. 3. Marketing for core games is seemingly a fraction of the ad campaigns that have been pushed for other Nintendo titles. Are there any plans to expand marketing in the future to reach the core audience? Do you believe what marketing you are doing for titles such as Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is enough to spread awareness? Marketing is shaped by what's appropriate for a particular game. While it might seem to some that games that appeal to the expanded audience get more attention, that's probably because the expanded audience has a steeper learning curve. Core gamers and their friends are tuned into the gaming news and blog sites, so they already know a lot of what's going on. This new audience is just getting started, so our initial outreach might be more focused on education Рin fun and unique ways Рthen we can begin to communicate the availability of titles they might find appealing. And as I said, we take a different approach with every game. Just look at Super Smash Bros. Brawl, for example. Mr. Sakurai posted something new on the Dojo site every single day leading up to launch. That probably represents one of our most aggressive flows of information, and that's a game that definitely resonates with our loyalists. 4. There seems to be a big discrepancy between Nintendo Company Ltd. in Japan and Nintendo of America in terms of content for the Wii, from Wii channels to games that only have been released in Japan. What is Nintendo of America doing to resolve that divide? Is Nintendo of America diverting its own resources to create its own identity and develop games that resonate with Western audiences, much in the same way certain games may not be localized outside of Japan because it is perceived to only resonate with a Japanese audience? Different games are appropriate for different audiences. Each region around the world has already developed its own identity. Games like Metroid Prime tend to be more popular in the West, while Japanese audiences favor RPGs. But no matter the region, Nintendo strives to bring the best content to its audiences. That sometimes means niche titles don't always make it but it also ensures that we are getting the best content. 5. It's been over a year since Nintendo moved some of its staff from Redmond Washington to California's Bay Area. Through the grapevine and job boards it appears that additional staff have been lost on top of those that couldn't or didn't make the move. How has the transition been with such a big change of staff? I'm not sure which grapevine you're listening to, but we are now staffed at near full capacity at all of our Nintendo of America offices. When we first announced our decision to relocate our Sales & Marketing division to Redwood City and New York, some employees chose not to make the move. But we filled most of those positions and I am extremely pleased with the work our combined team of newbies and veterans has been delivering during what has been an extremely busy year for us. It's very natural for large companies to experience staffing shifts every once in a while, which happen for any number of reasons Рboth professional and personal. Nintendo is no different. 6. Reggie, thank you for this opportunity. I have been a Nintendo fan for 23 years now. I have bought every system and virtually every Nintendo published game. As of late I have noticed that Nintendo quality is at an all time low. There is no excuse for this. For example, despite the reviews I have read, I bought Animal Crossing: City Folk believing in my heart Nintendo would never do what the reviews were saying - short change the customer. They were right! Animal Crossing is almost identical to a game made 7 years ago. I understand some of the design choices but graphically there is no reason the graphics could not have been cleaned up or more choices given (new house designs, multiplayer local play, vehicles, etc.). In the past if it were Nintendo published I would just go buy it because I knew Nintendo quality was top notch, not any more. Now I have to really take a close look and see if Nintendo is really putting in 100 percent. This is a very sad day for me. Does Nintendo see their error and what does Nintendo intend to do to return to form and deliver their best product to customers? We are absolutely dedicated to creating a great experience for the gamer, both in how the game feels as well as how it looks. Animal Crossing: City Folk has taken the best of the DS and GameCube versions and improved upon it. These improvements include many new or enhanced features, from the city area to the ability to place your items up for auction to the multiplayer aspects or use of the WiiSpeak microphone. In addition, the Wii version of Animal Crossing: City Folk has more than 2,400 different items to collect. Even if you collected two new things every day, it would take you more than three years to get everything. As I write this, Animal Crossing: City Folk has only been out for a few weeks. As you know, this isn't a game you play through in a weekend, beat the boss and call it a day. So I'm hoping you'll be willing to spend some more time with it to watch the game develop from week to week, month to month and year to year. Each time we come out with a new version of a franchise, our goal is to make it fresh and interesting, yet still familiar for fans. Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Pok̩mon games, Metroid Prime... all of these games bring something new to the franchise and make them better. That's our goal every time. As for vehicles in Animal Crossing? I'm not sure Tom Nook is ready to open an auto dealership. 7. Don't you think the lack of the GBA slot in the DSi will split the DS market in two? Those who want to play Guitar Hero and GBA games will have to stick with the Lite and those that want DSWare and other DSi features will have to buy the DSi. Consumers always adapt pretty easily to new technology, and I have no doubt they will do the same with Nintendo DSi. Game Boy Advance fans can always fall back on their GBA or older Nintendo DS systems when they want to dip back into their GBA libraries. But Nintendo DSi will have lots of interesting features that players will want to experience. As for games like Guitar Hero, I'm sure our third-party partners are thinking about ways to make use of the new, unique capabilities of DSi. 8. Does Nintendo truly listen to its audience, or have the complaints about the friend code systems, lack of a real storage solution, a very lame attempt at voice chat and just an overall uncomfortable online system fallen on deaf ears? We listen to our fans all the time. Nintendo fans are some of the most passionate in the world, and believe me, they make their opinions heard. We're not claiming our way of doing things is better or worse than anyone else Рit's just different. We're on record for each of the items you cite, so I won't rehash all that here. But I will say that we listen very closely to what people have to say, both pro and con, and keep those feelings in mind as we plan ahead. For example, as you know, we recently launched Club Nintendo here in North America to reward our fans for their loyalty. I know everyone here always envied Japan and Europe fans for the cool Nintendo items they had, and now we're getting some of our own. 9. What was the first video game you played and did you beat it? Would you say you're more "hardcore" or "casual"? The very first game I played was Super Mario World because it came packed in with my Super NES. I played that game endlessly, beating every level, and finishing with 99 lives. In fairness, while I got pretty far in the game by myself, to get all those lives I looked up every trick and hint I could find. And called Nintendo's live help staff as well! The labeling of "core" and "casual" implies one is better than the other and just builds more divisions between people. I'm a game player. We're all game players. If I had to classify myself into a category, I'd say I'm a competitive game player. I'm going to do my best to knock your kart off the track in Mario Kart DS, crush you at tennis in Wii Sports, head more soccer balls than you in Wii Fit, pay off my mortgage before you do in Animal Crossing: City Folk and out-strategize you in Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. 10. Which upcoming game on the Wii are you the most excited about? I'll give you two. First, I am looking forward to The Conduit. I enjoy shooters, but have not been very good once the dual stick controllers came out. I loved the targeting ease of Metroid Prime 3, so I feel I'm "back in the game" with shooting games. I had a chance to try out The Conduit during our Fall Media Summit and came away really impressed. I know that team has continued to work very hard on the game, so I'm really excited to try out the finished version. The second game I'm looking forward to is the "Enhanced for Wii" Pikmin. I love that game, and the new controls make it even more fun. The game is now even more intuitive ... just point and throw the Pikmin where you want! It's a blast! gamedaily.com
Guest Jordan Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 You could basically change everything he said to "marketing speak".
dazzybee Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 Nintendo has responded twice about Animal Crossings lame sequel!! Both have failed to even answer it remotely!! Winds me up! Also disappointed at the lack of storage info, friend codes and wii online! The question should have been - what benefit in any way shape or form does the friend code system actually have? It makes it even harder for 'new gamers' to go on online. Mith a PS3/360 I can adde my grandad and he just accepst. On the Wii/DS it's a major fucking effort to get my mum and family online!! Yeah, really fucking simple!! Nobs!!!
Dante Posted January 7, 2009 Author Posted January 7, 2009 You could basically change everything he said to "marketing speak". Yep! Still no word on wii games from Japan etc.
Emasher Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 I never expect them to say anything really that interesting in interviews. No matter what they're just going to talk "Marketing Speak" and save any revelations for a press conference.
Tellyn Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 I'm going to do my best to crush you. God bless you, Reginald. Slightly paraphrased.
Shino Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 My biggest problem with them is Online, I don't mind adding friend codes as long as its just one (the one in the console). Why is MP3 the only game to use the code on the console?
Tellyn Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 My biggest problem with them is Online, I don't mind adding friend codes as long as its just one (the one in the console). Why is MP3 the only game to use the code on the console? Because it uses WiiConnect24, not Wi-Fi Connection.
Emasher Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 My biggest problem with them is Online, I don't mind adding friend codes as long as its just one (the one in the console). Why is MP3 the only game to use the code on the console? Probably because MP3 didn't have actual multiplayer but allowed you to send a friend voucher to your friend, and I think you received it through the Wii Message Board so it would need to be to someone you are registered to send messages to through that.
Shino Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 Good point you two. I still don't like it though.
darksnowman Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 In Mario Kart Wii you can add people from your Wii address book into the games friend roster.
Emasher Posted January 8, 2009 Posted January 8, 2009 In Mario Kart Wii you can add people from your Wii address book into the games friend roster. Really? I wish I had known that before.
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