Nintendo's Reggie: "Great Content" Will Beat Apple and Facebook

[John Funk]

Nintendo's Reggie: "Great Content" Will Beat Apple and Facebook

Facebook gaming and iOS gaming are on the rise, but Nintendo boss Reggie Fils-Aime thinks that the House of Mario can win the day.

If you were a fly on the wall at the Game Developers' Conference in recent years, you might have gotten the impression that the new Big Things in gaming are mobile games - with the told MSNBC [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2506-iPhone-Games] that the Big N was confident in its success.

"You win with great content, and we're fortunate to have franchises like Mario, like Zelda, like Donkey Kong," said Fils-Aime. "All of these great franchises really motivate consumers to buy the software, and what they're looking for is an in-depth, great experience, and that's what we offer."

Fils-Aime called the industry "cyclical" in respond to a question about the Wii's faltering sales - and whether Nintendo was expecting the 3DS to pick up the slack. "There're lots of systems sold early on, and then later on it's driven by software. So for us, 2008, 2009 2010 were fantastic software years and that's where the profit is made." Given that titles like New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold roughly a hojillion copies, I can't really argue with that.

When asked if he thought Nintendo had inadvertently exposed a weakness by not releasing a new Wii to compete with Microsoft's Kinect and Sony's Move this past holiday season, Reggie pointed out that they actually had, in fact, done such a thing. "You know, we had a new version of the Wii, it was red." I can't be the only one who finds that response hilarious, can I? But no, Reggie was serious, and congratulated Microsoft on its success.

"[It] did phenomenally well on a global basis as we celebrated Mario's 25th anniversary. So we give credit to Microsoft for what they've done. Anything that's good for our industry is good for all of us."

(CVG [http://ingame.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/01/06/5777963-nintendo-president-talks-up-3ds-sidesteps-wii-question])

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[droppingpenny]

The title is very misleading, because Reggie never mentions Facebook or iPhone. It seems to be a very popular practice to put words in Reggie's mouth, he never said.

 

[John Funk]

The title is very misleading, because Reggie never mentions Facebook or iPhone. It seems to be a very popular practice to put words in Reggie's mouth, he never said.

The interviewer mentioned Apple and Facebook.

 

[droppingpenny]

The title is very misleading, because Reggie never mentions Facebook or iPhone. It seems to be a very popular practice to put words in Reggie's mouth, he never said.

The interviewer mentioned Apple and Facebook.

As far as I recall the question was much more general: How does Nintendo compete with free and very cheap games?

 

[John Funk]

The title is very misleading, because Reggie never mentions Facebook or iPhone. It seems to be a very popular practice to put words in Reggie's mouth, he never said.

The interviewer mentioned Apple and Facebook.

As far as I recall the question was much more general: How does Nintendo compete with free and very cheap games?

And leading up to it, the interviewer directly mentioned iOS and Facebook games. I never directly quoted Reggie as saying Apple and Facebook; but that was the clear context of the question.

 

[droppingpenny]

And leading up to it, the interviewer directly mentioned iOS and Facebook games. I never directly quoted Reggie as saying Apple and Facebook; but that was the clear context of the question.

I probably just misunderstood the quote, sorry.

 

[Tom Phoenix]

Well, ultimately, that is the thing that counts....content. And if there is any game company that is capable of producing compelling content for a wide audience, it is certainly Nintendo.

Having said that, their offerings in recent years have not been very good. After releasing Wii Sports and Wii Fit, it seems like they fell asleep on their laurels somewhat. Instead of releasing software that would continue the "Revolution" as promised, they instead started releasing what essentially amounted to GameCube games (and the majority of people who bought a Wii didn't buy one to play GameCube games). Furthermore, they got caught up in the "user-generated content" fad with Wii Music, not realising that people disliked, if not outright hated, such games. As a result, the Wii momentum has been weakening and it is going to take a lot of work to kickstart it back.

Currently, they are undergoing a retro phase, (re)releasing old classics, and that is allowing them to get by. However, only software that continues the "Revolution" will truly bring back momentum in the long run. Fortunately, they do seem to be headed in the right direction. The fact that they have been pushing Wii Motion+ for the last few months indicates that they have plans to release software that supports it and Skyward Sword is fully embracing motion controls. Combined with the 3DS, they certainly have a shot of at obtaining much greater success. However, whether or not that will actually happen remains to be seen.

The ball is in your court, Nintendo. Make it happen!

Also, I absolutely loved Reggie's response to the Kinect question. I love it even more that the journalist thinks he was side-stepping the question; I guess he cannot fathom the idea that a red Wii is the ultimate answer to Kinect (if such a answer is necessary to begin with). XD But hey, what else can you expect from MSNBC?

 

[mjc0961]

When I got to the "new Wii" part of the article, I was expecting Reggie to mention Wii Motion Plus. I didn't see the "we did, it was red" part coming, and yeah it was a bit funny. Of course, they probably don't want to mention it considering that they barely have any games that use it even though it's been out for over a year and a half.

 

[Autofaux]

Yeah, Nintendo can push out more IP's. Seriously, this constant reliance on their well-established franchises is boring me, I am glad I haven't played the majority of the 'must played' Nintendo games or franchises, totally not appealing.

Hell to the yes.

Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong again? Do an eyeroll!

 

[SelectivelyEvil13]

Yeah, Nintendo can push out more IP's. Seriously, this constant reliance on their well-established franchises is boring me, I am glad I haven't played the majority of the 'must played' Nintendo games or franchises, totally not appealing.

While agree with the general message of "Content trumps cheap Spam," I concur as I too have long found Nintendo entrenched in the past and stagnating in banality. The response regarding the "New version, it was red" epitomizes this attitude by Nintendo. Personally, I could not care any less about not only another Mario, but a copy-paste rehash of the old 2D platformers that I happen to detest.

In other words, not everyone can be swayed by retro nonsense and nostalgia. I had plenty of "nostalgia" when I bought a Gamecube, only to realize that the closest thing to something above and beyond Mario 64 would be Mario-No seriously, he seriously is a plumber-Sunshine. After that disenchanting debacle of a system, I would be hard-pressed to succumb to the scorchingly tempting offerings of the Wii. Not matter the fun I had on the GC, damn does the Wii selection look a little better for those iconic titles at least. But then that cruel disillusionment reminds me I've had my fill of Marios and Zeldas and would rather see some expansion as far as major exclusive IPs and games[footnote]Not only in terms of new characters/stories, but also departures towards mature games that will last longer than one mediocre trial.[/footnote]. That would beat the phone/social networking games. I feel that it would also be equally important when facing Kinect because it would separate the grown-ups from the toddlers. The Kinect is primarily being marketed as a "Biggest Loser" device, so now the Wii must show it can do that and more, a feat easier to accomplish now that it is well established.

 

[Space Jawa]

I'd say that not only is Reggie's response funny, but it's kind of appropriate too, considering that Nintendo doesn't need to release a new Wii to compete with Move or Kinect, since the Wii is what those two upgrades were released to compete with in the first place. Really, what need is there to release a new competitor into the ring when they already have one out there doing the job just fine?

 

[Tiswas]

Yeah, Nintendo can push out more IP's. Seriously, this constant reliance on their well-established franchises is boring me, I am glad I haven't played the majority of the 'must played' Nintendo games or franchises, totally not appealing.

Hell to the yes.

Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong again? Do an eyeroll!

Halo, God of War, Gran Turismo and Gears of War AGAIN? god. Why won't people make new stuff!?

 

[Svenparty]

At the moment the Nintendo "great content" -motion gaming- is being sold by Sony and Microsoft also. I'm hoping to come in the Escapist soon and hear about a plethora of good franchises like Hitman and Timesplitters returning and that motion gaming has been outlawed.

Although games like Red Dead Redemption were rough diamonds I feel the industry is failing as games become more costly and we get more crap from the companies like motion gaming.

 

[Autofaux]

Yeah, Nintendo can push out more IP's. Seriously, this constant reliance on their well-established franchises is boring me, I am glad I haven't played the majority of the 'must played' Nintendo games or franchises, totally not appealing.

Hell to the yes.

Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong again? Do an eyeroll!

Halo, God of War, Gran Turismo and Gears of War AGAIN? god. Why won't people make new stuff!?

I know right? Because if a game has about two or three sequels, its immediately as bad as series' that have been milked over and over again for over twenty years..