The Techland Interview: Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime

  • Share
  • Read Later

You’re just going to pit your titles against the competition’s and…

Let the better content win.

During my hands-on time with the Move, it struck me how they’re using the interface for content that wouldn’t necessarily be found on the Wii…

So this is SOCOM?

SOCOM, yes, but also the Motion Fighters game. There’ve been first-person and third-person shooters on Wii; I played the Conduit and actually liked it. But there’s been an image of Nintedo as a family-friendly company that shies away from the kind of violent or mature content that certain developers or publishers like to make. Do you think that’s going to give Sony and advantage when it comes to facing off against you guys?

I don’t think so. So, two things. It’s true that Nintendo does not publish as a first-party ultra-violent content. We don’t like it, we don’t have a passion for it, we don’t do it very well. But, that’s not to say we don’t like to see content like The Conduit or Call of Duty. I play first-person-shooters; I like them. I haven’t had a chance to play SOCOM, but based on what’s been described to me, I’m not so sure that’s going to be a great shooter experience. In the end, for any platform, it just got to feel good.

Essentially, what you’re telling me is that because you’re Nintendo, you’ve got a history of crafting experiences that the competitors don’t necessarily have.

Let me put it this way… What we have shown with games like Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort is that it is a true craft to create compelling entertaining experiences that are based on motion control. If it was easy, there’d be hundreds of these types of games. I do believe that it comes down to the best game creators making the best content to bring a particular kind of experience to light. In that regard, I have full confidence in the Nintendo slate of developers that we can create the best content.

Let’s go back to holiday, just for a second. I imagined this scenario after getting my hands on the Move: A curious shopper goes into a GameStop or a WalMart, looking for a console they can bowl with. The Wii offers that and the Playstation 3 will offer that. But, Sony has more robust hardware as part of their package and different features as far as home entertainment. What stops them from walking away from the store with a PS3 instead of a Wii?

In the end, the consumer is going to pull out their wallet or their pocketbook and they’re going to make a value choice. They’re going to say, “What do I get for what I pay? What’s the best value?” What we believe is that the software library that we have–everything from The Conduit to Wii Fit Plus–is the winning proposition. What gives me the confidence to say that is that I’m 27 million units into this thing and my closest competitior is two-thirds of that.

But what if this consumer wants a hi-def experience?

Y’know, if hi-def for the consumer is an important part of their decision set, then they’re gonna go somewhere else. I’d argue that the tech angle is important to the early adopter and I’m not so sure that the tech is as important now.

Still, we’re way past the early adopter part of the cycle. The person who may have been put off by the price or the trappings of an HDTV four years ago could very well be thinking about upgrading their whole experience now. How is the hardware packed into the Wii in its current state not a liability in that regard?

Because I’d argue that the whole offering we have is more compelling. Even today. Even today, we could go to 100 stores in the greater San Francisco area and we’d only find hardware in 30 of those stores. But, you’d find mountains of competitive product. The consumer’s voting TODAY that the Wii’s a better product.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3