Nintendo’s Reggie Slams Sony and Microsoft

Speaking to hot gizmo site Engadget yesterday, Reggie Fils-Aime made some pretty bold and interesting comments regarding his lack of interest in the competition, the likelihood of a third version of the DS handheld next year, and the possible unveiling of a major new Nintendo franchise alongside further Revolution news at this year’s E3.

Speaking of a possible third iteration of the DS in 2007, Reggie said: “I wouldn’t say that that’s an unreasonable assumption. Look at how many times we’ve improved on the Game Boy Advance in terms of the look, the feel, screen changes, and everything else. We believe that type of constant innovation is critical to driving this industry, and certainly if you look at the world wide sales of Game Boy Advance, I don’t think anyone would disagree.”

Speaking of the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection, Reggie made it clear that, what with Metroid Prime: Hunters and Tetris DS both launching in the US in March, the objective “...is to get every single consumer to try Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection at least once.”

When asked about the lack of persistent friends on the Nintendo Wi-Fi service, Reggie answered: “in terms of having to have new friend codes for every game, quite frankly, what that does is put control in the hands of the gamer. So there are some people that I want to let into my house with Animal Crossing and others that I don’t, and that friend code set up allows me to manage that title by title. We think that’s the appropriate way to go.”

In light of recent media scare stories surrounding the dangers of online gaming SPOnG is glad to hear Reggie making this point and we can but hope that Nintendo manage to communicate this vital point to any concerned parents who might be put off allowing their children to play DS games with their friends online by mis-informed media scaremongering.

Not one to mix his words, Reggie waded into Sony and Microsoft, having a cheeky little pop at the ‘exclusionary’ nature of Nintendo’s competitor’s overall marketing strategies. Reggie claims that both Sony and Microsoft are making content development problematically expensive for developers, whilst at the same time providing “...a level of horsepower technology that not many consumers want.”

Speaking of developer reaction to the 1,000 Revolution dev kits that have already gone out, Reggie was more than happy that the development community in question were, “...embracing our vision of creating games that are as sophisticated as the core gamer wants it to be but [can also be] as straightforward and as accessible as brand new gamers want. And that vision, that strategy is what Nintendo is all about. We want to create a system with Revolution that appeals to all types of gamers versus going down a path that, frankly, is a bit exclusionary.”

He also dismissed claims that not having HDTV support would negatively impact upon sales of the new console, still ‘codenamed’ Revolution. Clearly warming to his theme, Reggie made the common-sense observation that, “HD games don't look as good on the majority of regular tv's…. the question is which one will have amazing new kinds of games with innovative experience. The answer is Revolution.”

The new Zelda: Twilight Princess will definitely be released for GameCube in 2006, as we reported yesterday and in Reggie’s somewhat biased opinion “...will be the biggest and best title ever for GameCube.”

Well, you know Reg, we kind of hope so!

When asked what he thought about the 360, Reggie answered: “Honestly, I was underwhelmed…while certainly some games look fantastic, I found the game play for many of the titles lacking. And so for me it was not something that held my interest for very long.”

There is a respectful nod to Xbox Live which he admits is "...very intriguing… we certainly are looking at what they’re doing" but Reggie claims that if he had spent what would be close to $700 on a 360 premium pack and a couple of games and accessories, “I’d be disappointed right now.”

Reggie closes the interview with a trademark flourish. When asked about Nintendo’s response to Sony and Microsoft’s strategies of positioning their new consoles as multimedia digital entertainment devices in addition to gaming devices, he has the following salient points to make.

“Our philosophy is that consumers want great gaming experiences and our passion is delivering great gaming experiences. In the home console space, we believe that the best way to do that is with a dedicated machine. In the handheld space, as you’ve said, the DS does have other capabilities in the multimedia area, but we believe it’s important to first establish its credentials as a superb game playing device.

To be perfectly clear, the Microsoft and Sony strategies are based on overall corporate objectives versus what’s right for the consumer. That’s a reality. Microsoft is essentially trying to get you to put a PC in your living room because they are fundamentally a PC software company. Sony is trying to get you to put an entertainment hub that has Blu-ray technology because that’s important to their movie business and the rest of their entire electronics business.

We are a gaming company. We are gamers at heart. We love creating great, innovative content and superbly designed hardware, that’s what we do. And with that passion comes a laser-like focus to do things that are right for the consumer and right for the business. That’s the fundamental difference in our strategy versus our competition.”

As ever, it’s a joy to hear what Reggie has to say. SPOnG salutes you, sir. Let us know your thoughts in the forums below.