Speaking to Japanese technology watcher TechOn, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata outlined Nintendo's stance on technological progress with the Wii, explaining that the firm is in no way anti-tech.
Mr Iwata spelled out the strategy in no-nonsense, straightforward terms: "Nintendo has spent several years tackling the question of how to increase the number of users who will enjoy playing games. Being a techie myself, I have no intention to discredit the importance of technology. Yet I was concerned that improving the graphical quality any further would not lead to more people playing games. This led us to focus on the user interface."
He continued, "We have nothing against advanced technology. Though many seem to feel that Nintendo is anti-technological, this is totally untrue. There are multiple ways in which you can apply new technology. Some design Formula 1 cars, others design hybrid cars. We have merely spent a lot of time discussing which approach would help us increase our customer base."
Iwata also underlined how lack of HDTV support is not seen as an issue at Nintendo. "Sony and Microsoft must be having their share of problems, as even though game consoles are sporting better graphical capabilities, most households only have SDTV sets, making them unable to enjoy the HDTV quality offered by the game console itself. Though I'm aware this may be misunderstood, Nintendo is not working on a next-generation console.
"Next-generation" implies that the console is an extension of previous installments. We believe that extending our current line will not lead to larger markets, and could possibly even lead to smaller markets. We need to introduce innovative appeal if we want to increase the number of people enjoying games. Recent games have complex control schemes and a steep learning curve for the inexperienced. Those with little gaming experience prefer watching someone else playing to playing the games themselves. Such is the status quo today. That is why we hoped to create an interface that would appeal to anyone."
And on the WiiMote speaker, "This feature was absent from the prototype a year ago - we introduced it fairly recently. We discussed what type of feedback the games should provide the user with. Households sporting 5.1 channel speakers will certainly be able to enjoy realistic sound, yet not all homes have such audio equipment. Adding a speaker to the controller will enable us, for example, to have it emit sound effects when hitting the ball in ping-pong, tennis or golf games."
One of the gems Iwata polished for us was how the WiiConnect online service will operate as we sleep. "I'll give you a specific example we are planning for. Let's say your Wii is connected to the Internet in a mode that allows activation on a 24-hour basis. This would allow Nintendo to send monthly promotional demos for the DS, during the night, to the Wii consoles in each household. Users would wake up each morning, find the LED lamp on their Wii flashing, and know that Nintendo has sent them something. They would then be able to download the promotional demo from their Wii's to their Nintendo DS's. This will, of course, be possible in gaming stores too, but I think users will enjoy being able to do this within their homes. The key merit here is having promotional material delivered to your home, instead of having to go collect it yourself."
You can catch the rest of the interview with a very jolly Satoru Iwata, here.
Mr Iwata spelled out the strategy in no-nonsense, straightforward terms: "Nintendo has spent several years tackling the question of how to increase the number of users who will enjoy playing games. Being a techie myself, I have no intention to discredit the importance of technology. Yet I was concerned that improving the graphical quality any further would not lead to more people playing games. This led us to focus on the user interface."
He continued, "We have nothing against advanced technology. Though many seem to feel that Nintendo is anti-technological, this is totally untrue. There are multiple ways in which you can apply new technology. Some design Formula 1 cars, others design hybrid cars. We have merely spent a lot of time discussing which approach would help us increase our customer base."
Iwata also underlined how lack of HDTV support is not seen as an issue at Nintendo. "Sony and Microsoft must be having their share of problems, as even though game consoles are sporting better graphical capabilities, most households only have SDTV sets, making them unable to enjoy the HDTV quality offered by the game console itself. Though I'm aware this may be misunderstood, Nintendo is not working on a next-generation console.
"Next-generation" implies that the console is an extension of previous installments. We believe that extending our current line will not lead to larger markets, and could possibly even lead to smaller markets. We need to introduce innovative appeal if we want to increase the number of people enjoying games. Recent games have complex control schemes and a steep learning curve for the inexperienced. Those with little gaming experience prefer watching someone else playing to playing the games themselves. Such is the status quo today. That is why we hoped to create an interface that would appeal to anyone."
And on the WiiMote speaker, "This feature was absent from the prototype a year ago - we introduced it fairly recently. We discussed what type of feedback the games should provide the user with. Households sporting 5.1 channel speakers will certainly be able to enjoy realistic sound, yet not all homes have such audio equipment. Adding a speaker to the controller will enable us, for example, to have it emit sound effects when hitting the ball in ping-pong, tennis or golf games."
One of the gems Iwata polished for us was how the WiiConnect online service will operate as we sleep. "I'll give you a specific example we are planning for. Let's say your Wii is connected to the Internet in a mode that allows activation on a 24-hour basis. This would allow Nintendo to send monthly promotional demos for the DS, during the night, to the Wii consoles in each household. Users would wake up each morning, find the LED lamp on their Wii flashing, and know that Nintendo has sent them something. They would then be able to download the promotional demo from their Wii's to their Nintendo DS's. This will, of course, be possible in gaming stores too, but I think users will enjoy being able to do this within their homes. The key merit here is having promotional material delivered to your home, instead of having to go collect it yourself."
You can catch the rest of the interview with a very jolly Satoru Iwata, here.
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Comments
soanso 2 Jun 2006 12:32
1/4
Nintendo Wii = Adware!!
soanso 2 Jun 2006 12:35
2/4
Dammit. it double posted it.
Ok I may as well say something constructive since I can't delete it.
That little speaker is a good idea. I'd be interested to see how that will be used in games.
Iwata is right though. Right about not making a follow up to the last console. I find myself not playing games anymore. I've become so tired of them. They were all so slow to play and slow to get into.
Table Tennis on xbox 360 looks good. A game that you can just pick up and play. Not one that takes hours and hours to go anywhere. But then of course, a new controller doesn't mean the games should be like that at all. They could just as easily make games that you don't need to play for weeks to unlock eveything in the first place. Just give us it and let us PLAY!!
Ok I may as well say something constructive since I can't delete it.
That little speaker is a good idea. I'd be interested to see how that will be used in games.
Iwata is right though. Right about not making a follow up to the last console. I find myself not playing games anymore. I've become so tired of them. They were all so slow to play and slow to get into.
Table Tennis on xbox 360 looks good. A game that you can just pick up and play. Not one that takes hours and hours to go anywhere. But then of course, a new controller doesn't mean the games should be like that at all. They could just as easily make games that you don't need to play for weeks to unlock eveything in the first place. Just give us it and let us PLAY!!
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vault 13 5 Jun 2006 02:34
3/4
soanso wrote:
I find myself not playing games anymore. I've become so tired of them. They were all so slow to play and slow to get into.
There are still games like Tekken and Katamari Damacy and The Warriors that are pick up and go style that are still very fun.
ann0uk 5 Jun 2006 13:05
4/4
Maybe it is because I am getting older but I do agree that video games today lack that special something they used to.
I remember when I had a SNES that going out and buying a videogame was a treat, now I look at games in a store and see a lot of mediocre titles.
Maybe Wii will bring back that excitement again, who knows, I am really looking forward to having it next to my TV and for once I will have a slick looking Nintendo machine that does not look like a toy.
Hats off to Nintendo for really improving their image.
I remember when I had a SNES that going out and buying a videogame was a treat, now I look at games in a store and see a lot of mediocre titles.
Maybe Wii will bring back that excitement again, who knows, I am really looking forward to having it next to my TV and for once I will have a slick looking Nintendo machine that does not look like a toy.
Hats off to Nintendo for really improving their image.