Wii Launch Japan - Vox Pops: Hometown Kids
Nintendo's hometown of Kyoto has a fierce loyalty for the manufacturer. SPOnG gauged the feeling of some the kids from those not-so-mean streets.
Home-town support: Akira, Tomotaka, Shige, Hiro and Ami.
As part of SPOnG's coverage of the Wii launch in Japan, we took the time to chat with some kids from Nintendo’s hometown, Kyoto. They had taken all their stuff out of its Yodobashi paper packaging and arrayed it on the floor of the subway station next door to Yodobashi. (In Japan, it’s safe to do stuff like this; nobody’s going to come and knife you for it.)
We saw a “shutter chance”, as they say round here, and took a lovely snap for you all.
SPOnG: That’s a great display you’ve got set up there.
Ami: Thanks!
SPOnG: Six classic controllers? You’re keen on the retro side of things, yeah?
Akira: Absolutely! Especially the Super Famicom games – I really want to play Super Mario World again. And some of the old Super Famicom RPGs will be great to play through again.
SPOnG: How are you going to make do with only two copies of Zelda between the five of you?
Tomotaka: We’re going to pass them around between us. We’re planning to do the same with Red Steel – it looks like a really cool game!
SPOnG: Do any of you have the PlayStation3 yet?
Everyone [in unison]: No, no!
Ami: It’s too expensive!
Shige: It doesn’t look like fun. We all went to Nintendo World and played Wii Sports, and it was such fun that we decided, yeah, Wii is going to be better than PlayStation3.
Ami:And it’s much cheaper!
SPOnG: It certainly is. What games are you looking forward to, then?
Hiro: Definitely Smash Bros. and Super Mario Sunshine. We played that at Nintendo World, as well. It was really funny.
SPOnG: By the way, did you know that the Wii was released in America before Japan?
Tomotaka: Yeah, I saw that on the news. It doesn’t matter, really, but I thought it was a bit strange because Nintendo is a Kyoto company.
Ami: Anyway, we have the Wii now!
SPOnG: Great, well, have fun!
We also managed to catch up with some eager students - one of who had struck Wii gold in freebie form. Read that interview here.
We saw a “shutter chance”, as they say round here, and took a lovely snap for you all.
SPOnG: That’s a great display you’ve got set up there.
Ami: Thanks!
SPOnG: Six classic controllers? You’re keen on the retro side of things, yeah?
Akira: Absolutely! Especially the Super Famicom games – I really want to play Super Mario World again. And some of the old Super Famicom RPGs will be great to play through again.
SPOnG: How are you going to make do with only two copies of Zelda between the five of you?
Tomotaka: We’re going to pass them around between us. We’re planning to do the same with Red Steel – it looks like a really cool game!
SPOnG: Do any of you have the PlayStation3 yet?
Everyone [in unison]: No, no!
Ami: It’s too expensive!
Shige: It doesn’t look like fun. We all went to Nintendo World and played Wii Sports, and it was such fun that we decided, yeah, Wii is going to be better than PlayStation3.
Ami:And it’s much cheaper!
SPOnG: It certainly is. What games are you looking forward to, then?
Hiro: Definitely Smash Bros. and Super Mario Sunshine. We played that at Nintendo World, as well. It was really funny.
SPOnG: By the way, did you know that the Wii was released in America before Japan?
Tomotaka: Yeah, I saw that on the news. It doesn’t matter, really, but I thought it was a bit strange because Nintendo is a Kyoto company.
Ami: Anyway, we have the Wii now!
SPOnG: Great, well, have fun!
We also managed to catch up with some eager students - one of who had struck Wii gold in freebie form. Read that interview here.
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