Topic: Reggie Talks Wii

[WindyMan]

Mr. President talks about the Wii launch success, games, Virtual Console, Wii online and a lot more stuff.

NOA President Reggie Fils-Aime sat down with MTV News recently, and was asked a myriad of questions about the Wii.  Reggie being Reggie, he answered the majority of them with actual answers.  Here are some of the things he said.    

Right off the bat, Reg pulls no punches when talking about the competition.  "We're not arrogant. We don't view success as a right. We feel we need to earn success every day. And we're going to do that by being true to the gamer."  He continues to say that although Nintendo is feeling really good after a successful Wii launch, the company knows it's just the start of a long battle.  "We're looking at this as about eight days into the mission," said Reggie.    

Reggie talked shop about upcoming Wii games.  Super Mario Galaxy is coming, but he gave a rather broad release window of between March and December.  2K is apparently working on a baseball game that is a "perfect title for the Wii controller".  He also commented on the unfair press that Red Steel is getting about how it takes "a few minutes to get used to the control scheme."  (Look for our review of the game later today; it takes more than a few minutes.)    

Virtual Console updates will come every Monday, at the rate of "one to five titles" every week.  When pressed on why we don't have as many games in America as they do in Japan, Reggie responded that some games "may make perfect sense in Japan but we don't think in our marketplace have a lot of potential."  Right.    

Besides the online (and almost certainly U.S.-bound) Pokemon Battle Revolution, Fils-Aime also mentioned that "other unannounced online titles" are in development at the moment.  We should expect to see some online games coming in one form or another "very early in 2007."  Before then, however, Nintendo will be sending Wiis connected to WiiConnect24 a surprise of some sort before Christmas hits.  What is it?  "I'd hate to ruin the surprise," Reggie said.    

There's much more stuff in the MTV article than any summary would provide, so hop on over there to get the full story.

[TJ Spyke]

So:

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario World
Donkey Kong Country
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Don't have potential in North America???

[TrueNerd]

No Metroid until AFTER March? Galaxy more or less confirmed for November 07? Glorious! How nice of Nintendo to give me time to go back and finish Okami, Paper Mario 2, Killer 7, etc. Let's just hope they don't muck everything up and release Phantom Hourglass in the spring, amirite?  

[UltimatePartyBear]

Quote
Originally posted by: nintendogamecube86
So:

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario World
Donkey Kong Country
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Don't have potential in North America???

The interview goes into a bit more depth on that subject.  It looks like Nintendo is going to hold the really big hit classics for any holes that might pop up in the release schedule.  We pretty much have to hope for a small drought to get some of these games.

On the other hand, I already bought most of Nintendo's big hits on the NES, SNES, and N64.  They're the games I'm least likely to buy on the VC.  

[King of Twitch]

Finish up the gd weather and news channels  

[SeaBass]

A surprise before Christmas hits?! Wooo this got me wondering...but i hope its not the Opera Browser because it'd be quite jolly to have that thing by next week.

[TJ Spyke]

I think Super Mario Galaxy will be released in August. Super Mario World 1 & 2, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario Sunshine were all released in August/September. I think they will release SSBB in November though.

Quote
Originally posted by: TrueNerd
No Metroid until AFTER March? Galaxy more or less confirmed for November 07? Glorious! How nice of Nintendo to give me time to go back and finish Okami, Paper Mario 2, Killer 7, etc. Let's just hope they don't muck everything up and release Phantom Hourglass in the spring, amirite?

[Ian Sane]

"We're not arrogant. We don't view success as a right. We feel we need to earn success every day. And we're going to do that by being true to the gamer."

This is totally the opposite of what Nintendo actually thinks.  It bothers me how so often Reggie says the right thing and expresses the attitude Nintendo SHOULD have but sadly doesn't.  It makes me hope that someday the higher-ups in NCL will think "hey the stuff that Reggie guy says always seems to go over well.  Maybe we should actually DO that stuff instead of making him look like a liar all the time."  They are less arrogant than Sony is thankfully but I'm still not convinced they don't still think they deserve success just because.

The potential in North America thing actually does make sense for some titles like Fire Emblem that would need to be translated into English (I think there's a SNES Fire Emblem for the Japanese launch).  But for the most part that's just marketing speak.  Though if the really good games are all coming out AFTER March then they probably need to delay the big VC titles for key down times.

With Metroid probably not coming out until at least halfway through 2007 I wager I'll be able to hold out for a Wii long enough for a price cut.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
"I'd hate to ruin the surprise," Reggie said.

It's a Reggie Mii! I just KNOW it!!!!

He hits every ball he swings at out of the ballpark, even splitters, every ball he bowls he gets three strikes, every swing in tennis results in the ball being lodged in the ground on the other side of the net, every golf stroke is a hole in one and the first punch he throws in boxing not only KOs the opposing Mii but deletes it outright.

Also, Ian, you're missing out. Wii Sports warrants the purchase of the console alone. Everything else is just icing.

[SixthAngel]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"We're not arrogant. We don't view success as a right. We feel we need to earn success every day. And we're going to do that by being true to the gamer."

This is totally the opposite of what Nintendo actually thinks.  It bothers me how so often Reggie says the right thing and expresses the attitude Nintendo SHOULD have but sadly doesn't.

Nintendo has changed a lot in recent years I think they are no more arrogant then your average company now. Nintendo is certainly not thinking the Wii is the definite winner and Reggie is expressing this.

[krillin1986]

Well, I don't wanna ruin the surprise really, but, I heard that it's going to be ExciteBike for NES that is sent as a Christmas Present... so.... if I am right, I AM A GOD! LOL... If I am wrong, no harm done! :-p (btw, I have to wait until Income Taxes to get me a Wii, so, I won't get the surprise )

[Ian Sane]

"Well, I don't wanna ruin the surprise really, but, I heard that it's going to be ExciteBike for NES that is sent as a Christmas Present"

Well even if it isn't ExciteBike the surprise being a gift VC game is a likely idea.  It's a cool idea too!

[WPack911]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"We're not arrogant. We don't view success as a right. We feel we need to earn success every day. And we're going to do that by being true to the gamer."

This is totally the opposite of what Nintendo actually thinks.  It bothers me how so often Reggie says the right thing and expresses the attitude Nintendo SHOULD have but sadly doesn't.  It makes me hope that someday the higher-ups in NCL will think "hey the stuff that Reggie guy says always seems to go over well.  Maybe we should actually DO that stuff instead of making him look like a liar all the time."  They are less arrogant than Sony is thankfully but I'm still not convinced they don't still think they deserve success just because.

The potential in North America thing actually does make sense for some titles like Fire Emblem that would need to be translated into English (I think there's a SNES Fire Emblem for the Japanese launch).  But for the most part that's just marketing speak.  Though if the really good games are all coming out AFTER March then they probably need to delay the big VC titles for key down times.

With Metroid probably not coming out until at least halfway through 2007 I wager I'll be able to hold out for a Wii long enough for a price cut.

Come on now, you don't think Nintendo is working it's tail off with this Wii launch?  Nintendo might not deliver all it's promise's on time, but at least they deliver them, unlike Sony or MS.  

Nintendo is no longer arrogant that cost them the console market with the N64 and then they thought they could beat Sony at their own game with the GameCube and lost again.  This time all arrogance is gone though, they are doing their own thing and using the best part of their company to fuel the Wii, that being innovation.

Nintendo does earn everything they get these days and they deserve respect for it.

-WPack911

[RollWithIt]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"We're not arrogant. We don't view success as a right. We feel we need to earn success every day. And we're going to do that by being true to the gamer."

This is totally the opposite of what Nintendo actually thinks.  It bothers me how so often Reggie says the right thing and expresses the attitude Nintendo SHOULD have but sadly doesn't.  It makes me hope that someday the higher-ups in NCL will think "hey the stuff that Reggie guy says always seems to go over well.  Maybe we should actually DO that stuff instead of making him look like a liar all the time."  They are less arrogant than Sony is thankfully but I'm still not convinced they don't still think they deserve success just because.

The potential in North America thing actually does make sense for some titles like Fire Emblem that would need to be translated into English (I think there's a SNES Fire Emblem for the Japanese launch).  But for the most part that's just marketing speak.  Though if the really good games are all coming out AFTER March then they probably need to delay the big VC titles for key down times.

With Metroid probably not coming out until at least halfway through 2007 I wager I'll be able to hold out for a Wii long enough for a price cut.

So what if nintendo would rather release a quality game then rush the release of something like so many other game company's do.......

[Ian Sane]

"Nintendo is no longer arrogant that cost them the console market with the N64 and then they thought they could beat Sony at their own game with the GameCube and lost again. This time all arrogance is gone though, they are doing their own thing and using the best part of their company to fuel the Wii, that being innovation."

I don't think Nintendo was arrogant because they supposed tried to beat Sony at their own game with the Cube.  I felt Nintendo was arrogant last gen because they let a lot of stupid goofs slide and took their customers for granted because they thought that since they're Nintendo everything just falls in their lap.

I don't see anything exceptional regarding the Wii launch.  They've got a few first party games, one is a huge title but isn't really an exclusive.  They've got about the same level of third party support at launch as they did with the Cube.  They've got a lot of the American third parties that support everyone while most of the really good Japanese third parties are absent for now (Ubisoft and EA mean nothing; merely releasing a product ensures their support).  There are a few new names showing excitement for the Wii but in the meantime Nintendo lost others and as the Cube demonstrated third parties showing excitement about a console doesn't mean squat.  And there looks to be a drought of decent titles after launch, just like the Cube.  I don't see anything incredibly poor with the Wii launch but it isn't beyond what should be expected.  Arrogant Nintendo is the norm and I think it's too early to say that they've broken out of this mold yet.  Just because Sony is being insanely arrogant doesn't mean Nintendo isn't.  They just look better in comparison.

Plus their arrogance shines through with the VC.  The games are overpriced and the selection sucks.  As usual Nintendo is trying to squeeze every penny out of their customers.  That is typical Nintendo arrogance.  That is their usual assumption that they can dick us around and get away with it.  Hell just look at that BS "no potential for North American market" line being fed to us.  Until that sort of behaviour isn't commonplace I'm not going to think Nintendo has changed.

[Galford]

I don't know if I would go as far as Ian to say Nintendo is uberarrogant, but there does seem to be some communication issues at Nintendo.  How many times has Reggie and Caplan said something only to be beaten down at a later date by another exec or NCL itself?  This happens more then I would like to count.

About the VC, it's a nice start but it has a looonnnnggg way to go.  I can buy Capcom Collections and get 20 mostly good games for $20.  For the price of bandwidth I can download the entire NES and SNES library from bittorrent and in some cases play the games in ways that are better then the original platform envisioned.

PS- No really where the hell is Fire Emblem and all those Japan only SNES releases from Square Enix.  It would be nice to play these games legally for once.

[UncleBob]

Quote
Originally posted by: Galford
For the price of bandwidth I can download the entire NES and SNES library from bittorrent and in some cases play the games in ways that are better then the original platform envisioned.

DUDE!  For the price of a windbreak, I can go into Wal*Mart and steal a PS3!  Why would I want to pay $600 for one?!?

[ShyGuy]

Galford endorses piracy, ban stick sighted on the horizon.

[Ceric]

I think NOA itself is pretty arrogant/elitist with the VC.  There are few games on the Japanese list that wouldn't do well here.  Even the untranslated ones would find a buyer here in the states.

Edit:  Also I love for the surprise to be Excitebike.  I would feel jipped if it was the Internet Channel because that wouldn't be much of a surprise at all.  Be psyched if it was an original game for the Wii.  (Even if it something lame like A Very Mario Christmas)  

[SixthAngel]

I don't see any of those things as arrogant Ian.  I think you are so used to seeing the arroagance from Nintendo past that you attribute your current complaints to it.

A launch not being the best in the world is not arrogant.
The price of the virtual console is frankly opinion but it is not overpriced compared to the competition or most regular people, only to Nintendo fanboys who want to buy every single game.  This is not dicking around, some guys in the business division figured out what price would sell the most games and get the most profit, like every other service/company.  I never understood why people think Nintendo should just give things away, why should they?
The lineup is bad because they are slowly releasing them.  Anyone should be able to see the benefits individual games, especially third parties, will recieve in sales from having this staggered release schedule.  It is only two weeks after launch!
I don't know all the Japan/US details but I am sure the US has games Japan does not.  The timing of the releases and what is released is also going to be run differently by NoA then in Japan.  How did we get from bitching about high prices we won't pay to bitching about not getting enough of the games we apparently won't buy?  

[Djunknown]

I'm surprised people didn't pick this out:

Quote
. Is there a DVD-playing Wii coming to the U.S. any time soon? "The answer is no."

There you go. Now unless you want to argue semantics and dissect word for word, let's shelve the DVD issue.

Quote
And third, don't let go of the Wii remote when you're pitching in the baseball game or bowling."

Who in the bloody hell does that? Seriously, the people that do such a thing need to have their reproductive organs clipped.  

[xanrastafari]

Ian... this was the best launch this generation.  By a lot.  And I'd say the only launch last generation that can compare was the XBox's, unless you count Dreamcast.   And the generation before?   I'd say that Nintendo was the only one to launch with any games that made the system worth buying.

Stop complaining so much and take a second and look at the competition.  Look at how other companies act.  It's not arrogance, it's the pressures of getting a system out at a time when it will still be competitive.  Of course there won't be 5 amazing games at launch.  That does not happen.  And I think your dismissal of Ubi Soft is a little... stupid.   Unlike EA, they have a history of releasing games exclusively for individual systems, at least initially, and they've done so on the Wii.  Furthermore, big Japanese publishers ARE developing games for the Wii, which they were NOT doing for the GameCube, especially at this point in the game.  The few that did make games for the cube were more or less bought - see Capcom making Zelda games and Square making Mario Sports games.

And frankly, porting games to the VC isn't an instantaneous process - see the YEARS it took people to concoct emulators for PC.  While of course it's easier with the original code and additional system specs, it's not like Nintendo snaps their fingers and the games appear.  In addition, I found the prices quite reasonable, and was quite happy to spend 5 dollars to pick up the original Legend of Zelda, which I'd never gotten to play to that point in time.  If it seems too steep for you, by all means, don't buy it!

In conclusion, you're wrong.

[Blue Plant]

Quote
Originally posted by: xanrastafari
In conclusion, you're wrong.

*applauds* :3

[Ceric]

Original Legend of Zelda is worth five dollars.

[Strell]

Ian's third sentence or so said something like "third party support is the same with the cube this time around."

I stopped reading after that.  I feel I can get better opinions out of a herd of wild geese during mating season.