Topic: Hard Questions for Nintendo

[Halbred]

Zach asks the questions that Nintendo won't answer.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/30061

Before we get into this, let me be perfectly blunt: nobody is going to ask Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, or anyone else any of these questions. You’ve read interviews with Nintendo. The media throws lowballs, and they parrot off the company line in a self-congratulating way. Hell, they do the same even when people throw a fastball! However, these are questions that need to be answered, for the North American market and elsewhere. Reggie and/or Iwata seem like perfectly good candidates to provide some answers for irate consumers. I don’t expect any frank responses, but hey, a girl can dream. Lord knows if I had the opportunity to sit down with either of these men, I’d be giving them these tough questions.

1.    Let’s talk about the 3DS. It’s a wonderful piece of hardware and although its full potential wasn’t realized right off the bat, it got there in the first year. You can’t say that for the original DS or, arguably, the Wii. However, the system has been plagued with hardware problems unseen in other Nintendo products. Surely you’ve heard about the infamous vertical grease lines, broken shoulder buttons, and faulty cameras. On the whole, the 3DS feels rushed. Did the number of hardware problems the 3DS has experienced surprise you? Was the system not fully vetted before going to market?

2.    This issue plagued the Wii in North America and Europe: toward the end of the system’s life, we just aren’t seeing Virtual Console games anymore. Europe went through months without a VC release, and North America was even worse. And there was never any explanation as to what titles were chosen and why, or reasons given for such a severe dry-up in the service. For example, there’s always been a high demand for EarthBound (SNES), but it was never released. Instead, Nintendo of America gave us Ice Climbers, which nobody wanted, or Pokemon Puzzle League (instead of, say, Tetris Attack). Could you explain the process for getting VC games onto the Wii Virtual Console, and why things tapered off so harshly?

3.    It took four or five years for the Wii’s Virtual Console to grind to a halt, but the process seems to be happening much faster for the North American eShop Virtual Console, which is terrifying. The Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Game Gear, combined, must have hundreds of perfectly good games to release on the service, so it’s unclear and worrying how weeks will go by—weeks—without any Virtual Console releases at all, and when the smoke eventually does clear, it’s something like Qix or Lock & Chase. Nintendo of Europe and Nintendo of Japan have had no problems in this area—both localities have Wario Land and Kid Icarus: Myths & Monsters. I guess the biggest Virtual Console question I have is this: why has Nintendo of America been so reluctant to support the Virtual Console, both of the Wii and the 3DS?

4.    Please describe, in as much detail as possible, Nintendo of America’s increasingly cozy relationship with GameStop. Xenoblade Chronicles was a GameStop exclusive, as was the Circle Pad Pro. The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower are also slated to be GS exclusives. 3D Classics: Kid Icarus was a timed (thank god) GS exclusive. Why did I have to buy my Circle Pad Pro through Nintendo’s website—and pay shipping to Alaska—because every GameStop, as usual, only received two or three units, which sold out immediately and didn’t have any idea when more were coming? Wouldn’t the Circle Pad Pro have more sales success in the hands of other retailers? Did GameStop come to you with a giant bag of cash for these exclusives, or did Nintendo of America actively seek them out a partnership? As you are doubtlessly aware, many gamers (including myself) view GameStop as the devil, so you can understand our hesitation when we read about Nintendo getting friendly with the industry’s version of The Great Satan.

5.    Historically, Nintendo has been—frankly—unapologetically ass-backwards when it comes to online infrastructure. The Wii is a perfect example. The 3DS is certainly better. It fully embraces online shopping and gaming. Mario Kart 7 and Kid Icarus: Uprising are wonderfully competent online, and the recent eShop upgrade that allows me to pay exactly what I need to pay to buy something is great. I might caution, however, that these improvements merely bring Nintendo up to the bare minimum status quo. I don’t really think Nintendo can be congratulated for implementing something that Microsoft and Sony have been doing for the better part of a decade. How seriously is Nintendo committed to a fully functional, fully featured online experience for the Wii U? Will Wii U and 3DS accounts be linked? On PSN, for example, my Vita and PS3 are both linked to a centralized PSN account, which stores my funds. If I add $20 to my PSN account, I can buy downloadable content on my PS3 AND my Vita—I don’t have to mess with separate transactions for both. The recent news that Nintendo will be releasing full retail games for download is shockingly proactive, but the news that downloads will be tied to a single system—just like the Wii—really tempers that news. That leads me to my next question.

6.    The other much-maligned sticking point with the Wii’s downloadable content is how downloads are tied to the system, not a centralized account. When I bought a new Wii because my launch unit went kaput, the NOA representative told me they could not transfer my downloaded software to the new system. Instead, I actually had to pay to repair the old system—which is what I wanted to avoid in the first place. Will the Wii U have the same limitation? How did Nintendo justify this inane decision during the Wii’s development? Did nobody think it would be a problem or was it simply a limitation of the available technology—to Nintendo (not to Sony or Microsoft)? The recent news from Nintendo Direct, that full retail downloads will be tied to specific systems, means that Nintendo is keeping up this trend. What is the reason for sticking with this?

7.     As you may recall, the Wii was difficult to find at launch due to production shortages and extremely high demand. Do you expect the same demand this time around, and have you taken steps to avoid shortages?

8.    We haven’t seen a really stellar launch game for a Nintendo system since, arguably, Super Mario 64. Twilight Princess doesn’t really count—it was a GameCube game. Can we expect that trend to reverse itself for the Wii U? What will be the “killer app” that gets asses in camping chairs on launch day? How aggressively is Nintendo pursuing quality 3rd-party relationships to help with a strong launch? What lessons did Nintendo learn from the botched 3DS launch?

Well, that was cathartic. What questions would you like Reggie, Iwata, or anyone else to answer?

[ShyGuy]

Easy there, Edward R. Murrow.

[oohhboy]

I would love to see them try to justify region restrictions on hardware and software. There are no technological, legal, economic or cultural reasons to region lock. The only reason is to create artificial price differentials in effect, ripping customers off. Why the regression with the 3DS?

I don't even think MK7 had brought their online to the status quo. It doesn't have a proper communication system in place. Without communications, you might as well play with bots. Is getting to play online really the minimum standard they are willing to settle for?

I don't know why people have to use a wallet system to buy games. The only positive out of it is that the company gets to keep the spare change. It's an unnecessary obtuse system designed to squeeze an extra dollar.

[the asylum]

MY one and only question for them would be in what hole they've left Starfox and F-Zero in these last 7-9 years

[Chocobo_Rider]

I don't agree with the opinions expressed in this well-written article.  I humbly submit a request for the presentation of alternative viewpoints.

[Uncle_Optimus]

I wonder if they won't announce individual accounts once they lay out their plans for Nintendo Network. Tying the games to one system would be tolerable IF the games were also downloadable again in the case of a broken system.


You would figure the company has to eventually acknowledge and match what competing platforms are doing for their customers, 2012 sure would be a nice time to start seeing that.

[kuriboh]

Well I live in Mexico, if I have only a chance to ask a question to someone in Nintendo, it will be this:

What do you think about the Latinoamerican Market? there's only one company that distributes in latinoamerica and the prices are very elevated. about $60-$70 for a single 3DS game, when you can buy it in EUA at $40. Plus there's a whole market that wants Club Nintendo and direct representation - distribution in Latinoamerica.

[Vahne]

It would really make little sense to me if Nintendo continues not to use an account system on 3DS.
How do they intend to allow people to buy eShop titles from a computer and then have the games sent directly to the 3DS for download in sleep mode?
Without an account system on 3DS when the Wii U is getting one, Nintendo Network just becomes something that ONLY the Wii U would get full use out of. Nintendo Network would just be a waste on 3DS if an account system that ties with the Wii U and Club Nintendo doesn't get added and would become an afterthought for 3DS gamers.

[TrueNerd]

I don't agree with the opinions expressed in this well-written article.  I humbly submit a request for the presentation of alternative viewpoints.

Please elaborate on this. A lot of things presented here are factual.

I wish someone would ask Nintendo all of these questions.

[oohhboy]

Hook, Line, and sinker.

[UncleBob]

I don't agree with the opinions expressed in this well-written article.  I humbly submit a request for the presentation of alternative viewpoints.

With all due respect, this is one of those articles where no inside information or connections are required.  Anyone could write such an article.  If they have their own blog to put it on, even better!

As for your request for the presentation of alternative view points... that's why the site has talkback!  Anyone (other staff members, random forum members, whomever) can swing in and post a rebuttal, alternative view point or even other questions.

For example, I'd like to ask someone at NCL why we can't have customizable controls for VC games.  And why we don't have multi-player on 3DS VC.  And why we don't have online multi-player for any VC.

And I'd love to ask Reggie for a job.

[oohhboy]

The underlying issue all these questions represent is the simple fact there is almost no journalism practiced when it comes to gaming. Soft balling a question is really understating how much of gaming media is really an extension of the marketing department. The relationship is far too cosy to be usefully functional for anything but the most shallow of news.

[know_naim]

Questions 5., 6. sand 7. have been partially answered in Nintendos Financial Results Briefing from a week ago:
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/120427/04.html
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/120427/02.html

This forsees a big digital business expansion for both 3DS and Wii U with packaged games as New Super Mario Bros. 2 available on the eShop. The games purchased digitally are tied to one piece of hardware, so I wouldn't expect any kind of account system from Nintendo any time soon. The statement that retailers decide the prices of digital products is puzzling to me because I can't imagine how this should work. 
Regarding the Wii U demand Nintendo forcasted 10.500.000 combined hardware sales for Wii & Wii U. I'd say that there will be no shortages this time, 'cause Ninny has been pretty bad with forcasting sales lately.

I'd like to ask NoE a question regarding the eastern european market. I live in Poland and Nintendo brand recognition is non-existent here, because the official distributor Stadlbauer is just doing an awful job. You can barely get a game at launch, there is no advertising, games are not localized (booklets come in black & white copies...), prices are higher than in western europe and technical support only just started last year. Why is eastern Europe irrelevant to you Nintendo?

[Pixelated Pixies]

Well, we all have our problems with the way Nintendo do things, but for me these (hypothetical) questions were too pointed and sounded just a little too petulant. If you were ever to really sit in front of one of these guys you would probably need more tact and be more savvy. There's nothing wrong with asking assertive questions but if an interviewer were actually interested in getting informative answers they might want to be smarter about how they word their questions.

[NWR_Neal]

As someone who has interviewed gaming people, including some people at Nintendo, I can say that most of the reason why you don't see these questions asked is because they're not answered. It's a unfortunate reality of the PR-driven games industry (and just the world in general).

[ejamer]

"Xenoblade Chronicles was a GameStop exclusive, as was the Circle Pad Pro. The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower are also slated to be GS exclusives."


Is this accurate?  I am pretty sure that The Last Story isn't GameStop exclusive and that no formal announcement has been made for Pandora's Tower outside of unsubstantiated rumors (even though I do hope the rumors are true).


Edit: Doesn't invalidate the overall question, as I'd be interested to hear any news about how/why there have been some GameStop exclusivity deals recently. Strategic move on Nintendo's part? Part of the deal for GameStop taking on publishing risks for Xenoblade? Just seemed like a good idea at the time?

[LudicrousDa3ve]

I'd like to see these questions asked. I'd also like to bring up, in the VC's case, the GEN version of Super Street Fighter II. Y'know, the one with online multiplayer. It has been possible, just never used. Was this feature meant to be saved as a big selling point on the WiiU's VC, or was it really just a case of not caring to put forth the effort?

[NWR_DrewMG]

Without reading the other responses yet...


Hard Answers for Zach (in my best Reggie voice):


1) As gaming systems get more complex, hardware issues become more plentiful.  Nintendo's hardly the only one to experience this.  Of course it was fully vetted, but that doesn't mean we're perfect.


2) We don't see it as a priority.  Sorry.  It's just not where we're putting our attention right now.  There's not a lot of people clamoring for ports of Frogger that appeared on the Genesis 20 years ago.


3) We believe that the fewer releases per week, the more attention those releases will get.  We don't want to flood the market because too quickly, and we have a different interpretation of that strategy than our friends overseas.


4) Look, for better or worse, GameStop is a hugely successful business, and really the only nationwide video game centric retail outlet.  We know that not everyone agrees with their practices, but we're able to put more risky products on their shelves because we know our demographic shops there.


5) We're committed, but we're cautious. We don't have a ton of experience here, and we think you'll agree that we've grown tremendously in the past 5 years.  There's lots more room for us to grow, but you need to give us the time to do it in a way that we're comfortable with. 


6) We know it's not the ideal scenario, but setting up a centralized network for user accounts is not simple and cheap.  It requires great effort, and we haven't seen any real evidence that this effort would be profitable.  It's our desired end goal, but you've got to be patient with us. 


7) No one could have expected the high demand of the Wii the first year after launch.  If we had to do it again, we would have the same expectations now as we did then.  That said, we could have done more to increase supply, and we're hoping to not have to make those kinds of hard decisions this time around with Wii U.


8: We learned lots of lessons from the botched 3DS launch, and between you and me, we would have LOVED to have Mario 3D Land ready in time for 3DS launch, but it just wasn't feasible.  We think that a rich line up is better than a single killer app, and that's what we're gunning for with Wii U.

[hibern81]

I just want to party with Miyamoto!

[NWR_Neal]

EDIT: I was writing this before I saw Andy respond.

You know what, I'm gonna put on my PR hat and give my best answer given my base of Nintendo knowledge. I don't expect Nintendo reps to ever actually answer most of these questions...

1. Did the number of hardware problems the 3DS has experienced surprise you? Was the system not fully vetted before going to market?

As usual with any new product, there are bumps in the road. The 3DS is not far off most of ours and our competitor's failure rates. Our customer service is some of the best in the business, so any issues users might have had with our systems are easily fixable.

2. Could you explain the process for getting VC games onto the Wii Virtual Console, and why things tapered off so harshly?

We had consistent releases on Wii Virtual Console for about four years, and currently, we have nearly 400 games available for download. I'm sure there are products that you're interested in. Stop being such a bitch and go and look at the 388 games on the system. ****, that's nearly the same amount of games that are available on the Sega Saturn.  I'm sorry we didn't put up your little Earthbound game. I guess Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III, which you lot wouldn't shut up about, aren't good enough. I'll kick your ass and take your name.

(Note: I'm just guessing about the VC process) The process requires a publisher that wants to bring their game to the service. Then, they have make the game work on an emulator that is used on the system. It is then required to go through a QA process and Nintendo lot check to make sure it works on the emulator. Additionally, the game must be ESRB rated, which costs several thousand dollars (I think). Then, we sit on the game for about six months before releasing it. (I almost made it through this without snark...)

3.   Why has Nintendo of America been so reluctant to support the Virtual Console, both of the Wii and the 3DS?

We will be releasing games on the Wii Virtual Console for the third week in a row this Thursday for the first time since December 2010.

As for the 3DS Virtual Console, we're saving the games for a lull in the schedule, and also to better fit our marketing campaign. See our three-years-late release of Pikmin 2 NPC for an example of this good/questionable concept.

4. Wouldn’t the Circle Pad Pro have more sales success in the hands of other retailers? Did GameStop come to you with a giant bag of cash for these exclusives, or did Nintendo of America actively seek them out a partnership?

We were backed into a corner about Xenoblade, and we wanted to experiment with the GameStop exclusive route to see if it is a viable option for the future. Also, we had to butter up GameStop for our move to digital in August, because let's face it: we're gonna bend over backwards for retailers now, but we want them to buy the games on the eShop, not in a mall.

As for the Circle Pad Pro, we didn't want to do a wide release to confuse the market. It's a niche product that is meant for the type of people that go to GameStop (e.g. "hardcore" gamers). It's not our fault Konami made a game that more or less required it.

5. How seriously is Nintendo committed to a fully functional, fully featured online experience for the Wii U? Will Wii U and 3DS accounts be linked?

We are very committed. As said in an earlier investor's meeting, you will soon be able to check the eShop from an internet browser. Also, we expect to make announcements about linked system accounts at E3, or at the very least, before Wii U comes out. Honestly, we aren't that dumb; we know this has to be done. (Right? RIGHT?)

6. Will the Wii U have the same limitation? How did Nintendo justify this inane decision during the Wii’s development? Did nobody think it would be a problem or was it simply a limitation of the available technology—to Nintendo (not to Sony or Microsoft)? The recent news from Nintendo Direct, that full retail downloads will be tied to specific systems, means that Nintendo is keeping up this trend. What is the reason for sticking with this?

If you read the news story on Nintendo World Report (seriously, those guys rock : : ) then you would have seen that they were highlighting the current limitation of the infrastructure. As I just said, we can't be that stupid to think that a universal account is impractical. We will be announcing something soon.

7.     As you may recall, the Wii was difficult to find at launch due to production shortages and extremely high demand. Do you expect the same demand this time around, and have you taken steps to avoid shortages?

That's why it's not coming out earlier in the year, brah. Also, do you have any idea how much freaking money we made because of those shortages? I'll answer for you: a ton. We don't want to have shortages, but if it happens, that means people are buying the hell out of our system. We can't complain too much.

8. Can we expect that trend to reverse itself for the Wii U? What will be the “killer app” that gets asses in camping chairs on launch day? How aggressively is Nintendo pursuing quality 3rd-party relationships to help with a strong launch? What lessons did Nintendo learn from the botched 3DS launch?

Iwata tempered some expectations during the investor's Q&A the other week. The launch will be strong, but it's still a launch. Launches are, in the modern age, usually on the whole weak. Nintendo will have some marquee titles, including what they hope is the "Wii Sports" of the system, which will be likely be built around some sort of social aspect.

Also, there are a number of developers working on Wii U, some of which haven't been officially unveiled yet. E3 will blow your pants off.

[Cyrian]

"Xenoblade Chronicles was a GameStop exclusive, as was the Circle Pad Pro. The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower are also slated to be GS exclusives."


Is this accurate?  I am pretty sure that The Last Story isn't GameStop exclusive and that no formal announcement has been made for Pandora's Tower outside of unsubstantiated rumors (even though I do hope the rumors are true).


Edit: Doesn't invalidate the overall question, as I'd be interested to hear any news about how/why there have been some GameStop exclusivity deals recently. Strategic move on Nintendo's part? Part of the deal for GameStop taking on publishing risks for Xenoblade? Just seemed like a good idea at the time?

Someone should tell Amazon that they shouldn't be offering pre-orders  for The Last Story then...

[Chocobo_Rider]

As for your request for the presentation of alternative view points... that's why the site has talkback!  Anyone (other staff members, random forum members, whomever) can swing in and post a rebuttal, alternative view point or even other questions.

uh, yea, but I've done that repeatedly and its been taken as aggressive and offensive.  I thought this new approach would be acceptable.

[Ian Sane]

Nintendo, why do you guys screw up routine stuff that everyone else gets right years before you even make your first effort?  That's what annoys me about Nintendo.  Sony or MS does something and Nintendo then does it like years late and they screw it up!  Hello, the competition already sorted the kinks out of this!  Just do what they did!  So Nintendo either pays no attention whatsoever to what the rest of the industry does, which is fuckin' stupid, OR they intentionally refuse to do something the way someone else already did it because that would be "admitting" that someone else besides themselves has good ideas, which is even stupider.

The Gamestop question is too much personal opinion.  I don't think partnering with a major videogame retailer is an issue.  We may not like Gamestop but it clearly is a successful store so why wouldn't Nintendo work with them?  The bigger issue is why such a great game like Xenoblade was this close to never being released here, when Wii owners had months of literally nothing where it could have been dropped in.

The question about the launch stuff is also based on personal tastes.  The Gamecube didn't have a killer app at launch but the Wii sure did!  I think Wii Sports is a joke but I won't deny that it singlehandedly sold Wiis like hotcakes.  Nintendo regards it as a killer app and the industry regards it as a killer app.  I don't like it but I wouldn't ask Nintendo about a game I just happen to personally dislike.

I would ask about the commitment to core gamers with the Wii U, when the whole Xenoblade thing and the sparse Wii lineup and the seemingly unnecessary indifference to the VC suggests otherwise.

The thing is that no one asks questions like this because they want the interview.  Nintendo isn't going to answer the tough questions anyway and if you come at them aggressively they might just decide to never give you an interview again.  If you ever watch a news analysis show, there are always times where the host will say something like "we've offered so-and-so a chance to talk on our show but they won't return our calls."  Well of course they won't because they'll just get hit with hard questions.  They would rather stick to the safe unconfrontational interviews.

[ROiDS]

Other than some inaccuracy of facts in the questions, I approve these questions to be asked.
If I were to add more questions, I would add:

1) Due to the increasing number of games that support the Circle Pad Pro peripheral for the 3DS, will there ever be an upgrade of the 3DS in the near future that will already include two circle pads?

2) It's proven that the 3DS can play downloadable GBA games; so, why aren't we getting GBA VC on the eShop, yet? When do you think will get GBA VC games on the eShop?

3) Whatever happened to the Mother series? Will the games ever come out on the VC? Will there be a remake or a sequel in the near future?

4) I would also ask some simple questions of whether will get a better messaging system than Swapnote, will we get a Youtube/Facebook/etc. app, and if they will ever update the 3DS' web browser.

[NWR_DrewMG]

1) Due to the increasing number of games that support the Circle Pad Pro peripheral for the 3DS, will there ever be an upgrade of the 3DS in the near future that will already include two circle pads?

I still think this is unlikely as it would put early 3DS owners at too large a disadvantage. 

2) It's proven that the 3DS can play downloadable GBA games; so, why aren't we getting GBA VC on the eShop, yet? When do you think will get GBA VC games on the eShop?

The 3DS has a long lifespan ahead of it.  It's coming, but maybe not until year 2 or 3.

3) Whatever happened to the Mother series? Will the games ever come out on the VC? Will there be a remake or a sequel in the near future?

Nintendo's made it pretty clear by now that they're not going to cater to fan demands regarding this franchise.

4) I would also ask some simple questions of whether will get a better messaging system than Swapnote, will we get a Youtube/Facebook/etc. app, and if they will ever update the 3DS' web browser.

I seriously doubt we'll ever see a browser update, but I could very much see an improved swapnote app, and youtube/facebook apps at some point.