Mike Orlando: Ok, so just go over who you are and your background with Nintendo.

Leslie Short: I am the corporate communications supervisor at Nintendo of Canada, and I have been at Nintendo for over about probably closing in on almost 4 years sometime soon, I used to run their event programs for them … then I got into PR and here I am.

Mike: How has the public, mainly the media reacted to the Gamecube during this first day of E3?

Leslie: They started reacting yesterday at about 10:30 when we unveiled it at our press conference and the response truly has been overwhelming they are so excited about some of these titles that are getting ready for the system and it’s really exciting for us because all these titles that are exclusive to us and can only be played on our system, so it has been really good.

Mike: Has Nintendo changed its stance with the Gamecube’s launch in comparison to the N64’s launch in any vital aspects?

Leslie: No, I would have to say no, Nintendo for the past 20 years of our gaming industry experience has always focused on the games and the entertainment value and it’s the same philosophy that we’re taking in to the Nintendo Gamecube. We’re going to focus on our innovation, we’re going to focus on our franchise characters, and we’ve just got a great little box put together.

Mike: Personally, what is your favorite title of the ones on display out there?

Leslie: My favorite title.. is probably Super Smash Brothers : Melee. I love it.

Mike: Why do you like it so much?

Leslie: I’ve been a SSB fan since we launched it on the N64, I love playing multiplayer on it, I think its really a great interactive game to play with your friends and I like being able to choose from all of the different characters.

Mike: Favorite character?

Leslie: In that one? Good question. I was just fighting with Pikachu, he’s pulling through for me, but it would depend on who I was playing.

Mike: Okay, as you know Nintendo dominates Canada with an 86% market share in the videogame industry. Will Nintendo focus more on the American market now with the Nintendo Gamecube and the Game Boy Advance, in comparison with the ‘64’ years?

Leslie: I can’t really speak on behalf of the US industry, because we don’t do anything in the US, we’re solely distributing and marketing for Canada. The numbers for last year, the market was close to 525 million and we actually owned 62% of that, I’d love to say it was 86% (Nintendonation haunts us from beyond the grave!), but it was actually 62% of that with all the accessories and software for the GBC and N64 and that includes the hardware system, so we’ve been dominant in the Canadian industry for years and that will definitely continue as we get ready to launch the Nintendo Gamecube and the Game Boy Advance.

Mike: can we expect to see any interactives in any EB’s or Canadian stores before launch?

Leslie: There will be interactives in retail before launch.

Mike: Outside on the floor, there were retail videogame casings with the GCN logo which looked not unlike the PS2 games cases, or a DVD case. Is that official, will the Gamecube games come out in that type of casing?

Leslie: We are moving from the boxes to the plastic cases for the Nintendo Gamecube, yes.

Mike: Is Nintendo going to reveal the suggest retail price of their games within the next ten days during the same time they reveal the console’s North American price, when they announce their financial situation?

Leslie: When we have our meeting on the 24th of May the price will be announced for the hardware as well as the software for first party, and we will also be announcing launch quantities for worldwide distribution.

Mike: Will the Gamecube and the Gamecube controllers launch in multiple colors come this fall?

Leslie: We have not finalized our colors on the Gamecube, but I can assure you there will probably be more than one.

Mike: Do you know if Nintendo will have any surprises for us come Spaceworld?

Leslie: There will definitely be some surprises come Spaceworld. The biggest thing happening at Spaceworld is going to be software where you can use the Game Boy Advance as your controller and upload and download information to the NGC, so that’s going to be pretty exciting. Also, rumor has it from Mr. Miyamoto yesterday that there will be a Mario title, that is in development on Gamecube, that will be seen at Spaceworld, so that will be exciting.

Mike: With the Game Boy Advance – Gamecube interactivity, can we expect to see that in any of the titles that are launching or shortly thereafter?

Leslie: The interactivity will not be featured in any of the launch titles at this point, so it will be used in future games.

Mike: Okay, will the Japanese Gamecube launch and its reception affect how it is launched in North American come November?

Leslie: Obviously it is going to have an impact based on what happens during the launch overseas, but our markets, even between Canada and the US are very different. It will have a positive effect, as people will start hearing about all of these great games coming out, but in terms of actual marketshare, it may vary from country to country.

Mike: What are your opinions on Mr. Yamauchi-san?

Leslie: Mr. Yamauchi is the president of our parent company in Japan. (smiles)

Mike: Mr. Miyamoto-san?

Leslie: Mr. Miyamoto-san is brilliant, he’s the master of game design. His ideas and his innovation, I mean he’s got some great stuff coming up, we’re very happy to have him on board and working on our system.

Mike: Mr. Arakawa?

Leslie: Mr. Arakawa is the president of Nintendo of America. (laughs)

Mike: And finally, Peter Main.

Leslie: Peter Main is the main spokesperson for NOA, a Sr. VP. He’s a good guy to have on our team. Did you hear the keynote address this morning?

Mike: Yeah, I did-

Leslie: He dominated that-

Mike: He pretty much owned them-

Leslie: He’s been in the industry for so long and he’s just so well spoken. He’s very, very bright, he really understands the industry inside out.

Mike: And of course Nintendo’s mantra really comes in handy when it comes to press conferences, since you have Microsoft and Sony talking about broadband capabilities, hard drive add-ons, and then you have Mr. Main talking about games themselves, the foundations and fundamentals of games, which is really what matters..

Leslie: Yeah, the Nintendo philosophy is ; it’s not what’s in the box, it’s what comes out. We’re worried about the end product, so we don’t get into the war of technical specs, because if you don’t have the software, you’re not going to sell the hardware.

Mike: What role did NOC play in talking with and acquiring Silicon Knights, Canada’s first ever and only 2nd party?

Leslie: NOC was not involved in that whatsoever, as it was acquired through NOA about a year ago from now, but we are very happy to have that type of a development house operating in Canada, it’s really exciting. We (Canada) have got the main studio for EA also located in Burnaby (BC), we’ve got NSCI, which is an arm of NST, that is operating in Vancouver (BC), we have a lot of things going on in Canada as there is a lot of potential up there for game development.

Mike: What is your take on the rumor(s) about a Nintendo of Canada development team similar to NST or EAD?

Leslie: I have never heard of that rumor.

Mike: Really?

Leslie: We have a Canadian arm, but as previously mentioned, they are directly affiliated with NST in the US, and their offices are in downtown Vancouver (BC. Did I mention how much my home province BC rocks?).

Mike: What can we expect to see or hear off during the next two days, if anything, that was not available today, the first day of E3?

Leslie: Besides Mr. Miyamoto’s Newsweek briefing tomorrow morning, you have seen everything Nintendo will be showing this week.

Mike: Where or how did the slogan, “the Nintendo difference”, originate?

Leslie: Well we are very strong believers in the Nintendo difference that stems from four pillars. One being innovation, another being game quality, another one being our strong franchises, and the final one heritage of success, so we feel that has made us successful in the past and we’re going to carry through the Nintendo difference as we prepare to launch the systems this year, as it is what sets us apart from the competition, and makes us the number one choice for Canadians, and the entire world.

Mike: So is it the official new slogan?

Leslie: It is our E3 slogan. Last year it was, “That’s Entertainment”, it’s just our philosophy, it hasn’t changed, so we’re just explaining it to people so they can understand where we’re coming from and where our ideas and planning came from when we made these two new systems, and we feel it’s a great recipe for success.

Mike: Which market is most important to Nintendo; the North American market, the Japanese market, or the combination of Europe, Australia, and the other smaller markets?

Leslie: That’s an interesting question. I think all of our markets are important to us. We (NOC) operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, so we have a lot of communication with the US when in terms of marketing and distribution. We are fully operational on our own and each subsidiary is operated completely and independently, and we all have difference challenges in different markets. I would have to say that every part of the world is important to us because we want to be successful everywhere.

Mike: Which age group is going to be most important to Nintendo for its Gamecube years, 3-14, 15-25, or 25 and up?

Leslie: Those are interesting age groups. The Nintendo Gamecube is definitely focusing on the teen gamer and, as we know, you can position your hardware to be launched to a certain core audience. Every time a software title launches, that software appeals to a different market. With games like Luigi’s Mansion, people would look at it initially and say, “Oh, it’s a Mario game, oh, it’s for kids”, but we’ve got so many gamers that have grown up on the NES and SNES, who love to ‘go back’ and play games like Luigi’s Mansion. We’ve got games like Eternal Darkness in development, which is an 18+ game, we’ve got Pokemon games in production, and this shows that this system is for everybody, it really is. Every time you launch a new piece of software, your demographic may switch slightly, but Nintendo’s core audience is made up of gamers.

Mike: Okay, how heavy is Nintendo’s focus toward online gaming?

Leslie: You’ve probably heard the message during the last couple of days that Nintendo Gamecube is fully able to support online gaming, as there are two accessories that can be purchased with it, a 56k modem and a broadband modem. So you will be able to operate online, as we have a whole online team working away on our online strategy, but until we feel it’s necessary and we find the right game to launch that part of the Gamecube, you probably won’t see anything until then.

Mike: Will Canada receive the online functions when it comes to an online game at the same time as the United States?

Leslie: Yes, all of our products launch simultaneously with the US.

Mike: What about when compared with Japan?

Leslie: No, the comparison was just with North America.

Mike: Going backward for a second, seeing as how cities like Toronto and Vancouver are gaining worldwide recognition worldwide, in part for their serious bids to the summer and winter Olympics respectively, what are the chances of either of those cities, or ones similar (Montreal) getting an expo like E3 in the near future?

Leslie: Hmm, that is a good question, we are here for five years, we’ve got two more years in Los Angeles, and I would imagine that this show would never leave the United States, it is a US based show, and it makes sense because for the most of the Western Hemisphere, the majority of the head offices are operating in the USA.

2nd Exec: That was a very good question, it shows that you are organized.

Mike: (blushes)

Leslie: (laughs). I’d love it for if it came to Vancouver! (Leslie works in Vancouver)

Mike: Yeah, it would save me a couple thousand too. Have you visited Sony’s or Microsoft’s booth yet?

Leslie: I have not left the Nintendo booth because of how big we are and everyone wants to talk to us, right? I may not get to leave this booth. (ed : oh what a shame!)

Mike: What 3-5 games have the chance of winning Game of the Show of E3 in your opinion?

Leslie: Well they’re definitely all in the Nintendo booth (sorry Rubin, maybe next year Jaxychan and Tromflofogous : The Stupendest Journification will have to wait till next year), and I’ve got a few favorites… one being Super Smash Brothers : Melee, another one being Wave Race, another one being Eternal Darkness, and Mario Kart on Game Boy Advance.

Mike: Game Boy Advance? You think a handheld game might take it?

Leslie: The graphics and gaming experience on the GBA is unbelievable. I don’t know how much time you’ve spent on it, but especially once you wake up and start multiplayer, it’s like you’re sitting in front of your TV with a console. There is some unbelievable software on it, I don’t know if you’ve seen Tony Hawk, but it’s rivalling the graphics from the PSX version.

Mike: Are there any questions or doubts about the near assurance of the GBA’s upcoming utter domination of the handheld market?

Leslie: No, not that we foresee. We virtually own 99.9% of the handheld market across North America, we’re twelve years in to this industry, and everybody else who has tried to come in has not met with any success. This is our best ever coming out, and we don’t see anybody taking that marketshare away from us.

Mike: In closing, do you have any statements you’d like to make about the Gamecube, the Game Boy Advance, Canada, or anything in general?

Leslie: No, I just think that both of our upcoming systems are stacked with unbelievable software, and like Nintendo has always said, it’s the entertainment and the games that sell your hardware, so we’ve got a great plan for this year, we’ve got two great systems coming out, and we’re looking forward to getting them both into retail.

Mike: Thank you!

Leslie: Thank you. No problem.

**Planet Gamecube would like to thank Leslie for granting the opportunity to interviewing her, and we look forward to seeing what Nintendo has in store for us, the gamers.

- Mike Orlando