Topic: Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime Says Gamers are Impossible to Satisfy

[Chozo Ghost]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2012/06/25/nintendos-reggie-fils-aime-says-gamers-are-impossible-to-satisfy/

Nintendo is usually a pretty feel-good company, but the largely negative reaction to the WiiU and its games at E3 seems to have them on edge. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime is as good-natured as they come, but now even he seems to be getting a bit exasperated by gamers’ attitudes toward his company, especially in the wake of E3.

I think the feelings are mutual. Reggie is getting exasperated by gamers, and gamers are getting exasperated by Reggie. But isn't there a saying that the customer is always right? Reggie shouldn't be getting fed up with customers and bad mouthing them like this. If he can't take the heat then he needs to find a new job elsewhere. If this mounting frustration he feels towards gamers continues he may eventually suffer a nervous breakdown.

If customers are unhappy shouldn't he take some of the blame? But no, instead of taking accountability he goes and blames the customers. Iwata seriously needs to fire this guy.

[Caterkiller]

Sometimes gamers are insatiable but in this case I don't agree. I am extremely happy with this years and last years E3 showing, at the same time I understand that we all wanted a "surprise" Nintendo franchise. If that cell phone-sand box game was announced for Wii U we would be grateful but everyone would still be complaining. All anyone would have truly went nuts over was an exclusive, existing franchise for Wii U and preferably one of Nintendo's own.

We knew about Pikmin for years, we more less knew about Mario U, and Nintendo Land's style was all but expected. I think all anyone needed was 1 existing Nintendo franchise surprise that was story/adventure based. Even though that's what many complain about, Nintendo over using it's franchises, that is the only thing they would go gaga for seeing as ZombieU and that Super Hero Pikmin didn't quite raise the level of enthusiasm.   

[broodwars]

You can't complain that gamers are "impossible to satisfy" when all you have to show for the Wii U at E3 that "gamers" (in the context Reggie's referring to) are interested in is yet another New Super Mario Bros. game and Pikmin 3 (both of which we knew about at least a year ago, if not longer).  There were other notable titles as well, but none of them were likely system sellers for most people.  If Nintendo had come out all guns blazing last E3 with more reveals like a new Metroid, Retro's new game, a new core IP, etc. then he would have a point.  But Nintendo's showing at E3 was pretty lackluster, especially if you already own one of the other HD consoles.  "Gamers" were right to complain about what little Nintendo decided to show.  And that's not even getting into how badly the 3DS was handled at that first press conference.

This is just spin and damage control from a company that has a product in the Wii U that they haven't figured out how to show.  So instead of taking the blame for the poor showing, they turn the blame on the fans.  "We didn't have a poor showing. The gamers are just never satisfied."  "We don't have a problem setting our message for the Wii U! You just can't understand the value proposition until you hold the controller!"

Either come to E3 knowing what you're doing with your products, or don't come at all because (as the biggest player in the market) "mercy" is something you won't receive from "the gamers" and "the press".  In other words: "Get N, or GET OUT!"   

[Kytim89]

Dear Reggies Fils-Aimee:
 
When you barely try to satisfy your customers then it can seem impossible to satisfy them. When you expect hard working people to pay big bucks for **** that you have been churning out that is the same old crap from the early 2000s then you set yourself up for ridicule. As a loyal Nintendo I am not hard to please, but you have to give me a better reason to buy your stuff then some weak mini-game collections. Your bottom line, Nintendo, is just not cutting it. Skyward Sword looked like Dreamcast game and you barely have a foothold in the HD market, so stop insulting your loyal fanbase before you end like SEGA.
 
Sincerely, KYTim89.

[Kairon]

Yes, this is spin and damage control, but Reggie also has a very real point to make. Nintendo showed Pikmin, Mario, and several multimillion seller sequels at E3. They brought third parties to the table and demonstrated how many large IPs were coming for the first time to a Nintendo console. They revealed new franchises and covered many genres. They simply crammed their show full of games to demonstrate their commitment to the Wii U's launch period, demonstrating how the system would avoid the fate of the 3DS, which coincidentally "seemed to satisfy" at its previous E3. Sure, Nintendo definitely deserve to be critiqued for the many things they got wrong at this E3, but the amount of negativity they've garnered from the rabid and emotionally volatile internet is out of all sane proportions.

At a certain point it's in Nintendo's best interests to say, "No, we're not doing this dance just because you want us to. We think E3 2012 was a good show, and we know you may disagree. We have our reasons for doing things the way we did, and only history can judge whether we were right or not."

Is it okay to be dissatisfied with Nintendo's E3 2012 showing? Sure. Is it okay to be critical? Go right ahead. But wrap all that up in a realistic context first. I think Reggie's saying right here and now that Nintendo isn't Santa Claus, and you shouldn't expect them to get you all the items on your Christmas list.

[SixthAngel]

If you are going to include a quote from the article include Reggie's actual quote that the entire article talks about

“One of the things that, on one hand, I love and, on the other hand, that troubles me tremendously about not only our fanbase but about the gaming community at large is that, whenever you share information, the perspective is, ‘Thank you, but I want more.’ ‘Thank you, but give me more.’ I mean, it is insatiable.”

    He continued, “For years this community has been asking, ‘Where’s Pikmin?’ ‘Where’s Pikmin?’ ‘Where’s Pikmin?’ We give them Pikmin. And then they say, ‘What else?’ “

He is right as Kairon said. 

I am still a bit flabbergasted how so many people somehow thought Ubisoft "won" E3 because of a sijngle video of Watchdogs, particularly when scripted videos years before release are always just smoke and mirrors.  But wait, you say they also had ZombiU and Rayman?  You mean WiiU games that Nintendo put focus on, games that were a key part of Nintendo's conference.

People didn't want games, many of which were playable at the conference.   They wanted spectacle.

[broodwars]

I am still a bit flabbergasted how so many people somehow thought Ubisoft "won" E3 because of a sijngle video of Watchdogs

Actually, most people (including me) think they "won" E3 because of...

Rayman Legends
Splinter Cell Blacklist
Far Cry 3
Assassin's Creed 3
Zombi U

...and Watchdogs.  Nintendo at their showing put the focus on...Zombi U, and that's pretty much it.  Ubisoft had a really impressive showing this year.  Unusually so, actually.  In terms of quality, they seemed to have the best-looking games at the show, at least in terms of the press conferences.

It's also worth noting that Nintendo did not unveil either a price or a release date for the Wii U, something that annoyed us watching the conferences and apparently really annoyed the journalists in the audience judging by Adam Sessler.

[Chozo Ghost]

One reason why Ubisoft "won" the conference was because even Nintendo put a lot of focus on their products such as Zombi U. When a major player like Nintendo is using their own time on your product then of course it helps you "win".

[ThePerm]

Nintendo didn't really show Mario, as an experimental outing making New Super Mario Bros sounds like a novel idea, but only when its novel... continuously then is regressive. Then it becomes redundant to call it New Super Mario Bros.

does Japan get this?

[UncleBob]

But isn't there a saying that the customer is always right?

Have you ever worked in customer service?

[Kairon]

Nintendo didn't really show Mario, as an experimental outing making New Super Mario Bros sounds like a novel idea, but only when its novel... continuously then is regressive. Then it becomes redundant to call it New Super Mario Bros.

does Japan get this?

*looks at Final Fantasy series*
uh....

[Squalid Pumpkin]

I understand the context in which it was said is important, but I do agree that gamers, collectively, are pretty hard to keep happy. While feeling the sting of internet vitriol comes with working in the entertainment industry, Nintendo doesn't have to suck up to their customers when they write the stuff they write.

Granted, I'm really not interested in the ongoing New Super Mario Bros. series, I think Nintendo Land would have been better as a massive sandbox adventure, and while I don't think graphics and hardware capabilities are as important as what is done with them, I get the complaints that the Wii U isn't significantly more powerful than the X-Box 360 and PS3 when it's supposed to be the next generation. But I got my 3DS Castlevania, the 8-Bit Summer, a possible Metroidvania-style Scribblenauts, and prospects of Super Smash Bros. next gen and Skylanders Giants, both for Wii U as well as 3DS in different versions. I guess if I was a primarily console gamer, hungry from the drought of games during Wii's latter years, I might be more upset. Still, it seems like many are feeling like they've been personally wronged to a bogus degree.

[lolmonade]

But isn't there a saying that the customer is always right?

Have you ever worked in customer service?

Thank you for addressing this.  "The customer is always right" is one of the worst bullshit mottos to ever have come about.  There is such a thing as an unreasonable customer, and while Reggie is most definitely trying to downplay unmet expectations regarding this year's E3 (Post-E3 Nintendo direct having better announcements than E3 is telling), gamers often do have wildly unreasonable expectations.
 
Look at the 3DS XL announcement.  First comments "Where is the F-ing 2nd circle pad, Nintendo?!?!" without fail.  While I wasn't too thrilled about it, Nintendo had a new system to peddle this year, and frankly, I can't remember a better launch lineup, so my complaints aren't that warranted.  And lastly, when was the last time anyone bought a launch game with more than a couple of games anyway?  Part of the launch experience is getting those few launch games, playing the hell out of them, and then by the time you've consumed those there are usually more options. 
 
Reggie speaks on behalf of damage control and dissipating anger directed towards Nintendo/him, but inadvertently hit a topic that I feel is completely fair game.  There have been bad trends where the consumer has been right to advocate against (Lousy DLC, always-online DRM), but the teenage nerd rage tends to swing its hammer indiscriminately.

[Adrock]

I'm pretty excited about 3DS'sesses lineup this year. Not so much with Wii U, but when I thought about it, launches (from any company) rarely impress me. I only bought one console at launch (GameCube) and I didn't buy a game unless 2 weeks after (Melee). The only reason I bought a Wii near launch was because I could. I'm already sold on Wii U so it's only a matter of time before I buy one. Weighing my options, it just makes more sense to stick with 3DS this year for monetary reasons, but that could change closer to launch.

Anyway, I agree with Reggie to a point. Nintendo can't hope to please everyone. They have a really passionate fanbase that expects so much. I don't think they've reached a point where such a line is a cop out. There's a balance and Nintendo is doing they're best to strike that balance. They have to do what's best for them. That's not good enough for some people and that's fine. There's nothing to be done. "It takes different strokes to move the world." Speaking of Clerks...

Have you ever worked in customer service?

[house3136]

 Since when does Reggie Fils-Aime develop games? Since when does Reggie get to dictate the types of games that Nintendo creates? Since when does Reggie choose which games get shown at E3 and which don’t? I’m guessing, never. Anyone who is seriously bitter about E3 should be upset at Iwata, Miyamoto, and Eguchi. The better option would be to take a deep breath and get over it.
 
Imagine giving a presentation, and being representative of products that you have no control over, and yet people become very emotionally invested in. That’s Reggie’s job, and at least he believes in the brand and the culture enough to stick up for it, and become offended when people try to bash it. My guess is Reggie was just tired of sitting through countless interviews and answering questions that passive-aggressively **** all over the conference and Wii U; and he’s basically there for damage control. There’s no doubt Reggie knows about big projects he’s forbidden to talk about, and becomes frustrated at how short-sighted “fans” become when not everything  is disclosed way in advance of its release. Yes, the conference was bad. Yes, Nintendo Land alienates “core” gamers. Do people believe E3 was the pinnacle of Nintendo and Wii U in general? Its potential has peaked five months before the console is even available. Nintendo only promised Pikmin and 2D Mario, which is what they delivered. If you rode the hype train all the way to disappointment, that’s hardly Nintendo’s fault. Nintendo has secured a fine launch lineup, probably the best in the company’s history, but that’s not enough. Full downloadable retail and online titles on the uShop day one you say; what else? “Wii U has already lost the core gamer.” Really, because most consoles don’t start to sell well until deep in its 2-3 year on the market, when there is a good variety of games.
 
Overall, his comments were only partial directed at Nintendo fans, a portion of which are unrealistically insatiable. There is also a portion just bitching about no Metriod, Star Fox, or 3D Mario, who never intend to buy Wii U anyway. Those are titles that Nintendo needs to save if they’re not finished; and show them 6 months after the console launch at E3 2013, when it’s going to be difficult to remain relevant among new console unveilings from Microsoft and Sony. Overall, what Reggie said was the most real thing anyone from Nintendo said all E3. And before people jump on him about the Xenoblade thing, that game sold barely over a quarter-million copies in NA, even after all the publicity it got. He had a right to be skeptical; but at least he secured a deal with GameStop to give the fans what they wanted during this drought. This is why a lot of third-parties are on the fence with Wii U, because they know core titles didn’t sell extraordinarily well on Wii, not even Skyward Sword.
 

[Ian Sane]

We all remember the old days of E3 where Nintendo would typically show the games of the next year plus some big titles from the future.  You could get a feel for about the next two years or so.  This changed during the Wii era where you get like the next six months and jack **** else.  The Wii U is supposed to be out THIS YEAR and we don't know the price and release date.

Nintendo is more secretive than ever.  They just spent the last five years seemingly turning core gamers away.  Right now the Wii is a barren wastleland and has been seemingly abandoned by Nintendo.  A lot of Nintendo fans are frustrated and need some assurance that the future is looking bright but E3 has come and gone as we know hardly any more than we did at the start of the year.  We know about Nintendo Land and now know what Pikmin 3 looks like but there's nothing to really suggest that the Wii U is going to improve on the Wii.  We need to know right NOW that the future of Nintendo looks bright and that we should buy a Wii U and instead the E3 showing was like something I would expect from an established system that already has a userbase.  It's the most low key "last E3 before launch" of a console I've ever seen.

I don't think Nintendo has put in a significant enough effort to declare their fanbase "impossible to satisfy".  Hell that sort of quitter attitude is largerly why the Wii was casual city.  "Oh, it's impossible to satisfy core gamers so we'll go for this new market."  I don't care for this arrogant assumption on Nintendo's part that they NEVER **** up or make stupid decisions and that anything that doesn't go their way must be some rigged game.  Nintendo, in the last five years you haven't even come CLOSE to satisfying me.  You are so fuckin' off the mark it's like you're pointing your gun behind you.  A little half-assed bullshit effort where I don't even find out the damn RELEASE DATE for the system is not going to please me.  Quit doing the bare minimum, quit cutting corners, quit making dumb avoidable mistakes and then you can make some fair call on whether we're impossible to please or not.

[Ceric]

In light of all the stuff  Nintendo was sitting on that they talked about after E3 I think they did a terrible job.  Saying that they are getting Multimillion selling Sequels on the Wii U is a large problem of its own.  That should have read getting a New Game from the makers of Multimillion Selling game.  A Multi-Million selling game is probably already owned by everyone who wants it.  Being a Sequel that pool is smaller, or in Mass Effect 3 case no linkage to the pass games will hurt it.

*shrug*  They seem to have taken note in there own way.

[ThePerm]

Nintendo didn't really show Mario, as an experimental outing making New Super Mario Bros sounds like a novel idea, but only when its novel... continuously then is regressive. Then it becomes redundant to call it New Super Mario Bros.

does Japan get this?

*looks at Final Fantasy series*
uh....

Very good point

someone should make a game called the last legend, and never make a sequel

[NWR_insanolord]

Nintendo didn't really show Mario, as an experimental outing making New Super Mario Bros sounds like a novel idea, but only when its novel... continuously then is regressive. Then it becomes redundant to call it New Super Mario Bros.

does Japan get this?

*looks at Final Fantasy series*
uh....

Very good point

someone should make a game called the last legend, and never make a sequel

You mean like they just did with The Last Story? The way that sold, I'd be surprised if it got a sequel.

[Caliban]

But isn't there a saying that the customer is always right?

That was bred from ignorance. Can't take that seriously.

Actually, most people (including me) think they "won" E3 because of...

Rayman Legends
Splinter Cell Blacklist
Far Cry 3
Assassin's Creed 3
Zombi U

...and Watchdogs.

Blacklist... really. That was the most boring piece they had, and I'm not convinced with Watchdogs because I have yet to see any limitations imposed on the character so as to not make him seem like a god.

[SixthAngel]

I am still a bit flabbergasted how so many people somehow thought Ubisoft "won" E3 because of a sijngle video of Watchdogs

Actually, most people (including me) think they "won" E3 because of...

Rayman Legends
Splinter Cell Blacklist
Far Cry 3
Assassin's Creed 3
Zombi U

...and Watchdogs.  Nintendo at their showing put the focus on...Zombi U, and that's pretty much it.  Ubisoft had a really impressive showing this year.  Unusually so, actually.  In terms of quality, they seemed to have the best-looking games at the show, at least in terms of the press conferences.

I disagree and think the entire Ubi hype came from the canned video of Watchdogs and to a lesser extent Zombi U.

If you are correct though the bolded are all coming to the Wii U, Zombi U exclusively and Rayman Legends if not exclusive is the definitive version.  These are big, big third party Wii U games and half (the better half) of Ubi's entire conference which you say was so good.   If they were 360/PS3 games people would be giving credit to Sony or Microsoft but somehow Nintendo doesn't seem to get the credit for getting big third party games like people say they want.  Even though people malign Nintendo for the sins of third parties they also don't give Nintendo any credit when they do something right.

[Chozo Ghost]

But isn't there a saying that the customer is always right?

Have you ever worked in customer service?

If you're trying to make the point that there are unreasonable customers who make unrealistic or impossible demands, that's something I am well aware of. But there's two things you have to keep in mind here.

1) The expectations of Nintendo fans were not unreasonable or unrealistic. I know unreasonable is a matter of opinion, but if you look at what Nintendo has revealed in the month since E3 it shows they were sitting on stuff that they could have revealed but simply didn't. As others have pointed out, we didn't get a price or release date. How is it unreasonable to have expected that? The console is releasing within the next 5 months. If it was coming out in the 2013 holidays then I would think this year's E3 would have been fitting, but its coming out THIS year. There should have been more and I don't think its unreasonable to expect that.

2) Even if the customer is wrong, the last thing someone whose job is customer relations should ever do is blame the customers. I think this is so basic its common sense. You do not blame the customers/fans. Are they being unreasonable or demanding too much? Fine, but respond politely to it. Tell them you're doing everything you can, or tell them you are going to try harder or something like that. But whatever you do you don't say its their fault like Reggie has done. This is the equivalent of if let's say Obama attacked the voters and said its their fault the economy is in the crapper. Even if that's the truth you don't say that.

[UncleBob]

1) The expectations of Nintendo fans were not unreasonable or unrealistic.

I disagree.  The "TELL US EVERYTHING NAOW" approach that some Nintendo fans have isn't only unreasonable, but it's a selfish battle cry.  You buy Nintendo stuff.  That doesn't entitle you to any special privileges regarding Nintendo information, nor does it give you the right to demand that they bow down to your every whim.

As others have pointed out, we didn't get a price or release date. How is it unreasonable to have expected that? The console is releasing within the next 5 months. If it was coming out in the 2013 holidays then I would think this year's E3 would have been fitting, but its coming out THIS year. There should have been more and I don't think its unreasonable to expect that.

So... if Nintendo had announced a price/release date, you would have been just peachy with their E3 conference?

like that. But whatever you do you don't say its their fault like Reggie has done.

I don't think that's what happened at all...

[nickmitch]

Gamers are incredibly hard to satisfy. I think this thread proves that more than anything.

[Chozo Ghost]

You mean like they just did with The Last Story? The way that sold, I'd be surprised if it got a sequel.

That game isn't even out yet...

So... if Nintendo had announced a price/release date, you would have been just peachy with their E3 conference?

Would that have stopped ALL the complaining about the lackluster E3? No. But it would have reduced it. It isn't the only thing that Nintendo should have done differently, but its definitely one of the things.

On the other hand, if the announced price was REALLY high, that could have spawned even more complaints. That's one possible explanation for why they didn't announce it. But that's not something that I personally would complain about as long as the specs of the system were proportionately good enough to match whatever the price is. I would rather have a high cost Wii U with high specs than a cheap Wii U with crummy last gen specs.

The worst of both worlds would be if we end up with a Wii U with both crummy specs and a high price. If that's the case I would be among the people complaining about it. But a high spec system with a justified high price? I'm fine with that.