Sales of first party software was a major part of the Q&A; one reporter queried Iwata about whether he considered Wii Music a failure since it had only sold 400,000 units in Japan (the game has moved an additional 2 million units in overseas markets). This was substantially less than the sales of earlier hits like Wii Sports and Wii Fit.
In response, Iwata pointed out that Brain Age did not sell well in its first few weeks on sale either, reaching around only 45,000 units during its launch week. However, Brain Age went on to become one of the biggest sellers for Nintendo. However, Iwata admitted that he felt Nintendo has failed somewhat in conveying the charm of Wii Music and that currently people's responses to the title were either immensely positive or extremely negative. He expressed hoped to change the perception of the title and said that he hoped it would become another evergreen seller.
Iwata also expressed disappointment that Nintendo failed to deliver a product or service last year that could get the Japanese market really excited. He divulged that both Animal Crossing and Wii Music were below expectations in that department despite strong momentum overseas. Iwata said that Nintendo was working hard to ensure that they rectify this situation and that they already have more ideas to prevent this happening in 2009.
Concerning the DSi launching elsewhere in the world, Iwata said that the newer model would ship alongside the existing DSLite model. This is how Nintendo has handled the DSi in Japan, and Iwata said that overseas markets would see similar price differences between their two DS models. For comparison, the camera-enabled DSi currently sells for about $180 in Japan, while the DS Lite goes for about $150.
When asked about a promotional campaign Iwata had mentioned at the DSi launch, wherein which 500 Nintendo Points would be given to anyone who connects their Wii to the Internet, he restated that it would indeed be happening this spring in Japan.
Then, just to quash any fears Wii owners may have concerning storage problems, Iwata also reconfirmed that around the same period there would also be a system update to address space issues. No final details are known, except that it will involve SD cards in some fashion. Whether or not this means allowing booting games from the SD cards, or simply a fast way of swapping games from the Wii menu to the cards and back, remains to be seen.
Iwata covered many other questions during the Q&A, so be sure to read the english transcript of the session here.
Kairon get an interview with Iwata.
Kairon get an interview with Iwata.
WOA. GirlPower says jump and Kairon says how high?!
This is a very informative article, thank you.
hey I'll jump to the moon if they can give me some type of hard drive support......it aggravates me everytime they want me to update a channel or something and i don't have enough room to even do that, let alone get a new vc or wiiware game. Hey Nintendo I still have like $5 just waiting to be spent.
Anyways thanks for the article, it's reassuring that they are trying.
Iwata also expressed disappointment that Nintendo failed to deliver a product or service last year that could get the Japanese market really excited. He divulged that both Animal Crossing and Wii Music were below expectations in that department despite strong momentum overseas. Iwata said that Nintendo was working hard to ensure that they rectify this situation and that they already have more ideas to prevent this happening in 2009.
I find it often refreshing when we get to hear what Iwata thinks about Nintendo and its games. I mean, anyone working high up in a company is going to try and spin things in their favor, but at least Iwata still sounds honest. He didn't say that he thought Wii Music or Animal Crossing were bad games (I'm not either), but he did openly acknowledge that they didn't instill much customer-wide excitement -- at least, not the big kind that other games have caused. He could've pointed to the games' successes so far and left it at that, but instead he's looking for ways to improve Nintendo's situation in the new year.
It's also nice to see that general Japanese and American tastes in gaming are still somewhat in sync, so to speak, as Wii Music and AC got mixed reactions over here, too.
Whether or not this means allowing booting games from the SD cards, enabling SDHC compatibility, or simply a fast way of swapping games from the Wii menu to the cards and back, remains to be seen
QuoteWhether or not this means allowing booting games from the SD cards, enabling SDHC compatibility, or simply a fast way of swapping games from the Wii menu to the cards and back, remains to be seen
Fix't
Gimme my SDHC, Nintendo. Homebrewers already have it. Just flip the switch and be done with it.
It's also nice to see that general Japanese and American tastes in gaming are still somewhat in sync, so to speak, as Wii Music and AC got mixed reactions over here, too.
It's not speculation, the homebrewers DID make the system take SDHC.
I refuse to believe that Nintendo hasn't been 100% forthcoming about their hardware. Surely this can't be true?!
It's cherry-flavored, just like the Nintendo logo! :D
It's cherry-flavored, just like the Nintendo logo! :D
The Nintendo logo is gray. Get with the program. ;)
QuoteIt's also nice to see that general Japanese and American tastes in gaming are still somewhat in sync, so to speak, as Wii Music and AC got mixed reactions over here, too.
I like to see that, too. I assumed that last year's Q4 lineup was a result of Nintendo thinking too much about Japan and not realizing that in North America we like having a big game around Christmas time. I figured that in Japan that wasn't going to be a big deal. Hell NCL's Japan centric tunnel vision is still in effect as they're focusing on Japan's Wii Music sales and completely ignoring the higher sales from the bigger markets outside Japan.
Iwata acknowledges that last year was pretty meh, though and that's great because then Nintendo will try to avoid that this year. That's good for everybody.