Topic: The Perrin Kaplan Interview

[Jonnyboy117]

This thread is for discussion of PGC's interview with Perrin Kaplan, NOA's Vice-President, Marketing and Corporate Affairs.

Link to the interview

[Ian Sane]

It's nice to see that she brings up the Resident Evil 4 situation without you having to say it outright.  Obviously NOA is concerned about the situation which is good because it often seems like they ignore these kinds of problems.

"then we unfortunately had kind of a lag period when we weren’t able to fill the pipeline with as many different products as we wanted to. But I think consumers were very excited and they got worn down waiting."

YES!  Finally a Nintendo rep acknowledges that.  The lag period killed the Cube in my opinion.  I remember at the time they released a press release that practically bragged about how they had so many titles coming out.  It was quite insulting and depressing at the time.  She's basically saying "we f*cked up" and I just wanted to hear that for once instead of constant spin doctored crap.

"And what we’re looking at now is not so much the hardcore gamers. We’re looking at a wider audience, the value purchaser"

This, as a Cube owner since launch, bugs me.  If they focus too much on the value purchaser they're ignoring the core fanbase, the people who bought the Cube as their main console instead of a secondary budget console.  Now it's not as bad as it was.  We all remember the first ever Cube demo disc that was only available to new purchases.  That was the worst because in that case they were clearly ignoring the fans in favour of new buyers.  Obviously things are better now but it's something that Nintendo has to take into account next gen.  Part of the job of the console maker is to keep the current fanbase happy.  And that means once in a while releasing something that's just for the fans and doing stuff for the hardcore.  Those of us who have owned a Cube since the beginning are the ones who are going to buy a Revolution at launch.  One thing that MS has totally nailed this gen is keeping their most hardcore fans happy.  A relatively small percentage of Xbox owners use Xbox Live yet MS still pushes it huge and encourages developers to support it.  MS is always making an effort to bring third party titles to the Xbox.  Some of these are titles like Metal Slug 3 that are not going to sell millions of copies but will please the hardcore fans.  Nintendo doesn't do that.  When they get a third party title it's always a really major game.  There's no minor titles that are for the fans only.  Every idea to them has to be mass market friendly so that's why we have no online support and why new Cubes don't support the component cables.  There needs to be a balance.

[KDR_11k]

If Kaplan is VP of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, isn't Fils-Aime redundant as the VP of marketing or has he changed his position?

[Pale]

Reggis is VP of charismatic speaches....they just couldn't really give him that title =P

[Savior]

""the launch itself was great""

No it wasnt... Luigis Mansion, Wave Race and Star Wars wasnt enough...  sure Smash Brothers came soon but it wasnt enough...

Hopefully the Revolution has a stronger launch lineup.  

[nemo_83]

The problem isn't that they are catering to mass market wants.  The problem is that they are not catering to mass market wants.  They are playing the Nintendo card with everything they put out now.  Just look at how many games have been taged with Mario that are not even Mario games.  They are only making games that Nintendo fanboys will gobble up because they are starved for gaming.  I would like to see them actually put forth an effort with the Revolution to reach out to the rest of the world.  For example where was the marketing machine when Eternal Darkness, MGS, and Metroid Prime came out on the Cube?  Only the Nintendo fans ended up buying those games because Nintendo didn't try to sell them to MS and Sony players.  They have rarely produced a mature product this generation and when they have, they have just droped it on the market without any hype.  I would rather have had the chance to buy one more serious mature original adventure title produced and developed by Nintendo (like Eternal Darkness) than be payed to play twenty seven more rehashed games.  Hell it wouldn't have to even be serious, mature, or original, just give me Mario 128, I would take that over all the Mario Karts, Tennis, Golfs, Pinballs, and Parties.  The best mature games from third parties came in the form of ports of RE games and a port of MGS.  Sure those franchises are great, but I already played nearly every one of those games through.  

[nemo_83]

The launch of the Cube was definately not enough.  Luigi's Mansion was a stinker.  RS2 was a port/remake.  SSBM was a port/remake.  ED got delayed.  Star Fox Adventures got delayed, aka it went from crap to cooked crap.  RE0 got delayed.  No Mario Bros. game.  Wave Race wasn't finished, and it was a port/remake.  The only way the launch could have been more disappointing is if they had released a port/remake of Pilot Wings to go along with all of the other ports.  MS came out swinging with one new franchise, though it wasn't the most original piece of software, it was new, fun, and appealing.  

[Spak-Spang]

This was a pretty good interview.

PK was definately playing the spin game, really spinning her answers to be positive for Nintendo, and sometimes there wasn't much positive to really say.  However, I do believe that underneath it all you could see Nintendo is analysising there mistakes, and trying to figure a means to fix these mistakes the "Nintendo way."  What I mean by that is Nintendo is a very proud company, and a very different company.  In fact there pride comes from just how different they are.  So Nintendo is trying to solve the internet play a unique way, so that they can say they did something but they can also say they did it better.  

I was disappointed in the DS answers though.  Specially the reaction to PSP.  PK positioned Nintendo as almost being arragont with their position.  "What is Sony doing to watch Nintendo?"  Well we know what they are doing.  They are pricing themselves aggressively, and are going to try to win the market with a suavy powerful portable system that is flashy and sweet.

Last, we really don't think you are being aggressive when you price the system to make money.  Now we know you can drop the price alittle and still be ok.  Do something truely aggressive and react and play hardball.  Please.

[Savior]

 was disappointed in the DS answers though]


Very true... but she cant say there would be a price cut, because it would hurt the launch of the DS... Even though i expect it mid 2005 to drop to 119.99 or possibly 99.99

But she could have hinted at possibly Mario Kart, Metroid Prime Hunters, other real good software/killer apps being released early 2005.

[Ian Sane]

"RS2 was a port/remake. SSBM was a port/remake."

Geez.  You're even more critical than I am.  Neither of those were remakes.  They were sequels.  And I thought both were great.

The Cube launch isn't absolutely terrible.  Luigi's Mansion was a very poor choice for a flagship title but aside from that the lineup was acceptable (it's WAY better than the DS launch at least).  The problem was the drought that followed.  The Cube launch lineup could have lasted us until February or so.  That problem was that it had to last until April and even then it wasn't until like August that games started coming out at a normal rate.  If Super Mario Sunshine was at launch instead of Luigi's Mansion and the drought didn't happen I think most of us would have been quite pleased with the Cube launch.

Nintendo acknowledges the drought, or "lag period" as Perrin called it, so they hopefully won't repeat the same mistake.  They don't acknowledge Luigi's Mansion but hey they're launching with a port as the lone first party title for the DS so they haven't got it perfect yet. 1/2 is better than nothing.

[nemo_83]

I would have considered SSBM a sequel if it had had three dimensional arenas and online.  Also why weren't there more Zelda universe characters in the game?  It was fun, but I stoped playing it shortly because I had already played it to death on the N64.

[Jonnyboy117]

If you bundle in Pikmin and SSBM as quasi-launch titles (they came about three weeks later, but well before Christmas), I think GameCube had a great launch.  I wish we had that many awesome games every Christmas season, but I don't think it's happened to that degree since.

[Pale]

Nemo, the day SSB goes 3d is the day it isn't super smash bros anymore...


But wait... 3D makes everything better rightghth/?!!?

Argh... Melee is by far my favorite game of all time..hands down...if you have the nerve to call it a freaking port...please go play the original again....  

[Hostile Creation]

She's very aggressive, as an interviewee.  That's unusual, but I like it.  She answered questions before you asked them, at times.  Her acknowledgement of Nintendo's mistakes is also reassuring.  Good interview.

Quote
I would have considered SSBM a sequel if it had had three dimensional arenas and online. Also why weren't there more Zelda universe characters in the game? It was fun, but I stoped playing it shortly because I had already played it to death on the N64.

It had three characters, three and a half, technically.  That's plenty.  Only one that deserves more is Kirby, which has one and could very well have two or three, and maybe Earthbound.  Your qualifications for a sequel are ridiculous.
I think the launch was fine, with Pikmin and SSBM shortly afterward.  Luigi's Mansion was a good game, but it was too short and a more substantial game should have been at launch.  I agree with Ian, thinking that the lag afterward was what hurt the most.

EDIT: Make that four Zelda characters, if you include young Link.  More than enough.

[Bill Aurion]

Quote
Originally posted by: nemo_83
I would have considered SSBM a sequel if it had had three dimensional arenas and online.  Also why weren't there more Zelda universe characters in the game?  It was fun, but I stoped playing it shortly because I had already played it to death on the N64.

Ahahahaha!  All credibility LOST...Online adds NOTHING...3d would add NOTHING, and would most likely DETRACT from the game...

[PaLaDiN]

"I would have considered SSBM a sequel if it had had three dimensional arenas and online."

You have no idea how glad I am that you don't work for Nintendo.

[Spak-Spang]

Savior:  Her answer was very poor.  Her answer was.  Look Sony is in a position where they HAVE to do fight aggressively.  We own the market.  We are ok.  Sony isn't...and we will be in an awesome position in the US when the PSP is launched.  However, she didn't mention the global market, didn't mention how they would be in a better position.

She should have highlighted 1st party games that would be out when the PSP will launch.  Just that alone would say, hey we are aggressively positioning are games for quick release to provide our supports with better games at a quicker time.

And yeah Nintendo can't announce hey if you wait you will save $50 when we cut the price to compete.  That is why Nintendo needs to announce a smaller price cut now.  Simply put $150 doesn't look that good against $200, however, $125 looks really good.  But even if $25 price cut is too much.  A $135 is something.  

Or Nintendo could have announced keeping the $150 price and giving Mario DS away.  Or even giving a half price your first game purchase with the DS.  Any of these promotions would have been big and thrown the excitment back towards Nintendo.

In the end, the answer was weak.  The response Nintendo is taking towards Sony is playing it safe.  They would rather ensure they make money with this gamble then try to hit that home run and bury they PSP.

[nemo_83]

Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion

Quote
Originally posted by: nemo_83
I would have considered SSBM a sequel if it had had three dimensional arenas and online.  Also why weren't there more Zelda universe characters in the game?  It was fun, but I stoped playing it shortly because I had already played it to death on the N64.

Ahahahaha!  All credibility LOST...Online adds NOTHING...3d would add NOTHING, and would most likely DETRACT from the game...

To say online adds nothing is to say that SSBM and other multiplayer games are just as good when you play them alone as they are when eight of your friends are smack talking each other passing around controllers.  Multiplayer is what SSBM is truly built for and adding to the multiplayer experience can only help that type of game.  

Three dimensional arenas would allow for one television to show an entire level without having to span out to the nth degree.  Sometimes with the two dimensional stages you had people on opposite ends of the stage, nothing wrong with that, but in tw dimensions you have to base everything in left to right space.  Three dimensions give square feet so that the camera is able to see most all of the action all of the time without zooming.  Plus with three dimensions SSBM would allow for a third dimension in dodging.  

I strongly believe that SSBM would be much better if it were 16-32 player online.  


When exactly did Pikmin come out?  I anticipate the third one to focus on opposing armies of Pikmin, Pikmin entering urban enviroments, and controling Pikmin in the numbers of tens of thousands.  Pikmin was the only truly original big game from within Nintendo this generation.  And still it wasn't marketed right.  I like the Pikmin 2 ads, but I rarely see them.


Cube had a disappointing launch to me for all of the wrong reasons.  Unlike the other consoles' launches Nintendo had a great number of high quality games.  Sony had nothing worth nothing at their launch and I think that will hurt their PS3 launch.  MS had one really good title in Halo that sold like malasis, but is still selling, and one ok title for the hardcore in Munch's Odyssey which only sold because it was at launch.  My point is that Nintendo's launch needed originality.  It was formulated.  Even if you consider SSBM, Wave Race, and RS2 as sequels, they are still just sequels.  Something original was needed.  The system could have launched without SSBM, Wave Race, Luigi's Mansion, and RS2 and had a better launch lineup with just Mario 128, Pikmin, and an original mature shooter to counteract Halo.  People don't just buy new consoles for new graphics and controllers.  They buy new consoles for new games.  

[VideoGamerJ]

Not too much information in this, although this is the first time I've heard a Nintendo rep regard Resident Evil.

(On a side note: my friend knows Perrin quite well, maybe someday I'll meet her. ^_^)

[Bill Aurion]

"To say online adds nothing is to say that SSBM and other multiplayer games are just as good when you play them alone as they are when eight of your friends are smack talking each other passing around controllers."

That's exactly the point...When you play online you ARE by yourself...There's absolutely NO "multiplayer atmosphere" when you play online...

"I strongly believe that SSBM would be much better if it were 16-32 player online."

I disagree for reasons that should be obvious...

And to put SSB into 3d would be to take away the innovative way of "dying"...Health bars are a no-no, thanks...  

[Ian Sane]

"People don't just buy new consoles for new graphics and controllers. They buy new consoles for new games."

I still think you're wrong about the SSB stuff but your credibility just shot way up with that comment.  I don't think the launch lineup was a problem regarding originality because realistically few systems launch with unique titles.  However a lack of originality is very present in the Cube's first party lineup.  Killer apps are never familiar titles.  They're either original franchises (Sonic the Hedgehog, Halo) or sequels that so drastically change things up so that they might as well be a new franchise (Super Mario 64, GTA3).  Out of Nintendo's Cube lineup Pikmin, Animal Crossing (US only), and Metroid Prime are the only titles so far that realistically had any chance of being a killer app.

[Pale]

Yeah man, I'm really confused as to how you think 3d is the solution for zooming cameras??  Very odd...very odd indeed...  You apparently just want smash bros. to be a different game.....

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Sounds like someone needs to find decent players to play against.

[nemo_83]

Giving Cube owners the option of going online to satify their multiplayer wants is not going to inerfere with the ability of people who prefer face to face gaming to game.  Unfortunately there are so few Cube gamers out there that it is nearly impossible for someone to find someone to come over and play FZero or Metroid Prime 2.  Most people who don't own a Cube won't play it or can't.  The controller must blind them temporarily or something because they act like its turd brownies when they see me pull it out asking if they want to play.  And what about the people with insomnia who would love to have someone to game with at three in the morning, just so happens there might be some people out there online ready to go.  Me having online on my Nintendo system is not going to stop anyone else from gaming.  As a matter of fact online gaming coupled with multiplayer on one console is much more attractive than either online or regular multiplayer alone.  When I play online on Xbox, I like to play online with other people playing with me in the room.  You can have your cake and eat it too.

Online gaming should not be shuned just because it threatens to destroy non-online gaming.  While some complain that online is bad, Nintendo is gearing up to bring online gaming on the DS and hopefully the Revolution.  Not going online with the Revolution would be like Nintendo saying, "Nah, I think we're gonna try that cart thing again."  

A two dimensional Smash Brothers would now only be acceptable in my view on the DS.  If they are not capable of making Smash Brothers 3D and preserve the gameplay then they shouldn't make one on the Revolution.

[nemo_83]

also camera issues could be assisted by online

if they are going to change the way Smash Brothers plays then they need to turn it into an RPG like Paper Mario but involving multiple Nintendo franchise worlds and the battles would work like regular Smash Brothers

look at Mario 64 x 4.  the multiplayer has Mario characters fighting in 3d.  it can work.