Topic: Iwata Hopes 3DS Stimulates Games Sales

[NWR_pap64]

According to the Nintendo executive, poor video game software sales should be blamed on the quality rather than the poor economy.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=23529

 In an interview with VentureBeat, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata commented on poor video game software sales. According to him, the economic recession isnÂ’t the real reason why video games are selling poorly. “I cannot say that the recession has no effect on the sales of video games,” Iwata stated.    

   

He elaborated that the lack of great software that everyone wants to buy is the issue, stating that “We have not shown off the great attractions of whatever we are selling. This is not the problem of Nintendo alone, but the entire video game industry.”    

With this concern in mind, Iwata hopes that fresh video game concepts can stimulate stagnant game sales, using the recently unveiled 3DS as an example of this ideal. “In the past, the formula was to make the computer graphics more gorgeous. It used to fit the taste of the majority of the gaming audience, but it doesnÂ’t work so well in this day and age. ItÂ’s more difficult for us to come up with something new and different and show people how different we are. The whole industry has to recognize that.”    

Iwata wrapped up by saying that video game concepts that may have proven successful years ago arenÂ’t guaranteed to sell well today, with innovation being a key player in this concept.  Â“Looking at the product line-ups this year, these titles might have been big hits three years ago. But now this year, they are not selling that much. In other words, people get tired of games more quickly than they did before. When you look at our 3D games concept, we recognize it will not be eternally appealing. However, itÂ’s not a shallow concept that can be forgotten as a momentary fad.”

[Dirk Temporo]

Poor video game sales? What?

[TJ Spyke]

Game sales are down and have been for awhile. I think Iwata is especially talking about Japan, where the top 10 has been low for quite some time (the #10 game last week sold only 12K copies).

Hate to be picky Pedro, but it's video game (it's not a big deal, this is a common mistake many people make).

[Ian Sane]

He elaborated that the lack of great software that everyone wants to buy is the issue, stating that “We have not shown off the great attractions of whatever we are selling.

Somehow I get the feeling he's pushing for more "everyone" games like Wii Sports but if he's not this makes sense.  Right now there isn't really any Wii game out that I would like to own but don't.  Normally certain titles slip through the cracks and I get them later.  This isn't this case on the Wii.  A game I want gets released, I buy it, I play it until I get bored of it, and then I wait and wait and wait for something else.  Things are looking better for this year but typically it's a long wait between Wii titles that interest me.  I don't really think this is what Iwata means but he should.  The Wii release schedule is too much like the N64.
 
As for not showing off the great attractions of what they're selling, again, I'm not sure if he means what I think, but I think the unique features of the DS and Wii have to be better demonstrated.  Right now I consider the DS touchscreen and Wii motion control as shallow novelties at best and outright control
hindrances at worst.  Nintendo has never sold me on either concept because it just doesn't feel like they're put to good use.  And I don't mean trying to sell me on the concept by shoehorning it into every game, I mean using it to its full potential.  If this is the big hook for the system then it needs to really deliver.
 

 With this concern in mind, Iwata hopes that fresh videogame concepts can stimulate stagnant game sales, using the recently unveiled 3DS as an example of this ideal.

Fresh concepts stimulating stagnant sales is the right idea.  But you have to actually DO IT and not just talk about it.  This relates to my previous paragraph about using the unique features to their full potential.  The existance of these unique features is not sufficient.  They have to be used in a new gameplay experiences.  Mario with a "shake" mapped to a button press is NOT a new gameplay experience.  And sequels are not new.  It's quite ridiculous for Nintendo to spout off about how things have to be fresh and then they just bombard us with sequels and spin-offs.  What at this year's E3 fits what Iwata is talking about here?  I see Mario, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Kirby and Zelda.  How are these fresh or new?  Practice what you preach!
 
It sounds like Iwata is talking about what I personally want.  I want great games with new gameplay experiences.  Do that and you sell more games to me.  But I don't see how the 3DS will do this because I don't see how 3D truly adds anything new.  If Iwata thinks that will do the trick then it's a lost cause.  In a couple years he'll be saying the same thing again.

[Mop it up]

The Wii release schedule is too much like the N64.

That's only because you have narrowed interest. Nintendo has already released more games on the Wii than they have on the Nintendo 64, and so have pretty much every third party.

Hate to be picky Pedro, but it's video game (it's not a big deal, this is a common mistake many people make).

Actually both are acceptable.

[TJ Spyke]

Hate to be picky Pedro, but it's video game (it's not a big deal, this is a common mistake many people make).

Actually both are acceptable.

Video game is the correct one. The other one is just so common that people have gotten used to it and don't realize it's incorrect.

I agree with your first point though.

[Mop it up]

"Acceptable" and "correct" are two different things.

[Ian Sane]

I consider "videogame" to be a perfectly valid compound word that just hasn't been officially recognized in dictionaries yet.  Wiktionary considers it an alternate spelling.

My old version of Word 97's spellcheck gets angry at me when I spell "internet" without an uppercase "I" because it was apparently a proper noun at the time.  Grammar changes over time.  Videogames are still a relatively new thing and dictionaries are maintained by old fuddy-duddies who probably don't play videogames or write about them.  As time goes by the drips in charge of dictionaries will be people who played videogames in their youth and will acknowledge the compound word spelling.

[TJ Spyke]

Internet still is a proper noun and the correct spelling uses that. "Videogame" may be frequently used, but it's not the correct spelling.

Video games have been around for over 30 years, and dictionaries do get newer stuff correct (do you think the average person who works for dictionary company tweets or vlogs? Both of those are in dictionaries now). A lot of people write and say Febuary, that doesn't mean it is correct either.

[Ian Sane]

A lot of people write and say Febuary, that doesn't mean it is correct either.

Surely nobody writes "Febuary" and defends it.  I would compare that more to writing "videogaim" or something stupid like that.
 
And even if videogames have been around for 30 years, they might as well have been around for six weeks the way the establishment treats them.  They can sell as many Wiis and DS's to grandmas that they want but videogames still get treated like some fringe underground hobby.  I suggest that "videogame" be the hip spelling that signifies one being part of gaming culture.  "Video game" would be the spelling used by people that felt they had to look up how to spell it, which would be the natural course of action for a square.

[TJ Spyke]

I suggest that "videogame" be the hip spelling that signifies one being part of gaming culture.  "Video game" would be the spelling used by people that felt they had to look up how to spell it, which would be the natural course of action for a square.

That would be kind of hard to do since it's the mainstream press (the ones you say feel like they have to look it up) who usually use the incorrect spelling "videogame", while actual gaming websites and magazines usually use the correct spelling "video game".

[Invincible Donkey Kong]

Seems like a certain fan in this thread has conflated Iwata-san's request for more games that please as many people as possible with his desires to see more games that please only him.

Right now I consider the DS touchscreen and Wii motion control as shallow novelties at best and outright control hindrances at worst.

I shall not challenge this assertion, stubborn as it is.  I shall say that the Wii is currently the best selling console in all territories and is selling faster than the PS2, and the DS is destined to be the most popular videogame system of all time, and led to the explosion in touch-based electronics such as our new competition from Apple, despite suffering the slings and arrows of "gimmick" and "fad."  We do not have to convince you, but we do have to convince them, and we have. 

I see Mario, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Kirby and Zelda.  How are these fresh or new?  Practice what you preach!

I see Kid Icarus and Steel Diver as well.  The demand for New IP (or in the case of Kid Icarus, forgotten IP) is heard and provided.  All that is required in return is for its loudest clarion to notice and appreciate, instead of rehash tired whines about franchises.  What incentive does that provide our developers, when their hardest efforts are unnoticed when they make new IP, when the the very people who chide their franchise brethren and beg for new material spend their days in thrall to the very franchises they protest?

[Mop it up]

Surely nobody writes "Febuary" and defends it.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=31716.msg620047#msg620047

[ThePerm]

A lot of people write and say Febuary, that doesn't mean it is correct either.

Surely nobody writes "Febuary" and defends it.  I would compare that more to writing "videogaim" or something stupid like that.
 

i totally did that the other day

and mop it up you get 10 million points for not only noticing that, but remembering it. I figure if i can write a 91 or so page work of fiction i can spell things however the **** I want.

[Caterkiller]

At least Reggie is trying to keep things on topic. Spelling and dictionaries?! Valid compounds are for nonmen!

[TJ Spyke]

Another thing that could stimulate game sales, lower the damn prices. There is no reason Mario Kart DS should be $61, ever (yet alone 4 1/2 years after launch). Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is $76. DS games typically are around $45-$50 and Wii games $60, with premium Wii games being around $65.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Another thing that could stimulate game sales, lower the damn prices. There is no reason Mario Kart DS should be $61, ever (yet alone 4 1/2 years after launch). Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is $76. DS games typically are around $45-$50 and Wii games $60, with premium Wii games being around $65.

Where are you shopping at? Australia?
I wanna make sure to avoid those stores.

[TJ Spyke]

Amazon Japan. Prices in Japan generally are higher though. Amazon Japan as Super Mario Galaxy 2 at  ï¿¥7,980  (which is $89 FFS). CD Japan has it at ï¿¥5,800 ($65), but that is still pricey. I think the NWR Japan folks will be able to confirm games generally being much more expensive there compared to the US. RPG games especially tend to be more expensive.

[KDR_11k]

He's not just talking about shovelware and the Wii. If you want an example just look at the MS press conference's core game lineup (and if Kudo believes the Kinect crap has as much appeal as SMB he's fucking delusional). Gears of War 3. Crackdown 2. Halo Reach. Completely predictable games and if people didn't like the previous games why would they buy these? Game review scores may be going up on the HD consoles but the genres are more standardized and predictable than in any previous generation.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

I suggest that "videogame" be the hip spelling that signifies one being part of gaming culture.  "Video game" would be the spelling used by people that felt they had to look up how to spell it, which would be the natural course of action for a square.

That would be kind of hard to do since it's the mainstream press (the ones you say feel like they have to look it up) who usually use the incorrect spelling "videogame", while actual gaming websites and magazines usually use the correct spelling "video game".

Let's put this argument to bed. NWR's "official" writing style dictates that "videogame" is one word. This is consistent with the Videogame Style Guide and Reference Manual. (This stylistic decision was probably established and conveyed before Pedro joined the staff, so he is excused this time. )

Edit: Damn I'm tired. Three typos in a row fixed.

[ThePerm]

Oh TJ! If possible buy things at U.S. prices in bulk and then have them shipped in flat-rate boxes. Do you have relatives or friends that already send you things? No need to have to pay extra for things when there is a way around it. You may have to wait a little longer in time, but you could save money.

[TJ Spyke]

I live in the US (western New York), so don't worry about that.

TYP, that's fine. I won't spell it as one word as it is not one word, but I won't correct others (no matter how much it bugs me to sell people misspell it).