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Gaming Forums => Nintendo Gaming => Topic started by: vudu on February 13, 2004, 06:22:36 AM

Title: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: vudu on February 13, 2004, 06:22:36 AM: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview

some intereting bits of information from the current the former presidents of nintendo. highlights from the interview include:
Quote
I don't think our problems can be solved by just increasing the power of the consoles. It's not clear what other companies are trying to achieve with their new consoles, we will not make something incomplete just for the sake of it. Nintendo's hardware development team is thinking about when we should release the next machine
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I wonder how much money companies like Sony and Microsoft are making from [online gaming]? You can't say that appropriate business models are in place yet - customers are also not jumping on board. But Nintendo doesn't hold a negative view of "net technologies"
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I think the game industry is maturing in different ways to those I imagined. The industry is displaying certains aspects of being in a crisis. Gamers don't just want beautiful graphics, sounds and epic stories. We cannot guarantee interesting and fun games just by using better technology and increasing the functions of the machines
Quote
The management are expecting good things from the DS. If we can increase the scope of the industry, we can re-energise the global market and lift Japan out of depression - that is Nintendo's mission. If the DS succeeds, we will rise to heaven, but if it fails we will sink to hell. The next two years will decide Nintendo's fate
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: kennyb27 on February 13, 2004, 09:32:29 AM: Quote
Quote
The management are expecting good things from the DS. If we can increase the scope of the industry, we can re-energise the global market and lift Japan out of depression - that is Nintendo's mission. If the DS succeeds, we will rise to heaven, but if it fails we will sink to hell. The next two years will decide Nintendo's fate

It's funny what different translations will do. IGN has Hiroshi Yamauchi saying this:
Quote
If we are unsuccessful with the Nintendo DS, we may not go bankrupt, but we will be crushed. The next two years will be a really crucial time for Nintendo.
Quite different. Now we're left wondering which is "right."
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: Bill Aurion on February 13, 2004, 09:35:35 AM: They both have the same meaning...It's just stated in a different way...
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: kennyb27 on February 13, 2004, 09:40:13 AM: Quote
The next two years will decide Nintendo's fate
Quote
The next two years will be a really crucial time for Nintendo.
I don't think those say the same thing. Definitely different degrees of seriousness.
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: Bill Aurion on February 13, 2004, 09:46:33 AM: So something "really crucial" isn't that big of a deal?
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: mouse_clicker on February 13, 2004, 09:50:44 AM: Both quotes imply that Nintendo has a lot riding on the success of the DS. I really hope it does well.
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: Perfect Cell on February 13, 2004, 09:53:27 AM: Yamamuchi as insane as ever ! The DS is hardly the thing that will save or sink Nintendo... Its the Main Console...
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: odifiend on February 13, 2004, 10:10:07 AM: Somebody's probably already said this, but with the N5, I hope that the technology used won't limit third parties because Big N has enough trouble attracting them as it is.
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: Draygaia on February 13, 2004, 01:17:09 PM: I don't know but what is said kind of scares me. Its like talking about Revelations.

GBA is the thing that is saving Nintendo. Its about doing as awesome as the PS2. Many people say Nintendo is kinda struggling. I think the GCN is struggling but not Nintendo. With the GBA.... Bah you!
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on February 13, 2004, 06:59:30 PM: Get Japan out of depression? Wha?! There's really some higher purpose behind all this!?

Apparently that job is being handled by the PS2.
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: Rob91883 on February 13, 2004, 07:15:02 PM: I read the reactions of Japanese game developers when they where told about their opinion of the DS. Most of them had good things to say, so at least people that have seen it know it’s a good platform.
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: cloudyass on February 13, 2004, 08:41:37 PM: well...yamauchi basically said if the ds is not successful...than nintendo will be in pretty bad shape right?...what does that mean?...it sounds to me like nintendo will go all out with the ds...and that doesnt sound all too good for gamecube's successor if you catch my drift...this is just one take i guess...
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: manunited4eva22 on February 14, 2004, 01:23:53 PM: There is a difference between business suicide and going all out, don't take them to be the same.
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: cloudyass on February 14, 2004, 05:32:49 PM: i think its too early to say whether or not the ds will be business suicide or not...we havent even seen the thing yet...for all we know, it could be like a pair glasses that give you the ability of xray vision!..and revolutinizes the face of gaming!..
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: Cap on February 15, 2004, 10:33:39 AM: i think its obvious that the ds is pretty important to nintendo. what other company is going to be supporting 3 systems? and all the while they are still working on successors to the gamecube and gba?

i honestly dont know how nintendo plans to do it, but they are taking a huge chance by doing so. people have written nintendo out of the hardware market for years, and what do they do? release another platform! that has to be an expensive thing to do.

my biggest worry is where are all the games going to come from? the biggest sellers on nintendo systems are all nintendo titles....but how many games can nintendo actually make? they better go buy a bunch of developers, becouse most third partys dont seem to like nintendo. finding support for three systems is going to be tough, especially when you are going to be launching one directly against the psp(they are competing with each other, no matter what nintendo says).
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: jasonditz on February 15, 2004, 05:54:01 PM: Nintendo has been struggling in the console-hooked-to-a-TV market, but the handheld market, that they created, is a multibillion dollar industry around which they are centered. Why not try to create a third tier, when the second tier made them a fortune?
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: vudu on February 16, 2004, 07:25:13 AM: Quote
Originally posted by: cloudyass
well...yamauchi basically said if the ds is not successful...than nintendo will be in pretty bad shape right?...what does that mean?
it means that if you do not purchase the ds on the day is comes out you not only hate nintendo, you hate japan.
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: Ian Sane on February 16, 2004, 08:01:02 AM: "it means that if you do not purchase the ds on the day is comes out you not only hate nintendo, you hate japan."

Hey it's up to Nintendo to make me purchase the DS at launch. They have to give me some launch games I cannot possibly be without. Ie: Another Luigi's Mansion won't cut it. The price has to be good too. If it's too expensive it deserves to fail.
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: Rob91883 on February 16, 2004, 03:37:32 PM: My theory is that Hiroshi Yamauchi is exaggerating the situation. He wants to make a big deal about the DS, because he wants everyone to take notice of it. Nintendo hasn’t lost massive profits in the past ( only a little in the 3rd Quarter of last year). If the DS fails, Nintendo can and will recover.
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: jasonditz on February 16, 2004, 05:23:10 PM: Quote
Originally posted by: Rob91883
My theory is that Hiroshi Yamauchi is exaggerating the situation. He wants to make a big deal about the DS, because he wants everyone to take notice of it. Nintendo hasn’t lost massive profits in the past ( only a little in the 3rd Quarter of last year). If the DS fails, Nintendo can and will recover.

Not only that, but the Q3 loss was a currency charge related to the falling dollar, nothing to do with the underlying business.
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: theRPGFreak on February 19, 2004, 09:20:54 AM: quote:I wonder how much money companies like Sony and Microsoft are making from [online gaming]? You can't say that appropriate business models are in place yet - customers are also not jumping on board. But Nintendo doesn't hold a negative view of "net technologies"

I think that Nintendo needs to understand that online gaming is an investment right now. It is getting easier for people to afford, and may be profitable. Also, if third parites decide to make more games online, then this could hurt Nintendo's third party support.
Title: RE: Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: KDR_11k on February 19, 2004, 08:36:46 PM: It's not that hard to set up online gaming. They're planning to do that next gen anyway, but with the current growth of XB Live (500k at launch, 700k total now) it doesn't seem like online console gaming is going to become a big moneymaker anytime soon. Or maybe it's the broadband-only approach MS and Sony are taking that's pulling it down. Yes, there are many online players running on dialup.
Title: RE:Iwata and Yamamuchi Interview
Post by: Deguello on February 19, 2004, 09:54:57 PM: IT's kinda hard to interpret. But (at least) what I think they mean by "crushed" is that their "spirit" or "drive" will be mangled. More or less, it'll break their heart (awww). But I think he has good reason to think so. The DS is a new idea, a risk-taking, yet entirely intrigueing venture. Nintendo's excited (obviously), More or less 3rd parties are excited. If the consumers aren't excited, I think the market is broken. Now, of course there is no reason to just blindly say "Hay DS is great." but if the other 2 parts in this market (electronics and developers) expect great things from the DS, why should we argue? Hell I'll be crushed if the DS fails. It's like the market is saying NO to innovation or at least interesting ideas, and saying YES to status quo.

IF Nintendo, the biggest risk-takers ever, can't afford to take risks anymore, who can?