| NEXT BOX 2005-02-19, 5:44 pm |
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"NEXT BOX" <nextbox@xbox2.net> wrote in message news:...
quote:
>
> as far as hardware, Nintendo has the Revolution. obviously the most
> mysterious and interesting platform on the horizion. they have a redesign
> of the DS in the pipeline as well. plus another new hardware that is
still
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> taking shape, which is probably the next GameBoy. of course, ATi remains
a
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> key hardware partner for Nintendo, and Sega a key software partner.
>
>
http://spong.com/detail/editorial.a...d=&plid=&page=1
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>
>
> Satoru Iwata interview - Page 1
>
> SPOnG first met Satoru Iwata before he became president of Nintendo during
> his days as head of all things to do with money. Back then we asked him
> difficult questions about the screen on the original Game Boy Advance. He
> declined to comment.
>
> This time, however he was somewhat more candid.
>
> Having been gifted a company buoyed by the phenomenal success of Pokemon,
> Iwata-san's achievements are immense. Many raised their eyebrows when
> Iwata-san, a relative new boy was given presidency of Nintendo. Though his
> bottom-line focus and distinct fiscal-report-driven leadership is now
> Nintendo's strongest asset.
>
> It would have been easy for a lesser executive to fritter away the US$4
> billion or so Pokemon legacy. Iwata-san has simply expanded Nintendo's
> coffers, by an estimated further $2 billion.
>
> And in spite of a failing GameCube program, the company is still
profitable
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> in all areas of activity and in all markets in which it operates, a truly
> amazing achievement, starkly contrasted with the botched efforts of so
many
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> third-party software giants in recent years.
>
> Iwata-san, flanked as ever by Nintendo's head of communications Yasuhiro
> Minagawa, sits down to answer the questions that matter.
>
> The DS took off like a rocket in Japan and launched at an aggressive price
> in the US. "The launch of any new platform needs momentum. This is the
key.
quote:
> And if you have this momentum, it pushes new interest and new consumers.
> People see others taking up the machine and they follow, whether it be in
> Japan, the US or Europe. We feel that now we have had successful launches
in
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> the rest of the world, the time is right to reproduce this in Europe."
>
> And third-party support? "Again," explains Iwata-san, "third-party support
> has to come from actual sales of hardware. The popularity of the DS in two
> regions has enabled developers to see that we have much more than a viable
> platform."
>
> Speaking of momentum, the PSP has launched in Japan though has been met
with
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> supply problems. Right now the DS is outselling Sony's machine, though
> whether this can this be sustained once the PSP product flow has been
eased
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> is an issue Nintendo, and its armies or spin doctors, need to address.
> "There are two things here you need to understand," asserts the Nintendo
> president. "Number one; Sales of the DS have never slowed, even with the
> launch of the PSP. And the second thing is; even though Sony claims it
would
quote:
> have sold more given one circumstance or another, the situation is pretty
> much similar with the DS. At various points, if we had have had more
product
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> on store shelves, we would be boasting even bigger sales than we are
today.
quote:
> So that argument from Sony is invalid." Tough talking indeed.
>
> One of Nintendo's most serious obstacles to the DS roll-out, arguably most
> prominent in Europe, is that of consumer unawareness. While the Nintendo
> brand incites natural interest in Japan and the US, the core company brand
> has been left to flounder somewhat in Europe. Whereas NOA and NCL Japan
> sought to augment Nintendo with the success of Pokemon, NOE seemingly
sought
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> to replace one brand with another. And so the message that underpins the
DS
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> will be something of a harder push than it has been in the rest of the
> world, simply due to the fact that the natural interest in Nintendo
products
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> isn't there.
>
> This lack of core brand-awareness, combined with the simple fact that the
DS
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> isn't 'just another games console' make for a significant task. "Of
course,
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> the easiest way to understand DS is to actually touch a DS console and it
is
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> for this reason that in Japan we had the Touch DS campaign and the US saw
> Touching is Good across the media. In Europe Touch Me. We will also be
> including Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt in limited launch numbers with
> the hardware. We know that there are people who enjoy the FPS genre very
> much so we want to give a broad spectrum of users the opportunity to
> actually touch the machine, rather than just reading magazine articles or
> watching television coverage. This is the first phase of DS rollout."
Iwata,
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> resolute and confident as ever, continues, "There will be a second phase.
It
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> will see games like Nintendogs, games that can be easily understood by
> anybody. Simply by looking at the game, you'll know what you have to do."
> But that doesn't overcome the initial comprehension problem the DS may
face.
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> He continues, "We will release different games and different styles of
games
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> over time. For example, there are many male gamers who might spend too
much
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> time playing videogames and it's likely that their girlfriends will not
like
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> this so much. But again, think about Nintendogs. Avid gamers want to play
> it, as much as their girlfriends and perhaps those girlfriends will get
> deeply into gaming, starting with playing Nintendogs. It's the kind of
> picture I can easily imagine."
>
> And further into the third-party support issue. To date third-party
support
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> has offered little to challenge Nintendo's own offerings. Games like Feel
> the Magic, though compelling, are merely an adaptation of an existing
> mechanic, namely that found in Wario Ware. Is third party support doing to
> get better, in terms of quality and quantity? "What happened with the
> third-party community, at the very beginning when we explained the
hardware
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> for the first time to them behind closed doors no one really understood
what
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> it was we were wanting to do. And unfortunately, we were not persuasive
> enough at that time. However, Sega's Yuji Naka proved himself to be
> something of a special person and from the beginning, somehow understood
> what Nintendo could do for him and his games."
>
>
> And then, according to Iwata-san things evolved. "As I mentioned, DS has
> gained huge momentum in Japan and the US and now third-party licensees are
> far more willing to support our DS. But of course, since this is an
> unprecedented gaming machine, I know that many game designers are
struggling
quote:
> to make something new. But even though it's challenging, the designers
> themselves are enjoying the challenge. Of this I am pretty much sure."
>
>
> As you may be aware, Nintendo recently pledged an increased spend on what
> was an upped level of unspecified research and development. Many
> possibilities, some outrageous, some pedestrian, were bandied about at the
> time. SPOnG asks the question. "We have increased our R&D expenditure
> because we have funded development of the DS and the new Revolution
console.
quote:
> This combined with significant software development for both platforms saw
> our expenditure increase dramatically. I am happy to admit this.
>
> So the Revolution. Unarguably the hot topic for discussion, debate and
blind
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> guesswork amongst industry-watchers right now. Many believe that it will
be
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> little more than a computer, in a box, which is displayed on a TV screen
and
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> will be connected to the Internet. The games will be controlled using
> traditional controllers and 'other things' with the Donkey Konga Bongo
> Drumset offering the closest glimpse to date. Can this really be the case.
> "Well, [laughs] if there was no way our competitors would find out, I'd be
> happy to reveal to you the full details of what the Revolution actually
is.
quote:
> But this is not the case right now so I have to refrain from divulging
> specifics. My apologies. However, I will tell you that the Nintendo DS is
> the key indication for what Nintendo really wants to do with the
Revolution.
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> We really want to come up with a great new idea which will be accessible
to
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> as many people as possible, regardless of age or gender. That trick has to
> be there for the Revolution."
>
> With Xbox 2 set to launch this year, in time for Christmas in the US and
> Europe, things have changed. This combined with the seemingly endless
delays
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> in PlayStation 3's emergence has essentially flipped wider home machine
> launch expectations on their heads. Will Nintendo take advantage of Sony's
> hardware and chipset development delays and launch before the third
> iteration of PlayStation? "Sony hasn't officially announced the launch
> timing of the PS3 so it would be inappropriate of me to comment on that
> specifically," says the Nintendo president with something of a sly smile.
> "And of course, I cannot comment on when we'll begin selling the
Revolution.
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> But I believe that our target audience is totally different than that Sony
> is aiming at with the PlayStation 3. And therefore slight differences in
> launch timings will not be very important. For example, if we were to
launch
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> a month sooner or a month later, I really don't think it will matter a
great
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> deal. "Words alarmingly reminiscent of those spoken of the 'GameCube
> difference' not so long ago. Iwata-san continues, "But of course, in the
US
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> and in Europe there are key sales times, especially around the winter
> holidays. So to gain the most momentum for the Revolution launch we have
to
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> have the timing correct and this is far more important to us than
> concentrating on a release timeline governed by the actions of a
> competitor."
>
> So no worries that with a free run in the market and equipped with the
most
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> powerful machine in the Xbox 2, Microsoft will have a chance to finally
> become an established home console player in Japan? "Well, I think it's
very
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> appropriate for any Japanese games industry person to say that there is
zero
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> existence of the Xbox in Japan. And when Japanese developers go to
overseas
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> markets and see that the Xbox actually does sell, they are flabbergasted.
I
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> can tell you that Microsoft will have to shell out huge amounts of money
to
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> see something incredible happen. The judgement will be made by games. That
> is what will tell. And unfortunately in Japan, the videogame market has
> declined somewhat and we know that if we simply intensify game content,
the
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> way everyone did in the past, we cannot expand the numbers of Japanese
> gamers. That is simply the case where the Japanese market is concerned. It
> is for this reason that Nintendo has sought to come up with a different
> approach to this market. My answer can be seen as an indication as to the
> future of any of Nintendo's game platforms."
>
> The DS came in for criticism for not following the traditional Nintendo
> design aesthetic. Some have even called it ugly. Given Nintendo's history
of
quote:
> evolving the design of portable hardware, will we see a revised model DS?
> Again, Iwata-san laughs good heartedly. "Hardware developers at Nintendo
are
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> always looking for what comes next and what will be the new direction as
> soon as they finish the design of any particular piece of hardware. Some
of
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> them are actually working on improved functionality of the existing
machine,
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> with some working on a rework of the exterior design exactly in the same
way
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> they did with the transition from Game Boy Advance to Game Boy Advance
SP,"
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> hinting at a possible, dare we say probable reissue in the not too distant
> future. But there's more. "Some designers are working on a completely new
> project, completely different from the existing DS platform," perhaps the
> most concrete mention of the new Game Boy development to date. Iwata-san
> continues, "But, what I can tell you is nothing complete has been decided
> right now about when or what kind of modifications or new features will be
> added to existing machines. However, I am the one who is looking forward
the
quote:
> most to the time when one of Nintendo's developers approaches me and says,
> 'Look! We have come up with the great idea!'. So once again, I have
nothing
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> concrete to share at this time." Perhaps at E3?
>
> And with a sage nod and grin, the interview ends.
>
>
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