Nintendo exec predicts strong season for Wii

Kristin Kalning Games editor • E-mail

A little over a year ago, many inside the games industry thought the Nintendo Wii would be a flop.

Nintendo’s console was graphically weaker than the competition. It had a newfangled — some said gimmicky — controller. And don’t get us started on the name.

Fast-forward a year. The Nintendo Wii — graphically weaker, funny controller, funnier name — was a smash hit right from the get-go. As of September, Nintendo has sold 13.2 million of the $250 console, within spitting distance of the year-older Xbox 360’s overall worldwide sales.

So what did Nintendo know that the rest of the industry didn’t?

“First, we knew that many consumers had been turned off of video games because they were too complex,” says Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo USA. “We knew consumers valued innovation, and wanted something fresh and different.”

Fils-Aime says the Wii also had something that no other console can claim: truly immersive gameplay. Using the motion-sensing controller, gamers can slice a forehand, rip a fastball, pull and turn levers in “Metroid.” And that all-consuming gaming experience would help the company sell not only hardware, but its first-party software too.

Nintendo’s success with the Wii has been curtailed primarily by its inability to keep the consoles in stores. Almost as soon as the machines arrive, they’re quickly snapped up by consumers. Fils-Aime says the company has drastically stepped up its manufacturing to meet projected holiday demand, but many shoppers still report seeing empty shelves.

I spoke with Fils-Aime recently about whether or not the company was too conservative in its manufacturing estimates for the red-hot console — and whether its other blockbuster system, the Nintendo DS, will have the same long lifespan as the Game Boy.

Console Wars Games editor Kristin Kalning conducted Q&As with executives from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Monday: Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America Tuesday: Don Mattrick, senior vice president, Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business unit Wednesday: Reggie Fils-Aime, president, Nintendo America

I wanted to start out with a question about you. You were the turnaround guy at VH1, so why come to Nintendo, which is famously conservative? We're they looking for a turnaround?

I think what attracted Nintendo to me was the fact that, throughout my marketing career, I’d spoken to a range of consumer demographics … everything from the 25- to 49-year-old demographic of VH-1, to younger consumers during my Procter and Gamble days, to even older consumers during my Guinness beer days. So, I think that was the attraction. For me, the personal attraction was to work with a brand that I knew well from my own game-playing days.

Industry watchers, and some gamers, were wondering if the Wii was going to be the GameCube 2. How have you managed to avoid that same fate?

I can’t speak to our challenges with GameCube. I wasn’t here for much of that generation. What I can tell you is that as we launched the Wii, we made sure that we had strong software support at the launch. We made sure that we had a fantastic consumer proposition, and we made sure that we had follow-up support.

What do you mean by follow-up support?

Follow-up in terms of new games, in terms of games from key third parties. … We knew that launch was just the beginning. Just like, truly, our first year in the marketplace is just the beginning, we need to make sure that we have ongoing surprises to really excite our consumer base.

You mentioned third-party titles. I would argue that most of the really strong games on the Wii are first-party titles. Is that a concern for you?

I would argue that there are a number of very strong third-party titles that are doing very well in the marketplace. Whether you look at “Guitar Hero III” from Activision, that’s doing exceptionally well. Whether you look at “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games” from Sega that’s doing well in the marketplace. What we have is … fantastic breadth of support from third party, and we also have a tremendous pipeline of new games coming out for the balance of this quarter.

I probably should have said original [intellectual properties]. All of the fan favorites, the really great original IPs, are developed by Nintendo. Do you have third parties lined up to do original games for this system or the DS?

We absolutely do. There were recently numbers published by Screen Digest, that showed there would be 21 Wii exclusive titles this quarter, versus less than half of that number for the 360, and less than a quarter of that number for the PS3.

The Wii has a ton of accessories. The nunchucks, the Zapper, the Wheel and the board that will be coming out with Wii Fit. Those of us with limited living-room space may revolt. Do you think the Wii is becoming pretty accessory-heavy?

Each of the accessories is meant to bring the gameplay closer and closer to the consumer and make it more immersive. Whether you’re talking about the Zapper for a first-person shooter type of game or the Wheel for Mario Kart or the balance board [for Wii Fit], each of these is an integral part of the experience, and we think that consumers certainly are enjoying and will enjoy everything that we have to offer.

The Wii’s online features aren’t as well-integrated as Xbox Live and what Sony has planned for Home. I’m talking specifically of things like gamertags and friends' lists — it’s a lot more difficult to share that type of information on the Wii. What are your plans to change that?

Our view is that the online experience needs to be something that adds value to the consumer experience and enables them to have a more in-depth experience – especially with the Wii remote. When you talk about gamertags, that really is a hardcore desire versus activity like creating Miis and other functionality that in our view, is much more what the mass market wants in their video-game console.

MORE FROM ON THE LEVEL

On the Level Section Front

Pink slips in the Teflon-coated games biz Wii're already fit, thanks These games really push our buttons Meet the man behind the Wii Can the video game hot streak last? Do we really need E3? Microsoft partners with Netflix on Xbox Live Texas teen is real-world 'Guitar Hero' Free EA software release spawns 'Sporn' Comic controversy a cautionary tale On the Level Section Front   Add On the Level headlines to your news reader: