Iwata on off-TV play, graphics, Nintendo Direct success, reaching new gamers
Thank you for your comments which include your encouraging messages to us. Please let me explain a few things from your message for those who do not usually play games. For example, “Off TV Play” means that, as the controller for Wii U is equipped with its own screen, users can play games on Wii U without looking at the TV screen. This is one of the unique features of Wii U and we often hear positive comments about how useful it is.
I understand, however, that what you would like to say is that “Off TV Play” eliminates location restrictions, but it doesn’t change the way users play. In other words, you have not experienced the wow factor that you did with “nintendogs” or “Brain Age” for Nintendo DS or “Wii Sports” or “Wii Fit” for Wii.
Generational changes of video game systems happen every few years and what they are capable of improves each time. Video game systems, which can be classified as computers that produce real-time graphics, recently have become powerful enough to be able to depict more photorealistic scenes and animate a lot of things more accurately on the screen. You pointed out that people are becoming less and less impressed by such evolutions in graphics. As a matter of fact, this is being discussed in the video game industry and some are concerned that this increased burden on developers is not necessarily linked to consumer satisfaction.
Some shareholders here reacted when you said “directly” in your question. I think they are familiar with our efforts to directly give information on new games to consumers on the Internet through our regular Nintendo Direct presentations. We started this approach in October 2011 and recently many people view these broadcasts. E3 is the video game industry’s biggest trade show, which is held in Los Angeles in the U.S. each June. At the start of the E3 show this year, we announced our Wii U software lineup until 2014 mainly through Nintendo Direct, rather than holding a large-scale presentation as we did in previous years. However, we did not announce all of the games to be released during this period. Most of those who are interested in E3 are video game fans that are eager for information on so-called traditional games and we had a lot of information to be disclosed to such people. Therefore, we first tried to inform consumers of the software lineup to relieve those who might think that they should have waited to buy Wii U until more games were released or those who might be concerned whether the software lineup will be really be enriched in the future. On the other hand, when it comes to brand-new types of games, we have to announce them not too far in advance of the actual release dates in order to have a strong impact in the market and minimize the chance of others introducing similar or competing products. We are working on new types of games, but we would like to announce them much closer to their actual release timings for this reason.
We would like as many people as possible to pick up, experience and enjoy our video games. It is important to let people who originally had no interest in games, find themselves enjoying Wii U in their living room every day. We must also satisfy avid video game fans. When it comes to Wii, as “Wii Sports” spread throughout the world at a sensational speed, some misunderstood that all Wii could do is enable them to play games by moving the Wii Remote. With Wii U, therefore, we planned to satisfy existing video game fans first and provide new surprises later. But, just as you pointed out, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the consumers to be impressed by improvements in graphics alone, so we would like to seek different ways to make an impression on consumers. - Satoru Iwata
Link
I understand, however, that what you would like to say is that “Off TV Play” eliminates location restrictions, but it doesn’t change the way users play. In other words, you have not experienced the wow factor that you did with “nintendogs” or “Brain Age” for Nintendo DS or “Wii Sports” or “Wii Fit” for Wii.
Generational changes of video game systems happen every few years and what they are capable of improves each time. Video game systems, which can be classified as computers that produce real-time graphics, recently have become powerful enough to be able to depict more photorealistic scenes and animate a lot of things more accurately on the screen. You pointed out that people are becoming less and less impressed by such evolutions in graphics. As a matter of fact, this is being discussed in the video game industry and some are concerned that this increased burden on developers is not necessarily linked to consumer satisfaction.
Some shareholders here reacted when you said “directly” in your question. I think they are familiar with our efforts to directly give information on new games to consumers on the Internet through our regular Nintendo Direct presentations. We started this approach in October 2011 and recently many people view these broadcasts. E3 is the video game industry’s biggest trade show, which is held in Los Angeles in the U.S. each June. At the start of the E3 show this year, we announced our Wii U software lineup until 2014 mainly through Nintendo Direct, rather than holding a large-scale presentation as we did in previous years. However, we did not announce all of the games to be released during this period. Most of those who are interested in E3 are video game fans that are eager for information on so-called traditional games and we had a lot of information to be disclosed to such people. Therefore, we first tried to inform consumers of the software lineup to relieve those who might think that they should have waited to buy Wii U until more games were released or those who might be concerned whether the software lineup will be really be enriched in the future. On the other hand, when it comes to brand-new types of games, we have to announce them not too far in advance of the actual release dates in order to have a strong impact in the market and minimize the chance of others introducing similar or competing products. We are working on new types of games, but we would like to announce them much closer to their actual release timings for this reason.
We would like as many people as possible to pick up, experience and enjoy our video games. It is important to let people who originally had no interest in games, find themselves enjoying Wii U in their living room every day. We must also satisfy avid video game fans. When it comes to Wii, as “Wii Sports” spread throughout the world at a sensational speed, some misunderstood that all Wii could do is enable them to play games by moving the Wii Remote. With Wii U, therefore, we planned to satisfy existing video game fans first and provide new surprises later. But, just as you pointed out, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the consumers to be impressed by improvements in graphics alone, so we would like to seek different ways to make an impression on consumers. - Satoru Iwata
Link
Related Posts:
