Iwata: GamePad idea was before iPad release, expanding gaming population
Update: More quotes added.
About a week ago, Japanese publication Nikkei published an interview with Satoru Iwata. The Nintendo president had lots to say about Animal Crossing: New Leaf and other titles in the series.
Nikkei is back with another round of quotes from Iwata. Below you’ll find translated comments regarding Wii U sales, the GamePad’s origins, his desire to continue expanding the gaming population, and tons more that couldn’t possibly fit within this post’s title.
On Wii U vs. Wii Sales…
“I don’t think there’s much point comparing the weekly numbers to the Wii, or the weekly numbers themselves. Worrying and rejoicing each week is something we can’t avoid. On the subject of the reaction to the Wii U, there are still things we must do, things we must overcome. That’s what we’re waiting on.”
“I think it will take a little time for our customers to understand the Wii U.”
On customers’ satisfaction with the Gamepad…
“Setting aside the satisfaction some purchasers have with start-up and software change speeds, which we will improve, speaking only of the 2-screens, people find that they enjoy the Gamepad more than they thought when they actually hold it themselves. People realize the importance and benefits of having a personal screen that works in conjunction with the TV the more they use it, slowly, but that doesn’t transfer to people who have yet to use the system.”
On transmitting a system’s message…
“[The initial reaction to the DS] was terrible. The DS began with sentiments like ‘Has Nintendo lost the plot?’ and ‘have they gotten that desperate?’. When the PSP released, no one thought that the DS would succeed. That was the narrative at the time, but when things like Brain Training and the DS Lite came out, that changed. Afterward, people thought, ‘Ah, so that’s what that was, huh?’.
“The Wii was an exception. With the Wii, the DS Boom was in full force, and we were able to show off the tennis demo using the Wii Remote Controller, and it was a simple concept for everyone, one that could be understood immediately.”
“We were really lucky, but at that exact time, the popularity of large-screen flat panel TVs was increasing, and the living room space opened up a little bit. We had a really strong wind behind us (luck) and we didn’t have to work particularly hard to send our message.”
On accusations of copying the Ipad…
“We began talking about having another screen being a good idea around 2008. We thought thoroughly about our other options, but in the end, this was the idea which was the most logical for us. So, in 2009, just as we began to press forward with this idea, sure that we were on the right track, this thing called an ‘Ipad’ came into the world.”
“So, 2.5 years after the debut of the Ipad, when we were announcing the Wii U, it was the start of the tablet boom, the reaction was, ‘Nintendo’s just added a tablet to a game console, and there’ll be no revolution this time.’ Even though we’d been working on dual screens prior to the release of tablets, it looked like we were just following a trend.”
On changing the way families play games…
“The Wii, with which we wanted to change the way game consoles existed in the family environment, changed the perspective and the result was the Wii U. The Wii’s challenge was to, once again, gather the whole family in the living room to play. A restoration of tea time. Before digital TV and flat screen TVs, the number of TVs per family had been increasing, and it was common for there to be a TV and gaming console in the kids play room or bedroom. Because the big, good quality TVs entered the households, and they wanted to use them, families that had been separated came together once more in the living room and we were successful.’
On the concept of Off-TV Play…
“But, with that change, the TV also became a shared item and people who played games were interrupting people who did not. This was a dilemma. So, when making the Wii U, we discussed what could be done about situations where you were told to stop playing games because someone else wanted to watch the TV. We came up with many ideas internally and combined them in the Gamepad.”
On beating Smart TVs at their own game…
“When we thought of the Gamepad, I was convinced that future TV remotes would, like the Gamepad, come with a screen attached. This is the so called Smart TV, right. TV manufacturers have, for a long time, been making trials for the internet to be viewable on TVs, but the hurdle with that is that inputting text on a regular remote is very difficult. There is [was] no remote that allowed you to read, touch, and type in your hand.”
“There, the TV purchase cycle is, at shortest, 5 years, and at longest 10 years, and since many families have only recently purchased a new TV, many will likely not purchase one for a while. So, while thinking all this, we thought how about we make a game console that borrowed from the concept of future TVs. Change the pleasure of using the living room TV experience at once, sort of thing.”
On increasing the gaming population…
“There are many things on the internet that are more interesting when viewed together. Watching videos, shopping, trip planning, and the Street View Google Map service [which will begin on Wii U] this month, in January. This way, if it’s an enjoyable experience, for people who don’t have any interest in games in the family, rather than something that’s a hassle to have, the Wii U can become something that they have a connection with.”
“I am still thinking about increasing the gaming population, and it’s something I’d like to spend my whole life doing. Not becoming an enemy of mothers is healthy. Previously that idea wasn’t in the minds of game shops, and I said it a little too forcibly, maybe, but now I don’t talk like that. People are aware of that idea now, see. But the way of thinking hasn’t changed. In order to realise that change we must improve the reception people have to Game Console Companies. For example, suppose there is someone who doesn’t play games, but does watch Youtube, and this person gets used to holding the gamepad, the threshold for gaming has been lowered in them. Or, until now, there has been cases of a mother wanting to watch TV, but the child doesn’t want to quit his game, and then they argue over it, but now the kid can continue playing solely on the pad. It is in this way that we can change the reception of gaming companies.”
On Miiverse, empathy, and social gaming…
“The outlook for Nintendo fans on social networking services such as Twitter is worsening. If we look into it, the people who used to post about Nintendo are satisfied with Miiverse and have stopped posting online as much.”
“When we first spoke about Miiverse, we were told that trying to make a social network now was a fool’s errand. We were asked by many people why we weren’t simply connecting up with Twitter or Facebook. But, what we thought would be good about the service has largely come true and, as of right now, our customers are really enjoying it. The networks of people on Facebook and Twitter aren’t all people you are playing games with, right? From my viewpoint, I don’t use Twitter or Facebook [privately] but if I were to, it would be about things like ‘Hey, wanna go for a drink?’ ‘Wanna go on a trip?’ ‘Why don’t we have a class reunion?’, and so on, it wouldn’t be just about the people who I am playing games with. Because I couldn’t tell my high school buddies that I had got a high score in Mario Kart. (Laughs)”
“We, Nintendo, have always thought this, but games shouldn’t just be about the time you spend with a console, but also telling people that you passed something, or that you found a neat trick is interesting. If I were to put a name on it, it would be empathy.”
“Mr. [Shigeru] Miyamoto has been talking about this concept for years, the reason that the games that he makes are popular around the world is that they have that meta-shared experience between players. Mr. Miyamoto likes making you feel that, and giving you the ability to feel that. It was at a time thinking about that that we received the original idea for Miiverse. Like ‘Ah, this is an empathy network.'”
“So, with ’empathy’ as a theme, we created Miiverse to make games played alone not a lonely experience, but one that you could experience with many people. In order to make that a reality, we had to integrate it into our platform, and support it as a unified service.”
”[Regarding Miiverse on PCs and Smartphones]I can’t make any concrete statements about when it will be available yet, but it won’t be far away.”
“If there was Miiverse on the 3DS [Note, the article mentions this is still the intention] it would probably be something amazing. If Miiverse and Animal Crossing were integrated together, we’d have the chance to create something even more awesome [than what is going on now].”
On personal information posted on Miiverse…
“We delete personal information immediately. Never longer than 15 minutes. It would be too late to act once something has happened.”
On additional charges for games…
“It’s built to be difficult to have unlimited charges. Each time the charge screen will appear, or you need to recharge in 1000 yen increments so it’s very difficult to be charged just by continuing to push a button.”
On the company’s philosophy…
“We aim to leave a smile on our customer’s faces, no matter whether it’s the game being interesting, a parent and child talking about gaming, or a grandfather being able to remain cheerful. Because it’s worth doing, our staff can smile too. If our performance rises, so too our investors smile. If this chain is successful, Nintendo can be something worth keeping and continuing, and we can fulfill our responsibility to society.”
