Iwata talks Nintendo’s network policy
Satoru Iwata addressed Nintendo’s network policy during the company’s investor meeting last week. This is another topic that we covered fairly heavily last week, but the official translation has now arrived. You can find it below.
Please let me give you a broad overview of the network policy for Nintendo games. There are several ways to make games more interesting by using a network structure. The first and most widely known way is to play video games with people in a distant place. For instance, I can play Mario Kart together with Mr. Miyamoto when he is in a different location. Still, even though you do not need to be in the same place, it does not eliminate the fact that you must play the game at the same time. We have laid emphasis on a service called “Miiverse” since the release of Wii U. Basically, users can pause most games, visit Miiverse and share their impressions or precious scenes from the game in addition to learning how others play the game. Miiverse is also helpful to learn about games before making purchases, and it appears that quite a few people appreciate that other players understand and empathize with their impressions. If the structure of Miiverse is developed more, users will also be able to exchange their play data with others, making it possible to play a game with another person without doing it at the same time.
I think that the best way to use network play differs depending on the game. For “New Super Mario Bros. U,” which a maximum of five people can play together in front of the TV, we focused most of our effort on enabling those five people to enjoy the game all together so we did not focus on online play. On the other hand, through Miiverse we provide information such as play tactics and strategies, and we have received a lot of positive feedback. We are developing Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and in these two games, we would like to meet the expectations of consumers that they want to play together with people in different locations. In addition to that, if we can create an environment in Miiverse where users can play a game with others without sharing the same time and inspire one another through exchanging their game experiences, then I believe that some very interesting things will happen. I would say that our policy at Nintendo is to consider each game’s features and then offer network functionality that takes advantage of these features. We will do our best to achieve this since we believe that there is a consensus that you have more fun when you play with others than when you play alone, and that you feel happy when others understand the impressions and fun you had while playing a game.
