It’s true that Nintendo fans are pleased that they’ll finally be able to see their favorite franchises in HD, but, unfortunately, Nintendo is a bit late to the party. Both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have been supporting HD games with high-quality visuals for a number of years.
Nintendo is aware of this, which is one reason why they’ve introduced the Wii U controller. The tablet is one element that is completely unique and it sounds like the company might be introducing unique network functionality in the future.
Shigeru Miyamoto teased, “Although I cannot elaborate on its network functions today, as we are preparing for the launch of the Wii U, we are taking into consideration its network-related capabilities.”
Read on for Miyamoto’s full comments:
“Regarding the size of the development teams, after releasing various titles this year, I think that we will be able to explain about the teams that are developing the software, but we have already started working with a number of other companies. Talking about game development in general, if we develop video games based upon similar concepts and scale as before and release it for multiple hardware systems, the time each developer has to spend to do similar work again and again increases, which is not so interesting for the developers. Talking about the Wii U, it is going to be compatible with high-definition TV sets, which are now widespread and, with the graphics capabilities catching up to the general trend, some people consider it to be the ‘next-generation Wii.’ On the other hand, as far as graphics capabilities are concerned, there are already other hardware systems with similar functions. Therefore, we have designed the Wii U to be recognized as being different from any other hardware system. Although I cannot elaborate on its network functions today, as we are preparing for the launch of the Wii U, we are taking into consideration its network-related capabilities.”
“In short, the bottom line is the number of new things which are possible only on Wii U we can create, and our basic policy is to nurture the younger people who can think about the ways to create such things. We are making efforts so that when we release applicable software in the future, you will be pleasantly surprised and you might say, ‘Oh, this is what you were trying to achieve!’ or ‘These are the titles you were preparing.'”
Satoru Iwata has commented on the role of graphics for Wii U and Nintendo’s stance on visuals in general.
In some instances, it will be necessary to create some titles that feature “very rich graphics” with long development times. When it comes to Zelda on Wii U, “fans must be looking for the graphic representations that they do not see as cheap at all when the title is released”.
On the other hand, according to Iwata, there is software that some games may not follow that route Rhythm Heaven Fever is an example of this.
Iwata said:
“You are asking for my comment as a judge, but I also need to think about the software content, so my remarks are two sided. Looking at the software for home console systems, there are certainly the software titles for which very rich graphics must be reproduced on HD displays and which demand a large number of developers to spend a very long time to develop. It is one of the truths that a certain number of such software titles must be prepared, or the consumers will not be satisfied. But we do not think that any and all the software must be created in that fashion. When you look at Nintendo’s software, extraordinary rich graphics, massive gameplay volume and astonishing rendition effects are not necessarily the appealing point. It is, in fact, important for us that our games are appealing in other ways as well. An example of this is the Wii software, ‘RHYTHM HEAVEN FEVER,’ that we released last year in Japan. It became one of the hits, but if we had adopted rich photo-realistic graphics, it would have lost much of its appeal rather than improving its appeal. Similarly, about the Japanese title ‘Tomodachi Collection’ for Nintendo DS, the developers themselves confirmed that this software is based upon the “cheap concept.” It is not necessary for us to deploy a huge number of people in order to develop such games. When we need massive power and have a lack of internal resources, we collaborate with outside resources and pour necessary resources to where they are needed. We are increasing the frequency of working with outside developers where Mr. Miyamoto and our internal developers alone used to develop. At the same time, however, we do not forget to ask ourselves in each such opportunity, ‘Isn’t this something our internal resources alone could sufficiently deal with?’ Also, when we have such a doubt in the development as, ‘Will such cheap pictures do in terms of today’s home console graphics’ standard?,’ sometimes we conclude that ‘showing such pictures are unique and rather appealing, so it’s OK.’ So, there are a variety of different ways to show the unique appeal of software. What’s important here is not to narrow down what we can do. Rather, we have to create the dynamic range of appeals that the consumers can appreciate. We decided to make a proposal of an additional screen into the Wii U controller because developers could think of a variety of different possibilities here and there of using both a big TV screen and a screen in a player’s hand. As we will showcase the Wii U at E3 in June this year, the detailed announcements must wait until then, but we are aiming to make a system which shall not be forced into competing with the others where the contenders can fight only with massive developer resources and long development times as their weapons. Having said that, however, as I mentioned, it is true that, in some software areas, we need to be engaged in the power games. Take The Legend of Zelda franchise, for example, the fans must be looking for the graphic representations that they do not see as cheap at all when the title is released for the Wii U. When it is necessary, we do not hesitate to role out our resources.”
A portion of the DS’ success can be attributed to casual titles such as Brain Age and Nintendogs. However, Nintendo has yet to introduce the same software to the 3DS.
Nintendo won’t be porting any of the Touch Generations games to the 3DS, but they are working on a number of casual titles for the system.
President Satoru Iwata said:
“As for the ‘Touch-Generations’ titles for the Nintendo DS, as many of you recognize that these titles were able to gain popularity among different consumers and to expand the total number of consumers for the hardware, we often receive such questions as ‘Why don’t you do the same for the Nintendo 3DS?’ If the company was to simply port these ‘Touch-Generations’ titles to the Nintendo 3DS, there would be nothing fresh. Although we have not included the software in the lineup that we have announced so far for this year, we are, of course, preparing several titles with which we will be able to aim to expand the entire gaming population. By releasing these titles in the market, and by linking them with other network activities of the company, by taking advantage of such communications among friends as ‘Swapnote’ or interactions in public enabled by ‘StreetPass’ communication, if we can beef up the joy of the software, and if we can communicate to consumers the brand-new experiences such software can deliver, I believe we will certainly make a change. For example, in comparison to the Nintendo DS and the Wii, fewer senior consumers are using the Nintendo 3DS today. It must be inevitable as there are few titles among the Nintendo 3DS software so far developed with this age demographic in mind. The situation must change after applicable software is introduced. However, for the Nintendo 3DS, we have to first maintain the situation in which the current owners of the Nintendo 3DS will be satisfied. We cannot put too much priority on expanding the entire user demographic at present. It is important to maintain a good sense of balance here.”
We’ve seen lots of tributes to Zelda through the years. Fans have created Flash games, amazing art pieces, and plenty of other content to show their love for the series.
“Zelda: The Lost Oracle” might be the most impressive Zelda fan-project yet.
Joel Furtado made the minute long clip above as he’s a big fan of the franchise. The video, which is based on a new Zelda title he’d like to see for Wii U, features some absolutely incredible animation.
It’s truly impressive, so be sure to check it out!
Satoru Iwata commented on two interesting topics during the company’s financial briefing Q&A.
First, he stated that Nintendo won’t be referring to Wii U as a “home console system”, unlike the Wii, GameCube, and other products from the company. This is because not all gameplay will be limited to what you’ll see in front of your television.
Iwata said:
“…As for the Wii U, although this system is categorized in the general video game description of a home console system, the play styles the company is proposing with the Wii U are not limited to the ones which are available only in front of TV sets, so I believe that we will not use the term ‘home console system’ for this hardware. Whenever we launch a new video game hardware system, if we cannot sustain the momentum during the launch period and a certain period thereafter, it can invite very challenging situations just like the one the Nintendo 3DS experienced. Doing our utmost to avoid such a situation is another challenge the company is focusing on. As for other things, to sum up, we will make efforts to effectively implement what we have already prepared.”
We were hearing last week that Nintendo will announce partnerships with third-parties this year. We have Iwata’s full comments on that below.
“I recall that I also heard a concern at one of these occasions in the past that the company may lack sufficient resources, and I was asked, ‘How will the company cope with it?’ It is obvious that Nintendo does not employ so many people internally. If we look at the number of our own employees, we are not a so-called ‘resource-rich’ company. When we view our company from a different perspective, on the other hand, it is an advantage because Nintendo has more freedom and flexibility to be able to collaborate with outside resources as long as we can find good partners. As a matter of fact, although many tasks used to be done only internally in the past, we are now working with people outside the company in several business fields. When we make any relevant announcements on such projects, we cannot just say we are working with this company on that project. Unless we can make more comprehensive announcements by discussing the details of the subject product, it may not make any sense to you. So, we would like to discuss this topic sometime later. There are several projects we will be able to talk about this year. I hope that I will be able to pick up examples which will show that Nintendo is taking care of the business fields in which it lacks internal resources.”
When the Wii U launches, Nintendo won’t just be concerned about the console’s price point and initial launch lineup. They’ll also be focusing on maintaining the sales momentum once it’s on store shelves.
Satoru Iwata believes that add-on content is one way of maintaining market momentum. This is because people could play a particular title once again if such content is announced. By doing this, Nintendo can keep some momentum, raise profits, and can increase the lifespan of certain products.
Iwata said:
“…In determining the launch date of the Wii U, we need to take into account not only what to release at the launch period but how to keep the sales momentum after then. In the past, I mentioned that having strong momentum is very important for game platform businesses, and as a matter of course, we are now more convinced of that and we need to have a backup plan ready.
“Regarding the add-on content I mentioned before, effectively providing such content for a game which has sold well could be a way to keep the market momentum. The sales pace is getting slower day by day even for the biggest hit software. If we could announce some big news in connection with the add-on content for such software, many people would start playing it again, which could be an opportunity to revive the momentum. In this context, the add-on content should be considered as a key to extending the lifespan of products and to maintaining the sales momentum, as well as a chance to earn additional profits.”
