Just as a note, I hope this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Wii U in 2010. Hopefully Iwata says something at Nintendo’s Fall conference, if there is one.
Matt Ryan from Nintendo Canada on why it seemed Nintendo focused more on hardware than games…
“While Wii U hardware was a BIG focus this year for Nintendo we also have many software titles that were emphasized at the press conference and at the show. First of all, we are celebrating The Legend of Zelda 25th anniversary and that is bringing many Zelda titles to our systems. The newest offering being The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Wii. Also, for Nintendo 3DS we have Super Mario, Mario Kart and Kid Icarus: Uprising coming this holiday. So we had a nice balance of hardware and software but we are quite aware that the Wii U announcement really excited fans the most in our booth.”
Ryan on if there is any worry that Nintendo will displace their current consumer base with a new console…
“Not at all. We anticipate that Wii U will make all types of gamers happy! Wii expanded the video game market and brought many new people into gaming, we expect Wii U to not only to continue this trend but to take it even further with what the new console has to offer.”
Reggie didn’t show anything on the Wii U other than the controller (and the console!), but I think Jimmy was happy just holding it in his hands. And those lucky audience members all received a copy of Ocarina of Time 3D.
This is for the three of you out there who still aren’t convinced that it’s not worth picking up Ocarina of Time 3D. Man, Link’s model… it looks so nice!
Thanks to Smeagle for the tip!
Yet another Nintendo interview for you guys to look over. The funny thing is, the second question in this interview from GameSpot was regarding Pikmin. Shigeru Miyamoto actually revealed that he’s going to be putting the franchise on Wii U instead of Wii, but this was before his roundtable.
Miyamoto on whether there has been a philosophy or a direction that Nintendo is taking in bringing titles to the 3DS…
“Well, I’m really seeing a couple of different tendencies in 3DS software, and one is that the system itself is, I think, a great system, where games that we’ve released in the past can be remade and really take on new meaning, and there are new ways to make them fun. But on the other hand, at this point, what we’re also looking at of course is creating new installments in existing franchises. And so that’s, I think, where the system is right now.”
For Nintendo, releasing their systems with the most powerful technology available has never been their intention. Instead the company has focused on creating entertaining experiences while pricing their consoles reasonably.
So it comes as no surprise that Nintendo is considering this approach once again for Wii U. Shigeru Miyamoto understands the need to incorporate technology that has progressed over the years, but also realizes that Nintendo still needs to have the console come in as a reasonable price “because people have generally only a certain amount of their spending that they’ll devote to entertainment.” In the end, Nintendo will be looking to balance the price of Wii U with what can be included in the hardware.
Nintendo is an entertainment company. We’re very sensitive to pricing because people have generally only a certain amount of their spending that they’ll devote to entertainment. And if you’re talking about parents buying something for kids, there are certain price points where parents may be willing to or not willing to purchase a certain product.
But at the same time, you have these technological advances, and you have the needs of being able to take advantage of that technology, and those result in increasing costs and things like that. And so I think that in terms of companies that really look very carefully at what is the best balance between price and possibility in terms of the hardware, Nintendo is the company that’s going to probably pay the most attention to striking that right balance.
So when you look at what we’re trying to do this time, which is I think maybe to a certain degree somewhat reckless, because we’re trying to include this somewhat kind of tablet-like device–this controller with the screen. We’re trying to do that by finding the right balance between the CPU and the GPU, the graphics processor, and bringing all of that together with the ability to take advantage of the HD capabilities of the system, and wanting to do the most that we can on that front as well.
We’re very sensitive, of course, to trying to do all of this at an appropriate price. So I don’t know that we would be able to sit here and say that it’s going to necessarily dramatically outperform the systems that are out now. It’s part of the balance that we strike in terms of trying to find entertainment that is new and unique.
Eiji Aonuma on what he thinks the best way is for Nintendo commemorate Zelda’s 25th anniversary…
“Zelda has always been a series known for its high-quality music, so we’ve planned an orchestral concert to help people celebrate the 25th anniversary. Music is a passion of both myself and Mr. Miyamoto, and that passion connects to gameplay elements such as Link’s playing of instruments. I would like to give people an opportunity to enjoy music while following the history of the Zelda series with us all the way up to Skyward Sword.”
Aonuma on whether Nintendo considered further altering Ocarina of Time 3D beyond interface and graphics, similar to Super Mario 64 DS…
It looks like Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment’s Worldwide Studios, has been keeping track of some of the Wii U rumors over the past few months. Yoshida told IGN that he was “surprised” by the console and that the system was “pretty close to what was being rumored.” One of his expectations is that Nintendo might consider making “a giant DS”, though that obviously didn’t happen!
“I was surprised to see the final product for what Nintendo was showing. It’s pretty close to what was being rumored. Lots of media had different interpretations of the rumors, and something I thought Nintendo might be doing was like a giant DS in your house. I was expecting them to do some demos, like Nintendogs coming from the big screen to the small screen where you can then pet the dog on the tablet controller. And finally they are going to HD graphics, which must please third-party publishers judging from what they were saying at the press conference. It’s interesting.”
Yoshida also responded to a statement made by IGN in which the publication said that “Nintendo seems to be blurring that by having a tablet controller where you can play console games both on a TV and portably.”
“We still don’t know much about the Wii U. It seems like the controller can only work with one console. When they show multiplayer they are using the Wii remotes. How games will be developed for that console we still don’t know. As I understand, the Wii U remote has to be in proximity of the console so it’s not a true portable device in a sense that you can bring it with you outside the room or house. I still can’t get my head around what it is.”
