Iwata speaks on Wii's online functionality and piracy control for the 3DS & 4.3 firmware update
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For investor relations information, a 2010 E3 Expo Analyst Q & A was conducted and posted on nintendo.co.jp. Among one of the questions, they were asked about some titles like New Super Mario Bros. Wii that do not contain multiplayer elements and what Nintendo plans to do in the future about the online-portion for first-party Nintendo games.
Iwata answered,
"When Shigeru Miyamoto created New Super Mario Bros. Wii, he ultimately made the decision as to whether or not it would have an online functionality. So I’d like to talk about why he chose not to include online functionality in that game.
Anytime you’re developing a game, there are limits to elements of development, like time, manpower and resources. What we’re always considering is what we can do with limited resources to maximize the appeal and entertainment value of a particular product. And this is something that Mr. Miyamoto is of course also constantly thinking about. I think that his decision on whether or not to include online functionality with New Super Mario Bros. Wii was based on the idea that the true value of that product was going to be determined not by online functionality, but on how compelling and unique the experience would be for two, three or four people to be able to play that game together in the same room.
Of course, I have heard commentary that people feel that Nintendo’s online functionality is behind the others or is lacking in some ways. And I can say that we are not currently satisfied with the online efforts that we have made so far, and we are working at ways to improve those. On the other hand, I do not think that online functionality is something that we should be devoting resources to for every single product. Instead, I think that Nintendo’s ability to create an offline experience that feels incredibly unique and compelling is a particular strength that we have.
Going forward, what we will continue to do is to evaluate the individual products and experience that we’re creating on a product-by-product basis, and make a decision as to whether or not it’s more important to devote resources to making that offline experience more fun and compelling for products where that is going to be the most important element of the game play; and then for products where it is going to be more important, to add online functionality and make that online functionality robust and compelling. We will continue to focus our efforts there when it’s appropriate, but it’s going to be a product-by-product decision.
The issue of piracy was also addressed. The question asked:
Piracy (infringement of IP like illegal copy products) has become a huge issue on the Nintendo DS platform, particularly in Europe, and it seems to be impacting your financial performance, but maybe even more importantly, it seems to be producing the desire for third parties to not develop for that platform. So I’m wondering what steps you are taking with the Nintendo 3DS to prevent this serious problem.
"I am in complete agreement with you that piracy is a serious issue. Unfortunately, the piracy issue has reached a threshold where it is no longer easy for us to completely put a stop to now.
Naturally, we are taking a two-pronged approach, from both a legal and a technological angle, to try to do what we can to combat the piracy issue. Although we have made some progress, unfortunately, it’s kind of like a game of "Whack-A-Mole" where you hit one over here and it pops up over there, and it has been a bumpy ride.
On the Nintendo 3DS, when the new hardware is launched, various measures can be taken. So, we’ll continue to take advantage of technological attempts. In the case of Nintendo DS, the pirates work to find ways to then overcome that and enable it, but we’ll continue to try to do what we can to limit the amount of piracy that’s going on. We will pursue these two routes.
Then there’s also a group of countries where perhaps the laws in those countries are not currently strong enough to allow us to go after piracy. In that sense, Nintendo strives as part of the overall industry, rather than on its own, to work with those countries to try to get them to strengthen their laws to enable us to combat piracy from the perspective of protecting valuable IP.
Of course Nintendo cannot give exact details on how they plan to fight piracy, only ensure the stock holders that there is some sort of course of action that will help fight it. With that said, the Wii 4.3 firmware update that has been released, is said to remove and block foreign programs and/or hacks. Among other inclusions, the main reason for this update is to help tackle the piracy that currently exists on the Wii.
Source examiner.com
