Interview: Satoru Iwata Talks Wii MotionPlus, Supply/Demand & More

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GameDaily BIZ had the pleasure of sitting down with Nintendo President Satoru Iwata for a brief chat during E3 last week. Dig in...

by James Brightman on Monday, July 21, 2008

It's not so often that Nintendo makes its leader Satoru Iwata, who's been president of the company since 2002, available for interviews, so it was with much enthusiasm that we happily accepted Nintendo's offer to meet with the man during E3.

Although our time was limited, and half that time was devoted to translation, we did manage to get some interesting comments on the new Wii MotionPlus, continued supply issues for the Wii, Nintendo's approach to character IPs, and Mr. Iwata's own concerns about online safety and his admission that Nintendo's system using friend codes is by no means perfect.

Here's the Q&A:

GameDaily BIZ: Considering their similarity to Nintendo's Miis, what is your reaction to Xbox Live Avatars?

Considering how profitable Nintendo is, you'd think he'd have a huge grin on his face.

 

Satoru Iwata: Let me refrain from making any comments on that. I'm more interested in how the industry watchers or people in this industry have felt about that.

BIZ: Nintendo for a long while struggled with supply and demand for Wii. How has that situation changed today?

Iwata: In the spring of this year, we announced that starting from this summer (2008) we would have a monthly maximum production capacity for Wii of 2.4 million, and we are working with that schedule right now. We are [continuing] to increase the maximum production capability... However, the expansion of the market for potential customers, the number of people who are waiting to purchase Wii, is beyond our expectations right now. So for the time being, I really do not think that the imbalance for supply and demand can be solved immediately. For example, when we look back at the whole history of video games, in the past it was unthinkable that other than during the November – December time period we would have 700,000 monthly unit sales in U.S. alone.

 

"[The Wii MotionPlus] design was first conceived only after the initial Wii Remote design had been completed."

 

BIZ: Regarding the new Wii MotionPlus attachment for the remote, where did the idea come from and how long has it been in the works?

Iwata: The idea [for Wii MotionPlus] is something we've been contemplating for quite a long time. My understanding about the timing, the reason we are announcing this kind of attachment right now, is because we have come to the stage where we can purchase a significant amount of the gyroscope technology at a reasonable price point, and the stability of this kind of technology itself has been confirmed, so that's why we're making this announcement today.

BIZ: Is this kind of functionality what Nintendo really wanted to launch the Wii with from the get go, and now you're finally realizing that complete design?

Iwata: As a matter of fact, this kind of design was first conceived only after the initial Wii Remote design had been completed. And of course, as Wii Sports has already proved in the marketplace, the Wii Remote itself is pretty interesting [to consumers]. But as we came up with a great idea like Wii Sports, every other software producer and creator started to think about something more. That's the reason why internally they started to demand that some more technology be brought to the Wii Remote.

BIZ: Will adding Wii MotionPlus to the Wii Remote drain battery life faster?

Iwata: I cannot say it won't consume any additional energy from the Wii Remote; however, it's not going to be significant.

 

"I don't think the current [online] system we have with friend codes is perfect."

 

BIZ: When will we see new character IPs, not just Miis and IP like Wii Fit but actual new characters that can rival Mario?

Iwata: Whenever I receive that kind of question, I always respond, "Why don't you think our Mii or our intention behind making the Mii is something like our endeavor to come up with a new character?" Let me tell you, new characters is actually the result... in other words, we are not trying to create some new character. More specifically, what we are always trying to do is create some new [kind of] play and new entertainment. As a result, if that new play is appreciated by the consumers, the main characters are going to become the new characters. For example, when Mr. Miyamoto was making the Super Mario character, he was not intending to make the so called Mario character itself, but he just wanted to make some interesting gameplay, and for that interesting gameplay he needed to create some middle-aged guy with overalls and a mustache.

[PR rep: Time for just one more.]

BIZ: For a console like the Wii, which reaches the mass market, friend codes don't seem like they're very friendly for mass market consumers. It's like entering a string of credit card numbers. How will Nintendo's approach to online be changing?

Iwata: First of all, I don't think the current system we have with friend codes is perfect. However, if it's an online world where you can get access to anybody without any restrictions, I as a father do not feel like allowing my daughter be engaged in that kind of world. So for Nintendo, especially in terms of the people who have never experienced online video games before, we think that it's still very important to create a world where we can assure that there will be no harassment for these online beginners, and we really want to assure the security and safety for them to do that. So we will be studying this on an ongoing basis in order to improve Nintendo's own circumstances where people can freely and safely enjoy the communications through the net.

BIZ: Thank you very much.

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/features/interview-satoru-iwata-talks-wii-motionplus-supplydemand--more/?biz=1&page=2