It was pretty clear that, when it came to E3 2013, Nintendo took a different approach from its competitors. With a relatively short Nintendo Direct broadcast that only contained one surprise game — others had already been confirmed to appear — it was more about getting this Holiday season's big games in the hands of expo attendees and press, building hype through experience; the Best Buy E3 Experience events also played their part.
Few would argue that the next six months aren't important for Wii U, as Nintendo kicks off a packed release schedule of a variety of titles, covering genres and styles that are, in theory, suitable for most audiences. As well as big-name mascot titles like Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo will surely be anticipating that offerings such as Wii Party U and Wii Fit U will attract upgrades from gamers that enjoyed their predecessors on Wii.
In an interview recently uploaded by Forbes — though comments within suggest it was filmed shortly after E3 — Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime outlines how the company plans to successfully build the Wii U consumer base. In many ways his comments are as expected, emphasizing content and innovation over processor power, and the attraction of being able to easily upgrade from Wii to Wii U. Nevertheless, Fils-Aime is eloquent when making points about the irrelevance of being first, and his comments about the responsibilities of the industry.
Check it out below and let us know what you think.
[source nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 71
Like the interview, and he makes a lot of good points in favor of Wii U.
He said "3D Land" which I'm sure he meant 3D World.
I noticed a lot more U stuff this year. Monsters U is one example. With that flagship Mario and Wii fit I expect the Wii U to make much more of a mark this year. As long as the advertising is good.
I like Reggie
He is right about one thing, it is about the games. It's not about how fast it is, or the power of the system, it is really about the games. You'll always have your die hard people that just have to have the latest and greatest system, with the best processors and the best graphics just to show off that they have the better system. Nintendo's games are what always had me stick by them no matter what, and will continue to do as long as they keep putting out great games for the Wii U and 3DS. He did make a mistake though, because the Xbox 360 is backwards compatible with most original Xbox games VIA patching, but oh well...and there were PS3 systems that played PS2 games, but we all know that didn't work out very well.
Nice 8-bit Super Mario pin there, Reggie!!!!
@StraTTtheRipper
I think he was referring to the PS4/Xbone, that are not backwards compatible. He could have mentioned the Wii peripherals and controllers are also compatible with Wii U.
To be exact, this interview took place on June 21st, since that was the night Reggie appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." As far as the interview goes, Reggie was right on the money.
"Power means none if you have good games to back it up. Ps1 had that stigma too." said Reggie
Bravo for that interview.
Ugh, my kindle can't play YouTube. It appears that they are obviously NOT going for Metroid. Darn....
I'll give more info when I watch the video.
I'm so thankful for Nintendo. They offer games my daughter can play, that I can play, that anyone can play and enjoy that don't fall into extremely violent categories. The alternatives are slim. It's a company that still believes in the brand of gaming I grew up and fell in love with. My 3DS and Wii U have been the best sources of entertainment for everyone in my house. No regrets!
Hello I'M New To Nintendo Life I'm Just seeing if this works
Content is king! That's why there's barely any to play!
My Tab 2 does play the video, but after a few minutes I decided it wasnt worth watching. Reggie did seem relaxed though.
One thing Nintendo has going for them - besides being winners they're also survivors. Theyve survived the Gamecube with its low install base. And the Virtual Boy, and the DS and 3DS being mocked. I dont think they care if they sell more consoles, as long as its profitable and they make good games. MS is all about money and crushing their competitors, Sony is fighting for respect, Nintendo just keeps chugging along.
@Fingeldor What you said is AWESOME, man. Double thumbs up
Welcome @Calten1234
I love all things Mario, and every version of Mario Kart has always ended up being one of my favourite games on that respective system, but I lately have I just become completely fed-up with the total lack of third-party support for Nintendo home consoles. I have been a Nintendo-only gamer my entire life, but I am honestly thinking of saying “the hell with this” and picking up a PS3
Super Mario 3D World and DKC: Tropical Freeze are going to be great games, but I also love racing games and third person action/adventure games, and I’m sick of there being next to no options in these genres available to me on the Wii U. I’ve played and enjoyed Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge and Need for Speed: Most Wanted (enjoyed minus the f’ing freezes), but those are literally the only choices available to me for the system with nothing else on the horizon (real racing games, not Sonic All-Stars). And yes I know Bayonetta 2 is coming, but that was announced in 2012 and I am getting sick of waiting. Plus, Nintendo will probably make us play that with the Gamepad controller, which I do not want to do. That controller is not suited to that type of game. There is a $299 PS3 bundle with Gran Turismo 5 that I have my eye on. That would open myself up to gaming experiences that I will never be able to have on the Wii U: God of War III, DmC: Devil May Cry, the original Bayonetta that doesn’t control with a stupid tablet, and so on. The Gamepad is not a selling point. Nintendo has no idea what to do with it besides to make it a map and allow you to access things that are easier done by pressing ‘pause’ on another system.
Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World are going to be amazing, but I want to have different gaming experiences as well, and Nintendo just doesn’t offer them to me. I’ve been a gamer for 22 years and I’m rooting for Nintendo, but you’re all kidding yourselves if you don’t think that Nintendo is in trouble.
@Varia01 Thanks! You rock!
What the hell is up with the sound in the movie. Reggie is on my right speaker and that interviewer is on the left... xD
@koopakid Project Cars. Also, Nintendo has no say in the controls for Bayo 2. That's up to Platinum. And I'm pretty sure Nintendo knows perfectly what to do with the gamepad, but they know that their competitors will copy it, so they want to finish what they're working on before announcing it.
But you should buy a PS3, as it has a good selection of great games.
Must-have games:
Red Dead Redemption, God of War, Saints Row 3 (if you like the humor), Skyrim, Mirror's Edge, InFamous, Bioshock (these are just off the top of my head).
Have fun, greatness awaits!
Bayonetta runs like poopiedoodledingdongs on the PS3, though. You're better off hoping for a re-release on the Wii U.
@StraTTtheRipper He's talking about PS4 and Xbox One not having 360 and PS3 games.
It might be misinterpreted but when see how Reggie sometimes stops to search, it doesn't take long, for the good thing to say you get the point.
I admit i was particularly attentive and watching and listening to him in great detail so that's maybe why i noticed stuff. I know that when i listen but not watch a video i don't get all the words because my partionating my brain.
Now talking to all folks on NL.
He really has a point, this year there are a lot of games that you don't see on a Nintendo Home Console since long time of at least two years: Pikmin 3 is long awaited from the fans and everybody that loves real-time strategy also will like; The Wonderful 101 seems like another Pikmin but when you know Platinum you know them from an action driven gaming company, any kind of action, but this is a never before seen anywere this i what i call new IP because i didn't ever see that gameplay; Sonic Lost World could be a new IP if not for the Sonic themed gameplay, with lots of variations, all over the place and who knows what; DKC Tropical Breeze it's a new DKC, it's been absent for 3 years, and it will blow my mind, stages when you can go both under and overwater and David Wise...amazing...oh, and the first DKC with 3 different playable characters.
Super Mario 3D Worlds is the only one that's almost common, why almost? Because the director liked what they have done with 3D Land on 3DS but had too many retrictions to his ideas and so did those ideas on the Wii U.
It's not amazingly new, but has some cool things like the 3D Land design taken to the max and never before seen local multiplayer in a 3D Mario, local multiplayer is important to any Nintendo console owner. At least will be fun and if it will have also the SWorlds and they will have some extra hard levels you will see praise even there, but that's only me hoping for the best.
It's true, Nintendo has always fewer games than their competitor but they choose carefully what to do, even when they did Mario is Missing they put it really to make it what the director had in mind, even if it was very different from any other Mario game. You can say they wait a lot some times, but i say they gather the ideas and then pull of that amazing gem that alone will make you never regret having their console. Or they make them do it to some interal teams sometimes.
Just think about it: Megaman 2 for the NES, A Link to the Past for the SNES, Pokèmon Red/Blue/Green for the Gameboy, Ocarina of Time for the N64, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for Gamecube, Dragon Quest IX for the NDS, Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii and Resident Evil: Revelations for the 3DS. What my life would be without those games?
Being a really long time fan of Nintendo, i have no doubt that, despite having always less games than other consoles there will be that game, the one that will make me do that question, also on Wii U.
And if i feel annoyed because having only Nintendo console means also, i know that, having periods of time when you simply don't have anything to play...well, in that case i have my computer and i have Steam and i perfecltly understand who does the same choice.
Or Wii U and PS4 or Wii U and Xbox One if you don't like PC gaming, fine by me. But, if you really like games and you know what creativity is don't miss on a Nintendo console, just because Nintendo speaks in terms of gaming genres that other companies seems to have forgot and that's bad, gaming should never lose true Platforming, Physical Action, RPGs of all kinds, unique Strategy and random stuff games.
Most importantly the random stuff, that always has the most fun value and i like that Nintendo is not confining that to the indie market.
Sony and Microsoft are doing 95% of their boxed games all for mature audience or very much story driven, but they mostly miss gameplay. For me gameplay is not playing for 5 hours The Last of Us after having spent 70€ on it, finishing the story and never touching it again. I know that it's a really good game, it's a great story and such but i need gameplay also.
So there is two sides of gaming, fun and serious at the moment. What i want to say is that's ok the play serious games but don't forget to have the same quantity of pure and innocent fun. I'm 25 years old and i don't take any regrets in doing silly stuff in games, you know why? Because, for me and i hope other people, games are a way to escape reality. I like to play some serious games like Remember Me or the last Tomb Raider on my PC i can't do it too much of them in a row, just because all this plausible scenarios in gaming can only take my mind so far.
It's just that immaginaton and silliness and pure fun can take me to the next level, like Borderlands 2 did or Project X Zone is doing or Animal Crossing: New Leaf is doing or Skyrim did and is doing.
We need all those things put togheter and we will be complete gamers.
(this comment is counting on who has the money and the will be a complete gamer, not willing to change others ideas only to make others see that gamers like me want to keep being like this, because we think it's best for us)
lol he said 3D Land and not 3D World GET IT TOGETHER REGGIE
I'm surprised Forbes bothered to do this at all, all their Wii U articles so far have been overly critical and borderline slanderous.
@koopakid ... Darksiders 2 is Awesome check it out kinda like a mix of Zelda, God of War and Castlevania Lords of Shadow ... one of my favorite titles on Wii U
@Fingeldor You just made the best post ever.
Anyways, even though Nintendo is struggling with their Wii U problems and stuff, I still have high hopes for them. They can turn it around just like they did with the 3DS.
Come New Years Day 2014 Nintendo & Wii U will be on a Roll... With Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Sonic Lost World, Wii Party U, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze and Super Mario 3D World only available on Wii U many people will finally buy the Wii U and By April of 2014 we should have Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros Wii U & Bayonetta 2 along with Batman Arkham Origins, COD Ghosts, Rayman Legends , Assassins Creed 4 & Watch Dogs .. thats alot of games and thats what drives sails.... Wii U has been pretty Dry this Summer of Content that all Changes in 2 months!!!! I love Reggie... & My Wii U ... Let's Go Nintendo
sales
@koopakid real gamers enjoy multiple consoles, so what
@BossBattles "real gamers" god I'm sick of this ****ing term...right up there with hardcore gamers...
@koopakid than buy a ps3, if your anything like me, you will, you'll play the third party games through once, than you'll trade them in, and repeat My PS3 collects ALOOOT of dust. Who knows, maybe you'll prefer ps3? never know, everyone has different preferences.
Great interview from Reggie, gave the right responses, too. I feel Nintendo does try to appeal to everyone a little more so than the competitors. Sony and Microsoft seem to focus more on classic style gaming terms, with the traditional controller and games more geared for guys in there 20's to late 30's, while Nintendo wants everyone to get into gaming, guys/girls people very young to very old, old people afraid of technology etc. and honestly, I always thought that was very cool of them Easily put: Nintendo is in there own class, while Sony and Microsoft continue to butt heads.
@koopakid I'm with you on the part about Nintendo not using the Gamepad in a way that adds something special to the game play. It's mostly used as a map, which is part of the reason why I've stayed away from the Wii U. When the console truly adds new gaming experiences, then I will buy one, but until then, I'll do my gaming on my 3ds and other last gen consoles that I own.
@PokeTune
To what console are you referring to? If 3DS? That couldn't be farther from the truth. Wii U? There's a TON of games coming out starting in August, I mean, did you really expect a brand new console to have a full PS3 sized library the day it launched? This is what the microwave has done to us. I want it and I want it now! Libraries take time to build. Even now though, half a year after lauch, I've already purchase 13 Wii U games. 13! I've had my Vita for a year longer than my Wii U, and only have 7 games for it. It's been out 3 times longer, yet I have half the amount of games for it. I don't see anyone complaining about Vita's lack of games. And here's the ringer: Vita has virtually no announced game lineup, with the exception of Killzone Mercenary in September and a port of Final Fantasy X which still has no set release date. And this is going on 2 years after lauch! That's the difference between Wii U and Vita. Nintendo will actually support their system to drive the install base. Sony abandons their system, waiting until a user base magically appears.
@Fingeldor: Your welcome. Once again, fantastic post.
There you go. Pretty much what everyone wanted them to say at E3 in a two and a half hour press event, except in ten minutes. Can everyone be happy now!?!?
Reggie is Confident; I thought the Forbes interviewer looked very nervous...
Concerning No games to play, not playing at all? I've got plenty of games to play, but I end up playing Wii U every day (Rayman Challenges, and sometimes some Virtual console titles, like Yoshi, and Kirby's Dream Course). When if first launched, I was bored of batman, and Nintendo land, and New Super Mario Bros U, so I continued with Xenoblade. I downloaded Majora's Mask, and played it more (I still don't like it). With 3DS, I play everyday now, too. For A while I was playing simple Virtual Console titles, after finishing my other games.
Even if the G-pad is only used for maps or items, it turns out to be quite handy. But, there are things that were demoed at E3, for instance the Wonderful 101, Artist... or whatever it's called.
@hydeks
I'm glad you feel this way. It's sort of an elitist attitude; REAL GAMERS are foolishly indecisive, wanting something completely different, but exactly the same. People who can't admit that Video games are just toys, no matter how old, or who you are.
@KoopaKid
I'm surprised you are even thinking of spending that much money. You could probably get one for half price, WITH three racing games. PATIENCE, if you have any left.
@ngamer155 Wow, I'm flattered. And I agree, I think they're going to turn it around just fine. It's amazing what 2 or 3 solid titles will do for a console. Nintendo's got this.
Is that a pin on his jacket or a patch?
I think Reggie handled the interview very well.
One thing just occurred to me:
Uppercase "F" in a blue box? Forbes.
Lowercase "f" in a blue box? Facebook.
"Being first to launch is simply a date on a calendar. It really doesn't mean much in the long term. It's never really helped us that much, ESPECIALLY in the SNES era."
Reggie Fils ears with crap.
Am I the only one that want another Nintendo Direct, even though we just had an e3 Direct? Lol
@X-Factor Nope I'm with you lol, I want more info about the Nintendo 3DS!
E3 2013 was all about Wii U.
@Meaty-cheeky They wanted to bring up the Wii U now that the Nintendo 3DS is soaring in the financial sky. That was the plan, and I think the E3 trailers for Nintendo 3DS titles are good enough.
much respect for reggie. much respect
I just stopped at the point when he said "we have all the great software to show", some of it is good software but there is one little problem. Some of them games have release date's which is not meny, other 2014 or no release date. My god other consoles have more games coming out and them consoles are not even out yet, by the time them consoles release thay'll have more software than the Wii U library.
Wii U - the console to get if you don't want every game to be a FPS.
@MadAdam81
I'm talking about MMO's, RPG's, indie's well all sorts really, just them games are bigger than the Wii U library, never minds Driving games & FPS.
@MadAdam81 Yea keep believing that lol.
FFXV, Kingdom Hearts, FFXIV, 3 different types of RPGS by one dev alone on PS4(not on Wii U) and none of those are FPS, but all are console selling games.
DC universe, EQ Next, and tons of F2P MMO games also wil be on PS4.
Metal Gear, gran Turismo, God of War, Ratchet & Clank, resistance, unchartered, and so on off the top of my head none of those are FPS.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/24/20-games-12-new-franchises-coming-to-playstation-4-in-year-one
Read that too they will have tons of games exclusive to that console.
Its ok to love Nintendo, I love their 1st party games too, but its another thing to flat out lie and pretend its the best console when its gonna be 3rd overall.
@PokeTune It has pretty much the same volume of content of any other console
That's only been out for 7 months.
@GamerJunkie hahahaha, how is it 'obviously' going to be the 3rd best console? What possible basis do you have to make that convincing statement?
I'm pretty sure people said the same with the 3DS which is under powered against the Vita and look how that turned out.
Standard marketing talk. Reggie is full of it! I can't stand the guy, and that's saying it nicely!
Don't forget to advertise your stuff, reggie. In 7 months ive seen 2 wiiu advertisements wich is a little to little ^^
Nintendo forget to advertise their stuff, here in holland people still think wiiu is an expanded/upgraded version of the wii.
While sony playstation is sponsoring the championsleaque..
@Shrapmo
I'm not so sure...
@koopakid The Gamepad is NOT a selling point?????? Are sure you even own a wii u???
Play need for speed with motion control, zombi u to see that this pad is the future. Actually play almost any game and the fact it doesn't need to be in your tv and see more selling points. I can play assassins creed III in HD, half way through a mission, I can pause it, grab a brew and go up to bed and then finish that mission from the comfort of my bed on the Gamepad, turn off my wii u from upstairs, set it on the night stand and go straight to sleep, My son could be playing NSMBU on the big screen, family call round, shut off the tv, he's still playing it on the sofa and not annoying the visitors.
The sheer scope of implementable controls
In Gamepad is phenomenal, as developers get to grips with the development tools, then they can research to control interface.
Personally I'm looking forward to Pikmin 3 and the controls to that. If you just want a straight digital interface, grab a SNES for £50 with a stack of games and you won't go wrong.
Reggie is a muppet
Haha, Reggie using the old 'With great power, comes great responsibility' line.
Was more informative than I was expecting.
@StraTTtheRipper What Reggie meant was Xbox 360 & Ps3 games can't be played on XboxOne and Ps4 respectively !! Whereas Wii games can be played on Wii U, so therefore Nintendo have created a natural progression from Wii to Wii U! Plus all Wii peripherals can be used too!!
@GamerJunkie Watching E3, you wouldn't know it...
and when you say RPG, I say button mashing platformer with some RPG elements and boring, long cutscenes...
Been many a year since there was a good Final Fantasy game that was worth the AAA price tag (X), but even longer since there was one that was must buy (VII). KH was a bit better, but even less of an RPG - Deus Ex: HR has more RPG elements than these games, and that's coming to Wii U, and Zelda is a Wii U exclusive.
Based Reggie
@Shrapmo That shows how similar the games are sadly. Even Reggie can't tell the difference
I believe Reggie knows what he's saying. I can relate to the Processor part. The processor doesnt really matter as long good games are there to function the console more sales to come.
Smitherenez
That shows how similar the games are sadly. Even Reggie can't tell the difference.
Reggie we have strong 1st party & 3rd party support.
As you can see Reggie doesn't know the difference between having 3rd party support & not.
i'm looking forwards to Pikmin 3,
That interviewer needs to seem a little less... angry? He looks like he is totally nervous or has something wrong with him or something.
Something tells me that people at Nintendo aren't very self-aware and might continue to think with a bubble around their heads...
@rilely: Absolutely. It's like a psych ward somehow. They're always dead earnest and so convincing, but what they say is entirely made up and only holds true in their own little fantasy. Like "it's all about content". Indeed. But where is it? Lack of content (and original content) is why they're under fire and not selling units.
Their stuff is so generic even reggie can't keep it apart. "Super Mario 3d land", "The New Zelda Game".
Wow yeah, I'm lookig forward to the, uh... the "New Zelda Game". Where can I pre-order that?
Bubble around their heads is putting it mildly.
Reggie and iwata interviews are always great for morale. Its the lack of follow through thats the problem. Theyre forever talking the same crap and nothing ever changes. We've had nothing to play for months at a time and by the time some of this e3 stuff comes out the wiiu will have been out for a year thats really had nothing going for it but ports.
Content is king. I agree. But the new systems arent even out yet and have as much if not more games going for them than nintendos console that, again, has been out for almost a year now...Imagine how much worse things are going to look when the sony and ms systems have actually been out awhile.
All nintendo has going for it is unviolent and accessible family games. These corporate attempts to pretend they offer more than that and can compete with what next gen is offering for a bit more money, really need to stop. It makes them look ridiculous and completely full of ****.
@cdude: Because they are. Who are they kidding, I wonder?
If at least they had a bunch of "nonviolent and accessible family games", that would at least expand on that market a bit, but they don't. They have two or three. Every conceivable demographic is left hanging.
And stuff like Game & Wario is just an insult at this point. They've been wasting time on what's basically just an elaborate joke?
@Sceptic If you look at Wiiverse, you will see that Nintendo tries to create an illusion that LOTS of people are playing Game and Wario. If you turned on Wii U, you can see Game and Wario community logo, under which LOTS of people are discussing how great it is, at the expense of other third party titles as they do not get promoted.
I think NIntendo is trying to make profit by creating this illusion regarding the popularity of their own games, while not promoting third-party titles. Nintendo's strategy is probably promoting its own titles first, making garnering third-party support a secondary priority. Notice that third-party titles and Nintendo titles are actually competitors among Wii U users - third party titles are useful in getting more Wii U buyers but they are not the most profitable for Nintendo.
@ cdude As from the previous message, getting third-party support may not be the priority for Nintendo. Nintendo may be more interested in selling its own game, at the expense of third-party titles such as Ubisoft. That is why Reggie keeps saying that content (hidden message: FROM ITS OWN COMPANY) is king.
we all know that the first party games will shine on the WiiU but the system still needs better third party support
and the install base can't be the issue anymore because i will use Dragon Ball Z Battle of Z for the example yes i know it's not a huge game but hear me out
DBZ Battle of Z is coming out on PS3, 360 and PSVita but not on the WiiU and like i said install base can't be a problem because they are releasing the game on the Vita and it's install base is lower than the WiiU's
plus the WiiU is pretty much capable of running most if not all games made for the PS3 and 360 but none of them are getting ported so what's the problem here is it Nintendo themselves, the WiiU's controller perhaps or is it publishers just not bothering with the WiiU because it's to much work?
don't get me wrong i love the WiiU and Nintendo, i grew up with them the first game i ever played was Zelda on the NES, Nintendo has been a huge part of my life and i would like it to stay that way
sorry for the rant, it's over now
Good ol' Reggie
@StraTTtheRipper He was talking about the ps4 and xbox one not being backwards compatible (not ps3 and xbox 360)
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