Remember the secret game of NES Golf hidden inside each and every Switch console? It would seem Nintendo is prepared to officially acknowledge the existence of this hidden gem - taken by many to be a tribute to the late Satoru Iwata - but that's about it.
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, when asked by Kotaku about the tribute, said:
So, two comments on this. It was identified by folks playing around in the firmware. We’ve got nothing officially to announce for that content or what the plans are for that content. So that’s that. Certainly anything that pays respect to my friend Mr. Iwata is something that is near and dear to me personally, but in terms of that execution and what it was meant to do or what the plans are, we’ve got nothing to announce.
"Nothing to announce" could be taken to mean "we have plans but we're not saying what they are yet". Or, perhaps, Nintendo won't announce anything, and the secret tribute was meant to be just that: a secret.
Main image credit: Time
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 27
No news is news, amirite?
Considering it was found out unofficially, it's understandable. They'll announce something when the time is right. IMHO you don't press anyone for something especially if it involves a friend who passed away even for the sake of journalism.
I want to believe that whatever new iteration of the VC we get is going to be a paradigm shifting, mind blowing new thing. I'll continue to be patient... but I'm getting nervous.
Its a tribute. That what they did they aren't looking for any recontion from it. Just simply honoring a great man a friend a mentor. Well done.
I feel like maybe this might have been something that may be a bit disrespectful to talk about? The way it was placed within the Switch's firmware and wasn't talked about kinda makes me think that it was supposed to be a special token for the developers and not something for the general public to know about.
That being said, now knowing about it it is certainly a touching addition to a wonderful vision and console.
Well that settles that then .. i have nothing to say
I have nothing to comment.
I think it's part of that culture aspect of this particular custom. I don't think they are ever supposed to acknowledge it. Regardless of what it means for the future, I still love it for what it is and that's all that needs to be.
We've got nothing. Sums it up about accurately. I'd prefer some idea to remake golf
I think you folks at NL would save some precious time if you just named these articles as ''Reggie Says Nothing 1'', ''Reggie Says Nothing 2'', etc. and the content of the article were always ''So that's that''. The amount of actual information given to readers would be the same anyway.
@yeayeanaynay I agree and find it kind of ridiculous the way people relate Reggie to Nintendo as a whole company. Sure he has a position of considerable responsibility - but he's not in charge of the way the company is run or how the products are made. And his job when he's talking to the press is that of a front man - a no nonsense, cut and dried, here's what we want you to know at this moment spokesperson.
I happen to kind of like the way he does it - it keeps the heat on him and away from the other employees - letting them get on with their jobs. Sports managers / coaches often perform the same role.
@LinkSword He could have declined to comment entirely. He's actually acknowledging that it's a thing here, which is news.
How to Talk Like Reggie:
“So, here’s where we’re at. We know that dogs and cats don’t get along and that 9x7 = 63. When the ball crosses the line we’re committed to being laser focused on driving sales and, which strategically, allows us to consolidate the dynamics of purple hippos and moon cheese. What does this all mean? 9 out of 10 cats prefer Whiskas.”
Iwata is still dearly miss.
Isn't it supposed to stay unopened to work? I don't think he can talk about it because of this.
Maybe a programmer baked it in at the last moment. Could have been something that wasn't widely known at Nintendo. Easy enough.
The presence seems like an easter egg and nothing more. There are very specific conditions that have to be met for the game to launch on a specific day of the year. It was not initially discovered by hackers, but by chance a member of GBATemp accidentally launched the game on the date - even respected hackers were accusing this person of lying at the time, and it was months later when it was finally discovered to be true.
I wonder if perhaps Reggie wasn't aware of the easter egg until it was publicly outed, and that's why he can't comment on it.
It wasn’t supposed to be something that the public knew about. It was an in house way to pay respect. Some things people should go “I’m glad this is a thing” and leave it alone. Companies pay tribute to valued members all the time because they are made up of people who care and worked with a person. Doesn’t mean that its time to grill them about it. Decorum,respect and decency are still good values to have. Humanity makes my head hurt. Sigh.
@Ryu_Niiyama Indeed. I respect Nintendo even more now if they don't talk about it, because otherwise it'd arguably become a feature, a marketing bullet point, tarnishing its intent as a way to honor a fallen leader.
Idk why they're hiding it. They were confident enough to mention Iwata's name as a mountain in Zelda so why be shy about this?
@Emperor-Palpsy
10/10
Well, it was never officially supposed to be accessed anyway. It's an omamori, it's meant to be sealed and kept beside a shrine (in this case, the Switch) to bring good luck. Nintendo embedded NES Golf into every Switch as a sign of respect. The Switch IS Iwata's baby, and keeping some part of him nearby to protect it (theoretically) is possibly the nicest and most thoughtful thing a company could ever do.
Or it just means: 'There are no news to report, please don't make an article out of nothing'.
WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE?!?!?!! WHYYYYYYYYY?!?!????!?!?!!!?!!
Perhaps it's not necessarily as much a tribute to Iwata, in the sense of being completely "sacred"/off-limits. Maybe Golf was chosen for other reasons (initially), & some time later they rediscovered his connections to it, so they retrofitted any programming related to it, to be Iwata related(Direct gestures, clock date, etc.), since everything would be conveniently correlated?
Even if it is a tribute to him, people are naturally going to be curious. Obviously different cultures, & faiths have various perspectives, & traditions regarding respect, or treatment of the dead.
As a tribute, or memorial, I believe it is nice on behalf of the person, or persons that decided to put it in. In that regard, it should be respected as such by others, if Nintendo has indeed put it in for that purpose. If indeed that is how it was intended, I liken it to putting flowers or a service member symbol on the grave of the departed; As a Christian, it's being respectful of the memory of who they were in this life, since Christian belief is that the dead's soul can not be controlled, influenced, protected, or directed by prayers; After death their soul is bound for wherever it is going, Heaven, or Hell. I'm just talking; I understand, & respect not everyone believes as I do.
In short, it's a nice gesture, if it was intended as such.
Edit: Humanity isn't completely cold. General respect, & decent treatment of others does need to be more permeated through our world, however.
Lol, the way he is saying it only fuels the fire, like something's BIG behind it (probably not, but you know how things go)!
@aesc At least God will enjoy his games now.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...