Iwata quizzed on game development, WiiWare, shortages and more

In a new interview, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata sat down for a lengthy discussion revealing his thoughts on game development, what’s happening with Wii shortages and even Wii Ware. Firstly, the nagging issue of Wii Shortages. I’m sad to say that last year, production couldn’t even keep up with Japan, US, and Europe’s demands, says Iwata, who also commented that The scarcity of Wii units in the US and Europe is particularly serious. More inside However, he does say that they are still working on the problem. Changing tact a little to discuss game development, Iwata says that despite Nintendo’s appearance of only caring for casual gamers, he points out that we’re not pouring all of our resources into that sector exclusively, but I feel that it’s Nintendo’s mission to make both kinds of games. He reminds us that Every experienced gamer today was a beginner at some point, who encountered an experience that made them fall in love with games.

Also, Iwata says that no matter how fun a game is it will get boring at some point, and that Nintendos task is not just to make a new sequel ever three months. They are trying to continue changing games so that the next big thing is out well before people get bored of the last. To this end it is also why Nintendo is secretive in revealing things about what games it has coming out as We’re constantly working on a variety of ideas for new, different games, but it’s only after the specifics have been nailed down and they’re ready to be announced that we can talk about them. So while I can tell you all about a project that we can have out within two months’ time, games that still need six months or a year’s work really have to be kept under wraps.

Moving onto WiiWare, Iwata points out that the Virtual Console has now seen over 10 million downloads as of last December and that is proof that the download model for gaming can work and why Nintendo is giving WiiWare a go. Iwata also says that packaged games are not the complete solution any more as the cost of materials and distribution margins mean that you are taking a big risk and your product may only be on the shelf for a few months. Iwata also suggested a price point for games on the Wii Ware service, while we doubt all games will be this he says that for 500 Yen you could come up with a lot of fun ideas. Maybe that idea could be used to develop a full game later on.

When making games, though, you come up with a lot of fun ideas that could sell for 500 yen (about $4.70). Well, if there were a forum for releasing that 500-yen single idea into the market now, maybe the idea would grow into something that could be used as a full packaged game in the future. That’s off in the future. Finally, regarding third parties on the Wii, Iwata says that every time someone points out that only Nintendo games are selling on the Wii and the same for the DS, he admits that Nintendo [was] kind of the second banana here.”” As better third party software hit the Nintendo DS, Nintendo no longer had to prop up the system themselves.