Iwata reveals ambitions for the Wii

Gamasutra have conducted an interview with Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata in which has discuss his thoughts on the Wiimote, the speaker in the controller, WiiConnect24 and Nintendo’s strategy for this generation.

Read the full story for a selection of excerpts from the interview.

Q: Did Nintendo’s disadvantage in the console market help in making this bold decision?

Iwata: Nintendo once was the champion in the console market, yet is now the challenger. Challengers have a hard time getting the market to listen to them. Our intent was to revolutionize the user interface in the portable games market, where Nintendo is the reigning champion, and follow that up with the Wii’s success in the console market. We have earned support for our user interface innovation much faster than I had expected, and this should help propel the Wii forward…

Q: Is the “”Virtual Console”” concept proposed by Nintendo another step in the pursuit of simplicity?

Iwata: When creating a packaged game to be priced at 5,000 yen, developers tend to feel the need to create a rich game. Yet it is possible to create a reasonably entertaining game in 2 months with a team of three. Offering such games for 500 yen (~$5) over a network could lead to a reasonable number of people purchasing it. By offering an environment that allows this, we hope to encourage more developers to pursue basic yet enjoyable gameplay. Of course, content-rich games have their own merit, and I have no intention of discrediting them. Such games are important in their own right, and will continue to be in demand. Still think about it eating French cuisine or a full dinner each day would quickly lead to boredom, wouldn’t it? Youll want a simple bowl of rice and soup every now and then. Our intention with the “”Wii”” is to propose an alternate approach to gaming business, as the gaming industry is currently far too single-minded..

What will the Wii offer when connected to the Internet?

Iwata: I’ll give you a specific example we are planning for. Let’s say your Wii is connected to the Internet in a mode that allows activation on a 24-hour basis. This would allow Nintendo to send monthly promotional demos for the DS, during the night, to the Wii consoles in each household. Users would wake up each morning, find the LED lamp on their Wii flashing, and know that Nintendo has sent them something. They would then be able to download the promotional demo from their Wii’s to their Nintendo DS’s. This will, of course, be possible in gaming stores too, but I think users will enjoy being able to do this within their homes. The key merit here is having promotional material delivered to your home, instead of having to go collect it yourself…

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Some interesting words there from Iwata and the approach Nintendo are taking with the Wii seems to be a very positive and constructive one. The WiiConnect24 and virtual console will open up many opportunities and possibilities for Nintendo and the prospect of having DS demos sent to the Wii console is a tantalizing one to say the least.

Source:Gamasutra