Mario creator outlines Nintendo strategy
蘇伯方
Creator of the game company's biggest franchises discusses Wii, PS3
and surprises yet to come.
Game Over is a weekly column by Chris Morris
May 24, 2006: 9:47 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Psst. Want to know a Wii secret?
The man who created Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong wasn't too sure about
the new name for Nintendo's next generation console either at first.
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto
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Of course, he's a big fan of it now - and fully supports it. But like
a large percentage of the company's fan base (and the rest of the
gaming world, for that matter), he really liked the machine's code
name: Revolution.
"When we first thought about it, myself and others felt that the name
Revolution was very appropriate to what we were doing," Shigeru
Miyamoto told me recently, "but [Revolution] is a name that was almost
threatening to non-gamers. It wasn't acceptable. So we thought this
was more friendly and inviting."
Miyamoto, of course, has had longer than the rest of us to get used to
it. The Wii name, he said, was finalized more than six months before
it was announced to the world.
In truth, while the name is still accompanied with some eye rolling,
it's starting to settle in with gamers, who are shifting their focus
to the machine's software after Nintendo's very successful showing at
E3, the video game industry's annual trade show.
Show attendees stood in line for 3.5 hours and more to play the Wii.
Somewhat startlingly, complaints about the wait time were rare. Users
seemed to enjoy the system's unique controller, which translates wrist
and arm movements into onscreen action, taking the emphasis away from
buttons and thumbsticks.
Before E3 began, though, Sony (Research) sprang a whopper of a
surprise on the industry. The controller for the PlayStation 3 would
also be motion sensitive, allowing players to affect onscreen action
by simply moving their arms. While the announcement caught many off
guard, Miyamoto said he wasn't as surprised as some others were.
"That always seems to happen and we kind of expected it. It reinforces
for us that we've been on the right path all along," he said. "We've
gotten used to others copying what we do � and we're having a lot of
fun with it. ... On the flipside, I suppose they must be worried about
any other functionality we may announce."
Nintendo might have hinted at some of that additional functionality at
its press conference. Towards the end of the event, Miyamoto, Nintendo
president Satoru Iwata, Reggie File-Aime (Nintendo's public face in
North America) and a contest winner demonstrated a Wii game on stage.
The game was Wii Tennis - but instead of using generic character
models, the onscreen faces in this match were caricatures of Miyamoto,
Iwata and Fils-Aime (the contest winner did not have a personalized
character). At the time, it seemed like a visual in-joke for
conference attendees, but Miyamoto said the Wii might be able to
create those personalized visages for players and their family
members.
He declined to go into specifics, but added "we have some different
ideas about how to take advantage of that functionality � and we will
be sharing that type of functionality with third parties."
A motion-sensitive controller wasn't Sony's only surprise at E3. The
company also announced a retail price for the PS3: $499 and $599.
That's higher than Microsoft's Xbox 360, which currently retails for
$299 and $399 - and while Nintendo has not announced a launch price,
analysts believe the Wii will most likely cost between $199 and $249
when it goes on sale in the fourth quarter of this year.
"I knew before [they announced the price] that it was going to be
expensive," said Miyamoto. "Even then, it was a bit of a shock. But I
think it's clear that they don't want to lose a lot of money per
unit."
A lower price might make the Wii more attractive to cost conscious
consumers, but Nintendo will have to ensure it is able to meet demand.
It's a difficult problem for a new gaming system. Microsoft (Research)
experienced significant shortages with the launch of the Xbox 360 and
many feel it could be even harder to find a PS3, given the popularity
of its predecessor.
Supply problems are something Nintendo is particularly familiar with.
The company has seen the popularity of its DS handheld unit surge and
been unable to keep up with demand. Even Miyamoto said he is
concerned.
"I think one challenge we might face is similar to the one we are
facing with the DS in Japan," he said. "We will have to work to make
sure that doesn't happen."
While the Wii's gameplay did win complements at E3, many noted the
system's graphics looked dated - particularly when compared to the
Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Indeed, it's tough to tell the difference
visually between a next-generation Wii game and one running on the
current system, the GameCube.
While the controller might attract people's attention, I asked
Miyamoto whether he was worried that the radical difference in the
visual quality of the games might negatively impact sales.
"I think there's more than one way to get the attention of consumers,"
he said. "Obviously, graphics are what the other two companies are
doing. I think what we'll do for Wii is show people open interaction.
... We're designing a system that's relevant to everyone in the house.
Our hope is that Wii will be something different."
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