ReggieFils-aime
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Nintendo won't release an N64 Classic anytime soon
The NES and SNES Classic consoles served as bellwethers for the retro gaming revival that's currently in full swing. Naturally, everyone thought the N64 Classic was next (with both an earlier trademark filing and controller patent adding fuel to the fire). And what better time to launch then Christmas, right? Wrong. According to Nintendo America President Reggie Fils-Aime, the company has no plans to release an N64 Classic now, next month, or for the foreseeable future.
Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime on the first year of Switch and beyond
The last time we talked with Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's president and chief operating officer, the company was stepping into uncharted territory with Super Mario Run and the Switch's revolutionary spin on portable gaming. Now, almost a year later, Nintendo's latest console has been a huge success. Super Mario Run, unfortunately, wasn't as profitable as the company would like (despite 200 million downloads). But Nintendo's other mobile game, Fire Emblem Heroes, has been wildly successful, and it's planning to bring the popular Animal Crossing series to iPhones this month. After the failure of the Wii U, that's a surprisingly speedy reversal of fortunes. This time, rather than hoping to be successful, Fils-Aime was able to revel in a strong year.
Nintendo prez discusses Switch docks and left Joy-Con issues
Engadget editors have let you know how we feel after extended time with the Nintendo Switch, and in an interview with Time, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime gave us some updates from within the company. Through its first five days on sale, the Switch continued to be Nintendo's fastest-selling console ever in the US, but the biggest questions are about issues some owners are experiencing. When it comes to that occasionally-finicky left Joy-Con, Fils-Aime said "all I can tell you is that we are aware of and have seen some of the reports. We're asking consumers a lot of questions....we'll look and see what the next steps are."
Nintendo Switch still uses friend codes for some reason
As recently as January, we were told that Nintendo's awful friend code system for finding and adding buddies for multiplayer games would be no more. That made us hope a better system for adding Switch contacts was on the way. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime even told CNET, "There are no friend codes within what we're doing." It turns out that's not true at all, as the company revealed that friend codes are very much alive and well.
Nintendo opines on where it went wrong with the Wii U
Nintendo wants to make sure it "does better" next time when it comes to launching its NX platform. Judging by a recent interview of Nintendo of America head Reggie Fils-Aime in market mag AListDaily, the company thinks it has learned its lesson from the Wii U launch. The Nintendo head outright admitted that Nintendo has to do a "better job helping people to understand [the NX's] uniqueness and what that means for the game playing experience."
Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime on the Xbox One and PS4's launch lineups: 'meh'
With the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 due to hit shelves across the world soon, it's not exactly surprising to hear the competition openly sound off on the incoming consoles. Especially when it's someone as outspoken as Nintendo of America's COO Reggie Fils-Aime. "It's all about the games. The competitive systems have announced their launch lineups. I'm allowed to say 'meh," Fils-Aime said in an interview with IGN. The Nintendo head added that he feels confident in the Wii U's title lineup, noting, "We've got Zelda. We've got Mario. We've got Donkey Kong. In addition to great titles like Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101, I feel very good about our lineup, and I feel very good about the value proposition we're putting out there for the consumer." Both the Xbox One and PS4 will have more than 20 titles available at launch, which is on par with what the Wii U's launch was back in November of last year. The only problem is Nintendo's flagship has been seeing less and less support from third-party developers, making the console a harder sell for gamers worldwide. Perhaps, Nintendo's hoping to turn the tide with its recent announcement that the Wii U's going to be a little cheaper starting September 21st, though only time will tell how successful that strategy turns out to be.
Dual GamePad support won't be coming to Nintendo Wii U until 'well after launch'
Contrary to what we'd heard, it seems as if you and your friends won't be able to enjoy some of that dual GamePad play on Nintendo's upcoming Wii U -- at least not until some time after the novel gaming console launches later "this holiday." During an interview with Gamasutra, Reggie Fils-Aime (Nintendo of America President) said, "Games need to be built that can take advantage of the two GamePad controllers" and that "it's going to be well after launch for those game experiences to come to life." According to Fils-Aine, developers will have to first place all their focus on "asymetric gameplay," before eventually adding support for two GamePads on their titles. Notably, the revelation comes shortly after he himself confirmed the Wii U GamePad won't be featuring any multi-touch capabilities. Not all is lost, however, you'll just have to wait it out a little longer than expected, or make due with one of those Wii remotes you have laying around in the meantime.
Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii U GamePad won't feature multi-touch
The Wii U's 6.2-inch killer feature might look a whole lot like a tablet, but prospective buyers shouldn't expect it to function like one at all. In a recent interview with Kotaku, NOA prexy Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed that multi-touch capabilities will indeed be purposefully absent from the upcoming GamePad. It's a puzzling omission for sure, but not one made lightly on Nintendo's part. According to Fils-Aime, the existence of hardware buttons on the controller itself render that full-blown slate functionality redundant, not to mention cost-prohibitive and "unwieldy." So you see, the Big N giveth and the Big N taketh away, but all in the name of user convenience. You can check out the full blow-by-blow with the House that Mario built's American keeper at the source link below.
Wii U landing after April 1st 2012, may stream video to controllers
Try as you might to maintain your nonchalant demeanor, we know you're fired up about the potential of the Wii U. Well, we won't spill your secrets, but we thought you might like to know that Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo of America, recently sat down with David M. Ewalt at Forbes to talk about the company's upcoming console. You'll find the full interview at the source but here are a few of the more interesting tidbits. As you may have guessed, the original Wii won't be disappearing immediately. The two will be sold side by side in stores for at least a little while. Interestingly, while we already knew that games will be playable entirely on the controller, turns out there is nothing technically stopping the console from streaming other media to the portable screen -- including content from your Netflix account. Sadly, you'll be waiting till at least Q2 of 2012 to pick one up -- as Fils-Aime revealed, the next-gen gaming device won't launch until "after April 1st."
Nintendo admits its Wii U highlight reel was spiced up with PS3 and Xbox 360 footage
Nintendo's E3 2011 keynote yesterday gave the world its first official look at the all-new Wii U hardware plus (we thought) a glimpse at the graphical capabilities of its next console. As it turns out, the impressive list of upcoming games for the 2012-bound console was just that, a list, with the visuals we saw on screen coming from PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of said titles. Nintendo of America chief Reggie Fils-Aime has confirmed that to be the case in an interview with GameTrailers, where he also points out that the eventual Wii U games will look at least as good as their PS3 / 360 counterparts. Which is why, in his eyes, it's okay to show us those games being played on the competition's (current-gen) hardware. He does remind us that the Wii U will be delivering graphics at a 1080p resolution, and points to the garden tech demo that also graced E3 as an indicator of what can be done with Nintendo's next console. That's all well and good, but maybe tell us in advance next time, Reggie?
Nintendo 3DS clocks up 400,000 US sales in opening week, nearly matches month-long total for DS
Now we're talking. After Nintendo slyly told us that the 3DS set a day-one US sales record for its handheld division, it has now been more forthright and actually disclosed some cold hard numbers. 400,000 3DS units were shifted in the month of March, says Nintendo of America chief Reggie Fils-Aime, which amounts to just one working week's worth of sales when you consider the portable console launched on March 27th. That was still enough time for it to threaten the DS' overall March tally of 460,000, however, and extrapolated over a full 30 days would total a whopping 2.4 million transactions. Of course, sales rarely sustain such a roaring pace after launch, but Reggie foresees good things for the 3DS with a marquee Legend of Zelda game, the launch of the E-Shop, and Netflix integration all coming over the summer. So the future's bright, we just wish it didn't have to be turquoise.
Triforce Johnson gets his Nintendo 3DS first, the legend continues
There are fans, and then there are fans, if you know what we mean, and Isaiah Triforce Johnson has secured his spot in column number two with a Power Gloved fist -- here he is accepting the very first Nintendo 3DS on the east coast from Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. Johnson camped out all week in front of Best Buy's Union Square location to be first in line at the launch event, replicating his feat of five years prior when he was first to purchase the Wii. Of course, Japanese gamers have had the autostereocopic handheld for over a month now, but we have to give credit where it's due -- we're already imagining Greg Packer and Triforce Johnson duking it out in a little Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition duel. By the way, we snapped a few shots of the 3DS launch event this morning -- check them out below. %Gallery-119822%
Nintendo GDC keynote roundup: Netflix and free AT&T WiFi coming to 3DS this summer!
We survived the keynote address here at GDC 2011, where Satoru Iwata and Reggie Fils-Aime just got done revealing a veritable cornucopia of info about the 3DS. On the video content front, the 3DS will get Netflix this summer along with the ability to pause a video on your handheld and continue watching on your Wii -- though we presume you may recommence your cinematic experience on an XBox or PS3 too. The addition of Netflix wasn't the only announcement by Iwata, however. Get the rest after the break.
Live from Nintendo's 3DS preview with Reggie Fils-Aime
We're here live in NYC at Nintendo's 3DS press preview event, where Reggie Fils-Aime is scheduled to give a short presentation to kick things off. We're hoping to learn some pricing and availability details -- and possibly hear a word or two about 3D and the eyesight of younger gamers. After that, it's time to party, right? We'll find out.
Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime dishes cumulative sales numbers for current console generation
Rather like Nokia and its market share obsession, Nintendo just can't seem to stop talking about its hardware sales lead. The company's US chief, Reggie Fils-Aime, recently dished some NPD data detailing the specific advantage that the Wii has over its competitors in the US since the current console generation launched: Mario's team has managed to sell 30.4 million units of its hardware, followed by Microsoft's Xbox 360 at 21.9 million and Sony's PS3, which lags somewhere far behind with 13.5 million total sales. On the more mobile front, DS sales have ratcheted up to 43.1 million, more than doubling the PSP's 17.7 million shipments to the US of A. Nothing we haven't heard before, really, but it's always good to get a statistical update for the sake of keeping flamewars as informed as possible.
Nintendo sees Apple as bigger threat than Microsoft and Sony
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has made a point in recent keynotes to mention the fact that the iPhone and iPod touch are the world's best selling portable gaming devices, well ahead of longtime champion Nintendo. Nintendo America president Reggie Fils-Aime has acknowledged the threat and sees Apple as a bigger problem for his company than either Microsoft or Sony. While hardcore gamers generally prefer the higher-powered Xbox and PlayStation platforms, far more consumers have bought into the casual gaming approach enabled by Nintendo's Wii and DS. The high quality and easy-to-play-in-short-burst games available on Apple's handheld devices combined with their wireless capabilities have made them even more compelling than Nintendo's offerings. At first unconcerned, Nintendo's anxiety gradually grew into Reggie Fils-Aime's admission. So far, the Apple incursion into the gaming space has mostly hurt the DS, but that could soon change. The surge in popularity of the new generation Apple TV could end up taking a big bite out of the Wii. Since the Apple TV runs on iOS and has already been jailbroken, the expectation is that, before long, Apple will make an app market available for the set top device. When that happens, we are likely to see games running on it that could possibly feature Wii-style motion controls for use with the iPhone or iPod. [Via Joystiq]
Nintendo 3DS will launch 'in all major markets' by March 2011, design still being tweaked
When Nintendo of Japan first announced the 3DS (think: way back in March), it promised a release of the portable by the fiscal year ending March 2011. Given the DS and DSi's six-month global rollout window, however, we weren't sure if that applied to the world or just the company's backyard -- sure, we've heard rumors of a UK release in October, but nothing's been confirmed. Cue Nintendo of America's president Reggie Fils-Aime to give a definitive answer: "The one thing, for sure, is that we will launch in all of our major markets by March 31, 2011." Well, that about settles it in our mind. Fils-Aime also clarifies that what we saw on the floor is not the final design -- something that was mentioned during the press conference -- but we wouldn't expect anything more than slightly altered button placement (for its part, the official site lists "look," battery, pre-installed software, and supported languages as TBA). But hey, if you want to believe a third screen is possible, don't let us stop you from dreaming.
Nintendo: Apple isn't a viable gaming platform
When asked about the impact that the iPhone and iPod touch have had on Nintendo's stranglehold on portable gaming, and whether or not there is any concern about the iPad, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said that Apple "is not having an impact on Nintendo when you look at our business, our volume, our hardware, our software." Fils-Aime elaborated on this by highlighting the app store ecosystem and gaming experience. For him, the existence of free games makes it "[clear that] it doesn't look like their platform is a viable profit platform." The iPhone platform also serves up games that aren't even a "mouthful," when compared to the in "between snacks of entertainment and full meals" that Nintendo's portable experience provides. While the availability of lower priced substitutes, and free ones at that, will invariably have an impact on the sales of other goods, many a developer has made hearty revenues from the app store. They range from the large and more-established like Electronic Arts, to the smaller Lima Sky, makers of the the popular game Doodle Jump. As a result, it's no surprise that many developers made a push to get iPad apps ready for launch day, as well as racing out to buy iPads during launch day in order to test out their apps on the device (as opposed to the simulator). Then there's Fils-Aime's take that the platform's gaming experience leaves much to be desired. Here, a snack would be something akin to Brain Age, while a game like World of Warcraft would be like going to Hometown Buffet. While there is many a game on the iPhone that leaves much to be desired, the platform features a diverse library to whet the gaming appetites of many. The iPhone's success as a gaming platform is an offshoot of its wide ranging appeal and versatility, born from the convenience of the app store and multitouch differentiation. However, unlike the iPhone, the iPad isn't something that will always be on the physical person of its owners. One of the distinct exceptions, however, are students. If the iPad makes inroads in the education market and becomes as ubiquitous as textbooks, then it can have a substantial impact on gaming. What better way to pass the time away while waiting for mom to pick you up or when you're in between classes than to use your iPad -- which also happens to house all 5 of your textbooks -- to play some games. This is something that has the potential to impact Nintendo's portable gaming. Picking sides in a Nintendo-Apple fight is no fun, as both are companies that share much in common and have many shared fans. It's like picking between Shaq and Kobe. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) that brought me the joy of The Legend of Zelda and Metroid -- as well as the joy of having to blow on the games for 10 minutes before they'd work -- shared the same room with my original Macintosh. It will be interesting to see how this game plays out. via [Kotaku]
CE-oh no he didn't!: Reggie Fils-Aime says the iPhone OS isn't a 'viable profit platform for game development'
We can't say we'd expect Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime to lavish praise on iPhone OS gaming and the abilities of the iPad, but we figured everyone had to at least acknowledge the effect of Apple's handhelds on the market and the potential of its tablet, you know? Nope -- ol' Reg just told Kotaku that Apple "is not having an impact on Nintendo when you look at our business, our volume, our hardware, our software," and that "clearly it doesn't look like their platform is a viable profit platform for game development because so many of the games are free versus paid downloads." Snap -- although we'd bet plenty of top-tier iPhone game devs like ngmoco would argue that their "freemium" model is working plenty okay. That's not all, though, as Reggie also had some choice words about depth: "If our games represent a range between snacks of entertainment and full meals depending on the type of game, (Apple's) aren't even a mouthful, in terms of the gaming experience you get." Double snap -- we'll leave it to you to argue that one out.
Netflix: lack of HD streaming 'no loss' for Wii owners
Let's see if we can't come up with a small list of things that would be, quite frankly, overkill in a modern game console / video streaming device. Color? You know, some of the best films ever made were in black and white. Audio? Just a distraction, really. HD? Available on damn near every new TV, sure, but don't you think it's a bit... much? Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime does, obviously, as does Netflix -- at least according to an interview recently posted on The Wiire. Indeed, the company's VP of Corporate Communications Steve Swasey goes so far as to say that "the HD experience at Netflix Instant Watching isn't that overwhelming. It's a little bit underwhelming. So the Wii folks aren't going to miss that much." Y'know, it's not every day that we hear a company downplay its own product, but we suppose that the man should throw a bone to the twenty-six million homes in America who already own the console. He goes on to say that "the vast majority of content that is available for streaming through Netflix is not HD content. So, there is really no loss for the Wii consumer." Besides, "PS3 and Xbox users have 1 in 17 titles available in HD, and it's streamed in 720... it's not in 1080, and it's not in 5.1 surround sound or anything." Sure, Swasey -- anything can make sense if you explain it. Well, almost anything.
