Reggie horns in on Kaz and Bill's act [update 1]
It's become, like, the thing for top execs at game companies to ring up the first purchase of their consoles. Kaz Hirai did it at the PSP launch last year, Bill Gates showed up for the Xbox 360 launch back in November, and handed out the first Xbox sold back in 2001.
And so when Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says that he'll be doing the same, it's curious that the piece makes it sound like Nintendo's the only company that would go to such great lengths for a little PR (and curiouser still that GameSpot doesn't offer any context). GameSpot quotes Reggie: "Those consumers, the core gamer, are very important to us ... And you know what? I'll be at a store in the New York area, where they will camp out and I will be handing out some Wiis that very first minute that we're available for purchase."
Unprecedented!
Appreciated, yes, but not unique. C'mon guys, huddle around a conference table and dream up some crazy new PR stuntage for this holiday season.
The real problem isn't really Nintendo's PR stunt. That's all part of the launch game. It's not Reggie's fault that some writers are picking this up as if it's huge news. What really bothers us (and what prompted this post) is that this is making headlines at all. What gives? At the very least, these writers should be providing context for the news. This years-old maneuver shouldn't be making headlines.
[Update 1: Gave a little more context.]
