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Nintendo uses natural selection for its quality control
EGM and likely many, many Wii and DS owners have maligned the lack of quality control on Nintendo platforms of late, especially considering how tightly the company held the reigns in its early days. In a recent interview with MTV Multiplayer, outgoing Nintendo spokesperson Perrin Kaplan defended the company, explaining that it was less focused on quality control than natural selection."If [publishers] publish for any of the three, if the product does not sell well, it fails on its own. If they cannot get shelf space, it fails on its own. If consumers don't buy it, it fails on its own. So I do think that the poorer stuff does get sifted out and the really good products do rise to the top," Kaplan said. There's logic to what she's saying, of course. But it must be easy to advocate survival of the fittest when all of your games are Jack Lalanne.
Kaplan talks Smash Bros. delay, Nintendo's new release focus
With Kaplan gearing up to ride her horse out into the sunset, she still managed to find time to sit down and chat with Stepehen Totilo from MTV. The discussion centered around the delay for Smash Bros. Brawl, but Kaplan explained that Nintendo is starting to look at the release calendar differently. Instead of cramming all of the games into the last quarter of the year, Nintendo is looking at spreading their release throughout the year."Sunday is actually a really good launch day of the week for products. And I think we're actually starting to look at the annual calendar differently. The first two quarters of the year tend to be more quiet. But now we've seen some evidence of sales in that period," she comments. "Other than the holiday quarter, I think the traditional way of viewing it is not necessarily a slam dunk. I think a really good product can be a slam dunk any time of the year."Personally, we'd like to see a more balanced release schedule throughout the year, so we like this new way of thinking. The holiday season is expensive enough for us, having to purchase presents, so we often have to overlook some titles due to constraints on our cash supply.[Via Joystiq]
Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan talks Smash Bros. Brawl delay
Though she's on her way out, Nintendo's VP of marketing Perrin Kaplan still finds some time to speak to MTV's Stephen Totilo regarding all things Nintendo. As history has repeatedly shown us, one of those things inevitably turns out to be the dreaded delay -- though perhaps it's not as dreaded when it comes to the holiday months. It seems Nintendo now joins EA and Capcom in seeing the sales sense in slippage. "And I think we're actually starting to look at the annual calendar differently," said Kaplan, justifying the February release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. "The first two quarters of the year tend to be more quiet. But now we've seen some evidence of sales in that period." Avoiding the jostling of the year-end crowd is but one benefit, with the added development time yielding a game that's "absolutely as perfect as Japan knows it can be." Kaplan, who views the Wii and DS as being a little more integrated into people's (boring) lives, concludes via basketball metaphor that timing isn't necessarily everything. "I think a really good product can be a slam dunk any time of the year." A note of caution to other publishers considering delays: Let's not get carried away now. We don't want February becoming the new November.
Kaplan says gamers were bored before Wii
Now, we've been saying for awhile now that the Wii would revolutionize the industry and it has. But, we wouldn't go so far as to say we were bored by it all pre-Wii. We loved the GameCube, we loved the GBA and we still love our DS. We loved the N64. We hardly found ourselves without games to play, that's for sure."A major insight that Nintendo had early on was that they saw that gamers were getting bored, even though they didn't know it yet," Kaplan remarked. Robert Matthews, senior director of consumer marketing for Nintendo of America backed her up, stating "Just look at the way people consume entertainment today. The idea that you would spend hours playing videogames is just not real anymore." While we'd argue that, blogging doesn't leave us with as much time for gaming as we'd like, but we think overall that there will always be a place for lengthy games, jam-packed with feature-rich content and that Nintendo's new proven focus shouldn't try to do away with those.Do you guys care to toss in your two cents?
Nintendo's Kaplan says 'Gamers were bored before Wii'
Remember those hours you stayed up playing Halo 2 merely thinking you were having a good time? Shadow of the Colossus? Smash Bros? Tetris? We hate to tell you, but you weren't enjoying yourself. That's right, you were getting bored. We're sorry to be the ones to break it to you.It was Nintendo of America's soon-to-be-former Marketing VP Perrin Kaplan who infomed us of our jaded dispositions. Speaking to Ad Age, which named Nintendo the Marketer of the Year, Kaplan said, "A major insight that Nintendo had early on was that they saw that gamers were getting bored, even though they didn't know it yet."We know the role of a marketer is to sell their product with as much hyperbole as possible, but doesn't this seem a bit short-sighted (not to mention somewhat self-deprecating, given Nintendo's prominence in gaming history)? If only Kaplan wasn't leaving, she might have filled Ken Kutaragi's shoes well. [Via Next-Gen; image from Halo Nights]
Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan leaving at year's end
No shocker here: Nintendo's Vice President of Marketing, Perrin Kaplan, will be joining George Harrison and Beth Llewelyn at the end of this year by not continuing to work for the Big N. After being employed by Nintendo for some 15 years, Kaplan has now announced that she "will be leaving the outfit at the end of the year," but noted that until that day, she will remain "focused on getting a great transition team in place and handling all of her normal responsibilities as well." As with Ms. Llewelyn, no replacement has been named just yet, but we can't imagine the firm wasting any time finding a sufficient successor.[Via GamesIndustry]
Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan reveals her exit strategy, finally
George did it. And so did Beth. Now, as forecast, it's Perrin's turn. Nintendo Vice President of Marketing Perrin Kaplan has announced her retirement from the company after 15 years of service.Kaplan did not give an explicit reason for her departure, saying only, "I finally will be leaving Nintendo at the end of the year. Until then, I am focused on getting a great transition team in place and handling all of my normal responsibilities as well." It had been speculated that the marketing exec trio -- now all officially on course to retire -- would leave Nintendo after plans to relocate the company's PR headquarters from Washington to San Francisco and New York were revealed in May. But this theory remains pure speculation. Think about it: there are plenty of other circumstances that could have prompted Kaplan's resignation ... well, actually, we can only think of one.
Kaplan hits the road, Jack
Following in the footsteps of George Harrison, Nintendo's top PR person (and the apple of Matt C's eye) Perrin Kaplan has decided to call it quits with Nintendo. She didn't state any reason why she was departing in her correspondence with Reuters, but we're sure she just doesn't want to relocate. Leaving her home of 15 years to follow her job to a new city just probably isn't a life choice she's comfortable with.Oh well, at least she'll have Matt to help her through the tough times when she departs at the end of the year.
Nintendo's Beth Llewelyn quits
Shake that tree, shake it and watch the Nintendo executives fall out and everything end up like people said it would. The latest person in the Nintendo executive culling is Beth Llewelyn, senior director of corporate communications at Nintendo of America, as she officially resigned today. Not only that, but Golin Harris' Julia Roether, guru of Nintendo's PR company in the States, also peaced-out. That sound you hear is Nintendo's PR department running around without a head. We now wait to hear Perrin Kaplan's exit cue.Although some less-than-charitable things can be said about the way Nintendo's PR was run up to this point, it could simply be the same issues as Sony had to deal with taking orders from Japan. Sony of America was starting to turn things around with Dave Karraker, but then he left after less than a year (we really miss Dave). We now wait and see who the replacements are. Will it be business as usual, or will Nintendo's PR alter dramatically?
Nintendo employee blogs, gets the axe
Your employer might not like your personal blog, as the latest instance of a personal blog affecting someone's life in a negative way can be seen in the story of Jessica Zenner. She was canned by Nintendo for posting things in her personal blog, which never actually mentioned Nintendo (and she wrote under a pen name). Still, Nintendo found it and gave her the boot.Commenting on the situation, Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan says she "was expressly discouraged from doing what she did. I've seen everything that she's written and it's really not work appropriate." Of course, the situation has arguments for both sides, so we'll leave it up to you to claim who was in the wrong. Jessica or Nintendo?[Via Kotaku]
Job listing is similar to Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan
GameDaily has discovered a recent job listing for a VP of corporate affairs at Nintendo, which seems awfully similar to the title already held by VP of corporate affairs Perrin Kaplan. The job listing gives a little bit more fuel to the Game Informer story that with Nintendo's move some big executives are out.What the executive switch means to the company and gamers is still far from being answered. We just know certain members of the media will be beside themselves heart-broken if Kaplan leaves. The transition is expected to be finished by September, so announcements about who stays, who goes, and their replacements should be announced in the relative future.
Nintendo: We haven't heard of anyone leaving
Regardless of what we may have heard, it would seem that Beth Llewelyn (senior director of public relations), Perrin Kaplan (vice president of marketing and corporate affairs) and George Harrison (senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications) haven't decided to take severance pay from the company. Or, at least, they haven't told Nintendo they plan on leaving, as Pro-G found out when contacting Nintendo on some sort of confirmation regarding this mess. "In terms of the execs you name leaving we have not heard anything regarding that speculation (and it remains speculation) and we aren't commenting further on those rumours at this time," Nintendo commented. So, what does this all mean? Not much, right now. These top execs could still be leaving Nintendo, but we'll have to wait for official word from Nintendo before this matter is resolved.[Via Joystiq]
Rumor: Kaplan, Harrison and Llewelyn leaving Nintendo of America
Or rather, Nintendo of America is leaving them. According to Game Informer Online, which earlier this month broke news of the Redmond giant (no, not that one) relocating its sales, ad and marketing departments to either New York or San Francisco, approximately 90% of the employees in the affected areas have opted to remain stationary and accept a severance. Included in those leaving Nintendo are senior director of public relations, Beth Llewelyn, vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan (pictured), and senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, George Harrison. The executive trio's time of departure is still unknown, though GI asserts that Perrin and her pals will likely stick around until after next month's Min-E3 event in Santa Monica.
Perrin Kaplan expects Wii shortages to 'last for some time'
Well, so much for "supply flowing" this April. "There is a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of working on what we are producing and the numbers continue to rise but the product is so very popular that we may see a supply / demand situation last for some time," says Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo's VP of marketing and corporate affairs. Further comments originating from a recent Game Theory Podcast basically amount to Nintendo doing the best they can against the ravenous and seemingly unstoppable Wii-wanting hordes. Perrin provides assurances that Nintendo is aware of the problem (though she doesn't directly label it as such) and politely asks fans to "to be patient and to know that we are working on this as fast as we can." While the buzz and news generated by continued scarcity (see: this article) continues to be a valuable marketing asset, truly resolving production problems almost 6 months into a console's lifetime will be greatly beneficial to both Nintendo and clamoring fans. In other words -- come on![Via Wii Fanboy, Next-Generation]
Perrin Kaplan says shortages will continue
During a recent interview, Perrin Kaplan revealed that those still looking to get their hands on a Wii will probably be forced to wait that much longer. Apparently, Nintendo's production resources just cannot match demand as the company tries to get as many units available on store shelves as possible. Perrin says that there "is a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of working on what we are producing and the numbers continue to rise but the product is so very popular that we may see a supply / demand situation last for some time."Is this excusable though? No, it most certainly is not, considering the console launched five months ago. When does Nintendo stop jerking us around and put their product on shelves? People certainly want the thing, so why not give it to them? Sure, Nintendo is in a prime position to control the supply and demand of their system, but when does it end? And, really, with the incredible resources that Nintendo has, can't they ramp up production or acquire new manufacturing plants?Perrin adds "We are at absolute maximum production and doing everything we can. The number of units that we have been able to produce has far exceeded our hardware production in the past and the production levels of a lot of our competitors but demand continues to be really high. People are being really diligent about working with retailers to locate one but we are cognisent of the fact that a lot of fans are not able to get their hands on one yet. We are asking them to be patient and to know that we are working on this as fast as we can."
GameCube not so dead after all?
Looks like we might've used up a perfectly good eulogy on Nintendo's might-not-be-dead-yet GameCube. Nintendo of America VP Perrin Kaplan has been known to, erm, miss the mark, with some pretty notable quotes in the past (anyone remember that whole region-free debacle?), and now a Nintendo UK spokesperson has stepped in and contradicted her statement: "I can confirm that globally, Nintendo is still continuing production of GameCube hardware and GameCube software." We can't help but think that the 'Cube isn't long for this world all the same, but we're always glad to hear it has a few rounds of SSBM left in it. We're still trying to get a bit more confirmation on this, so stay tuned for updates.[Via Joystiq]
Nintendo UK: GameCube is SO not dead!
Looks like Perrin may have jumped the gun a bit when she said that the company would not be manufacturing any more GameCubes and we should all just consider the thing to be dead. At least, that's according to Nintendo UK spokesperson who recently told Europgamer "I can confirm that globally, Nintendo is still continuing production of GameCube hardware and GameCube software." He said, she said ... it makes our head spin.[via Joystiq]
Perrin Kaplan talks Wii 2.0
During an interview with GameDaily.Biz, Nintendo's Perrin Kaplin talked the Wii up and even got to mentioning the GameCube. What's most interesting, however, is her response to the question of whether consumers would see a revision to the Wii hardware, with which she responded "Sure, absolutely. You'll see the ways in which we do that." This, of course, does not come as a surprise, as Nintendo has been notorious for hardware revisions to its products (DS Lite, GBA SP etc), yet might anger Wii owners who had a tough time acquiring the console in its first few months of release should the company reveal a revision too soon. With Nintendo's exemplary record of doing this, however, we're sure such a mistake is beyond their capabilities.Perrin also goes on to comment on the GameCube, supporting rumors that the company is no longer manufacturing systems or software for it. "Are we producing any more GameCubes? No. But do we have the inventory there for people to still purchase? Yes."
Perrin Kaplan mentions Nintendo Wii 2.0 ... already?
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, turn and face the strain, ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. When asked if the Wii will have a hardware revision in an interview with GameDaily, Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan, vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, said, "Sure, absolutely. You'll see the ways in which we do that."Although Nintendo has consistently updated their portable units with revisions, console hardware revisions, like those in the NES and SNES, were held off until the end of the console's life cycle. This Wii revision, apparently in the cards for as early as this year in Japan, is probably not welcome news to those who just purchased the $250 console at launch. Hopefully the DVD upgrade, and whatever other goodies Nintendo has in store (other than new Wii colors), will be a simple software upgrade and not make early adopters feel like they've been gypped.
CE-Oh no she didn't! Part XXVI - Nintendo's Kaplan on why no one got shot for a Wii
This one kind of came out of nowhere, but when asked by GameSpy how the PS3 launch affected the Wii launch, Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan thought it was time to lay down the smack:"Well, we didn't have anyone in line that got shot waiting for our system. So there's one sign of the different approaches between our two companies. I think that there were really two different audiences. The core gamer probably went out and tried to purchase both systems. ... I think we were just really prepared. Years of experience doing this ensured that we would have a very good launch."So there it is, Nintendo's preparedness, experience, and approach to console gaming ensured nobody got shot over the Wii last holiday season. Surely it had nothing to do with more copious console supplies, or a pricetag of half that (or less) than the PS3. Oh, and Perrin did forget to mention the personal bodyguard Nintendo assigned each and every new Wii owner late last year, that helped too.[Via Joystiq]
