ReggieFils-aime
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Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii users don't care for Netflix HD
We seriously have to question the sanity of some of these high-ranking corporate types. Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America boss and fearless orator, has joined Andy Rubin of Google in claiming that his customers do not require a feature so prevalent nowadays that it has become close to a basic standard. While the Xbox 360 and PS3 are capable of streaming full HD movies from Netflix at no extra cost, Reggie has stated his belief that "there really is no loss for the Wii consumer" because "the vast majority" of Netflix streaming content isn't HD anyway. Reiterating his longstanding, but never adequately explained, hesitance toward HD, Reggie has also claimed that the 26 million Wii console owners out there have voted with their wallets and will be quite happy to continue putt-putting along at standard def. Skip past the break to see him speaking his heresy with a straight face.
Nintendo Wii has lion's share of female console gamers
Nintendo's been doing a bit of digging and it turns out it's already won the console wars. If we're only talking about the ladies, that is. A whopping 80% of American female primary gamers (the person who primarily uses the console rather than the occasional dabblers) do their thing on the Wii, which we see as a clear indication to the graphics-obsessed Xbox 360 and PS3 developers that women prefer their games to be fun to play, rather than just look at. Maybe if we also stopped dressing female characters in swimsuits, they'd find non-Wii games relatable too -- that's just a guess though, probably wrong.
Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime squashes Wii HD rumors... again
Oh, brother. Here we go again. Just over a year after Nintendo's own Reggie Fils-Aime denied the existence of a forthcoming Wii HD, the bigwig is having to make that very same denial again. Naturally, a few new rumors of an HD-enabled Wii have surfaced since that fateful day in October of 2008, and with the recent price drop, it made sense to think that the Big N might actually be looking ahead. Instead, it seems that it's perfectly content selling hundreds of thousands of consoles that want nothing to do with modern amenities like "HDMI," "1080i" and "things that the PS3 and Xbox 360 have offered since day one." The man's exact quote? "I don't know how forcefully we can say there is no Wii HD." And Reggie, we don't know how much more forcefully you can continue to break our hearts.
Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime says the PSP Go has a 'fundamental concept problem'
Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime has been known to take a few shots at the competition in the past and, while he's not exactly verging into CE-oh no he didn't territory this time around, it seems that he just couldn't help himself from offering a few thoughts on Sony's latest handheld. Speaking with The Washington Post, Reggie says that the PSP Go has a "fundamental concept problem in terms of 'Who's it for?' and 'What's the benefit?" -- adding that he always has the "utmost respect for all our competitors, but that it's "interesting to try and answer the consumer question of 'What's in it for me?' in that product." Of course, Sony does have a few answers to those questions for its part, sort of.[Via Joystiq]
Nintendo: we're not making a phone, we swear
Despite a statement back in April from prez Satoru Iwata that the company would make a phone if it could avoid monthly subscription costs, it looks like Nintendo will not be getting into the cell biz any time soon. Reggie Fils-Aime, president and CFO of Nintendo of America just put the kibosh on all that with a statement to the New York Times, saying, "Telephony is not in our wheelhouse. It's not something I anticipate us getting into." So, you're telling us that telephony is not in your wheelhouse? Hmm... okay. Thanks for clearing that up! The company is however, considering offering devices with always-on wireless connectivity -- which would be way cooler the DSi's current, WiFi hotspot capabilities.
Reggie thinks third-parties don't 'get' the Wii: discuss
Alright, alright. There's a few things going on here. First off, Reggie Fils-Aime told Forbes "I will be able to say our licensees 'get it' when their very best content is on our platform, and with very few exceptions today, that's not the case." That's a pretty good conversation starter right there. He also lamented the absence of Grand Theft Auto and Spore on his platform, teased community features without spilling anything at all, and for kicks threw us this utterly hopeless word on a price cut: "At some point, it will be time to adjust the [price], but we're nowhere near that point now." We're pretty astonished that a console honcho like Reggie would so summarily insult his third-party partners, but we can't help but agree -- though peep Nintendo Wii Fanboy's via link down there for an alternate perspective on the matter. To us, the question really lies in the blame game: is Nintendo's Wii strategy and unique hardware approach to blame, or is everybody else out there too dense to cash in? But really, this is just too wild, too incendiary, too awesome for us to hog all the discussion. Hit up the vaguely-applicable poll option, and then let loose in the comments. We're all ears![Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]%Poll-22618%
Reggie Fils-Aime denies Wii HD rumor
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime sat down with VentureBeat on the heels of last week's DSi announcement, and while he didn't drop any major bombshells, he did put the kibosh on those Wii HD rumors, saying that they were "pure rumor and speculation" and that Nintendo wouldn't show off upcoming models to devs as the rumors claimed. Reggie also downplayed the talk that Nintendo is going head to head against Apple, saying that Ninty's always "viewed ourselves as competing in a larger entertainment space." That's the end of that for now, we suppose -- but Reggie didn't close the door on either rumor entirely, and his closing comment that Nintendo's good fortunes "makes us the most paranoid people in the world" certainly keeps possibilities open. Hit the read link for the full interview.
Reggie's still spinning that "we're working on it" line for Wii storage
We didn't wake up today hoping to hate on Nintendo, but they're making it a bit too easy. Granted, the Nintendo WiFi router could certainly find a place in the homes of the tech illiterate, but Nintendo keeps hiding behind the apron strings of its casual gamer fanbase, and we don't have to sit around and take it. Two months after Nintendo finally admitted it had a problem with Wii storage and claimed to be "working on a solution," Reggie's still playing that line -- to diminishing effects -- in Club Nintendo, the official Nintendo mag of Latin America. He went on to say that "we have never said that it will be a hard drive nor have we mentioned how we will fix this issue, but we are going to deliver a better way to store the games." Weak. Nintendo could easily create a backup solution for SD cards or the ubiquitous thumbstick, but instead the company is letting its most active users suffer with the mere 512MB of built-in storage, requiring them to re-download games from the Wii Shop, and making few promises about when or what the storage solution will be -- not cool, Nintendo. Phew, good to get that off our chests. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some "High School Musical: Sing It!" to attend to.[Via GameDaily]
Nintendo "passionately upset" about Wii shortages, won't give out free Mario cakes
Besides being infuriated with leaving over a billion dollars on the table this past holiday season, Nintendo of America is also "passionately upset about the lack of product relative to demand." Those words came straight from Mr. Reggie Fils-Aime himself, who noted that North America was the only Wii-serviced territory where supply and demand were still out of sync. Reportedly, some 40-percent of the 1.8 million Wii consoles manufactured each month are making their way over, but even after 17 months on the market, the average Wii sits around on retail shelves for "just an hour before [it is] purchased." Unfortunately, we're no closer to being able to clone the consoles in order to meet the insatiable appetite.
Reggie: Big Wii title coming this holiday, revealed during E3
Reggie had a lot to say to GameTrailers TV host Geoff Keighley, as the interview between the two back during GDC has finally aired. In it, Reggie drops a few bombs on all of us with a soft spot for The Big N, commenting that great content is on the way for Wii during the second half of this year, but we won't be hearing about it until E3. He does tease us, though, commenting that this "great new content" will maximize "all of our key franchises." But, the biggest bombshell of them all is that there will be one "big game for the holiday that gamers will want." He says it's going to be something appealing to both the hardcore audience and the new expanded audience. Let the speculation begin![Via Joystiq]
Wii to eventually get voice support, hints Fils-Aime
We've been hearing rumors about voice capabilities coming to the Wii almost from the very start, and it looks like plans are afoot at Ninty to bring the dream to reality: speaking to reporters during this morning's rainchecks-and-shortages conference call, Reggie Fils-Aime sad that he "wouldn't be surprised" to see voice chat come to the Wii. That's about as straight a confirmation as he gave, although he did say the holdup was mostly in making the right peripheral. Hmm, we're not totally sure we buy that, but we're willing to bet Nintendo is a little more focused on actually getting Wiis out the door first.
Nintendo Wii and DS sales on Thanksgiving rampage -- trumps own GBA record
Nintendo of America just announced record sales of their DS and Wii gaming rigs. According to internal sales numbers, Thanksgiving week resulted in more than one million DS and Wii units sold. That's one week, from Sunday, November 18 through Saturday, November 24th and breaks down to more than 653,000 DS units and another 350,000 Wiis. The previous all-time Thanksgiving week sales record was held by the Game Boy Advance in 2005 with sales of 600k at the time. Nintendo also said that Wii sales are on track to hit 17.5 million before March 31, 2008. Now, for those of you saying that Nintendo is purposely limiting production to drive up demand, Reggie has this for you, "A shortage benefits no one, we're disappointed. This was all about how we didn't accurately estimate demand. We need to be more bullish about the potential for the Wii." Come on Reg, you're only just now figuring this out?
Wii Warm Up: So where is our September surprise?
Maybe when Reggie said we could expect something good by the end of September, he meant the actual end. That means he's got until Sunday, but he's cutting things quite close. Maybe sometime today we'll hear something ... or do you think it's silly to get our hopes up? A lot of people have been speculating that it has something to do with recent forum closures or the changes in store for Nintendo Power, but unless we're getting that content in channel form (a possibility, to be sure), then that's probably not it, since Reggie was talking about channels and WiiConnect24 at the time.So what -- and where -- is it? We've been very good, and we deserve a surprise.
Nintendo promises Wii stock boost, says they'll still sell out
Reggie Fils-Aime over at Nintendo has promised an "unprecedented" Wii supply boost for North America over the holiday season -- unfortunately, it's only "unprecedented" because Nintendo has never been able to keep up with demand. Doubly unfortunate for potential Wii purchasers, this extra supply will probably not meet demand over the holiday season period. Sounds like business as usual then: people wanting Wiis, but with Nintendo shipping just enough to be perpetually sold out. Marketing points 1 2, customer satisfaction 0.
Stephen Totilo grills Reggie about our lack of talking cookbooks
Where's our Cooking Navi? What about our Japanese language trainers? In a chat with Reggie Fils-Aime, MTV's Stephen Totilo asked the questions we've been asking since forever. The news, however, is only good. Reggie refers to the localization of Cooking Navi -- which we knew was confirmed for Europe, but from this response, it seems it will head this way as well. Great news! Of course, that localization takes more time than for a regular game, since it's not just a matter of changing the language, but also the cuisine. We're willing to wait. You can check out the full interview past the break, but beware, it apparently only works for US viewers. Best Reggie moment: Maybe you need it [English Training] ....
Wii Warm Up: The coming 'surprise'
Possible megaton alert! Cue the excitement -- or the yawns; your mileage with these announcements-about-announcements may vary. NoA President Reggie Fils-Aime dropped a not-so-subtle hint that we'll be seeing something special on our Wiis come September. A surprise, and just for us! He even says it'll be a good surprise; awesome, says us, because that's the best kind. It's probably not the Check Mii Out channel, because he was talking about that in the same breath in his interview with Game Head's Geoff Keighley. So what could it be? Perhaps an early peek at WiiWare? Some of you thought such a thing could be possible (though not quite that early). A channel we haven't heard about? Maybe demos? Get your speculation on.
Wii Warm Up: Executive power
In the past several years, it seems the reputation of gaming industry executives has begun to reach epic levels, proportionate, perhaps, to the spread of gaming as a culture. But we're also starting to think that maybe the corporate hype machines are getting a little out of control. What matters more, personality or product? Maybe it's just us, but it seems the lines are beginning to blur.We can understand a healthy dose of Miyamoto-worship -- the man is a legend in the industry, and he's responsible for more of our cherished childhood memories than we'd like to admit. And sure, we love Reggie, and Iwata is the man (by that, we mean one hell of a savvy businessman), but is it really their personalities that make Nintendo what it is right now? No, it's certainly their skills ... so what's with all the executive worship that is spreading throughout gaming communities? Is it just that industry execs are out in the open more and more often, or is it something else? After all, most of the people that we're chasing in the industry are just in marketing. They're not doing much to create the things we spend our time on; they're just a face. A name. No different than mascot characters -- it's just now that we're growing up, apparently Sonic and Mario can't bear the brunt of the console wars any longer, and we've moved on to Reggie and pre-exodus Peter Moore. But let us know what you think -- that's why we're here.
Conjecture Countdown: 6 days to go
Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true.Rumor: Reggie will talk about kicking ass. He may even mention taking names.
Conjecture Countdown: 13 days to go
Even with a diminished E3, there's no controlling the wave of rumors that hit the Internet every year before the show. Why fight it? From now until E3 hits, we'll be posting one piece of wild speculation every day. Some may be patently ridiculous, and others just might turn out to be true. Even some of the ridiculous ones might turn out to be true! Rest assured, everything will be totally made-up and unfounded. Except, of course, when we speak about all the ass Reggie is going to kick. That part? Totally true. Rumor: Reggie will show up in a suit made entirely of $100 bills -- that were printed with his handy DS Lite.(we would actually pay hard-earned cash to see this one)
Reggie extols the wonders of the DS
Just in case you didn't know, the DS owns the Japanese market. At today's Nintendo Media Summit, Reggie Fils-Aime dropped a major bomb: so far in 2007, half of all games sold in Japan have been for the DS. Yes, that was half. It may be time to move beyond the "it prints money" joke. We're not sure that really communicates this level of success. Also, the numbers of people over the age of 30 who are buying the DS are up -- if you look at DS adopters over 35, the statistics are huge: the numbers are up 212%. Looking at that, it's easy to guess why we're seeing more and more of what we jokingly refer to as "non-games" rolling out for the DS. A lot of these new gamers aren't as interested in traditional fare, and as the market expands, the type of games has to expand as well. Satoru Iwata had good reason to come down hard on NoA for not getting the U.S. market on the Brain Age train; everywhere else, the game continues to walk off shelves at alarming rates. Reggie said they're seeing "significant market change" in the U.S., and we can only hope that means that, as the gaming market expands, so will gaming advertising. It's time DS commercials broke out of their Saturday morning slots and started marketing to the new gaming class: adults who like shooting zombies just as much as they like studying languages.
