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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.
Holiday sales more crucial to Nintendo than competitors, says Fils-Aime
Speaking at the BMO Capital Markets Annual Digital Entertainment Conference in New York today, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime highlighted the importance of this year's holiday season, and contrasted his company's greater reliance on the end-of-year sales boom over that of competitors. "The holidays are more important to Nintendo than to other manufacturers," Fils-Aime said. "We have a distinct edge when it comes to gift-giving, and it's no doubt because of the familiarity and recognition of both our brand and key franchises." Nintendo's upcoming software lineup for November and December boasts some famous -- though not distinctly edgy -- brands, including Donkey Kong Country Returns and Disney Epic Mickey, but hardware has historically been the company's best performer during the holiday season. Nintendo sold over five million DS units and five million Wiis in the US through November and December last year, a two-month tally which Fils-Aime said comprised over 40% of Nintendo's annual sales. Fils-Aime also cited NPD data, which showed that Nintendo had shifted 43.1 million DS systems and 30.4 million Wiis in the US thus far. The holidays are just as crucial for software sales, with Fils-Aime noting that 44 percent of all annual game sales were incurred during the last two months of the year (compared to 33 percent for other manufacturers). Nintendo had the top three best-selling games in December 2009 -- New Super Mario Bros., Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort -- though it conceded November to Call of Duty. It's likely to do so again this year. With the introduction of new Mario-themed console bundles and a solid lineup of seemingly evergreen first-party sellers, Nintendo seems adequately prepared before it wades bravely into that throbbing, Black Friday consumer crowd. Perhaps Microsoft is the smart one for courting those same customers from a distance -- of eight feet or so.
Happy birthday, Mario! We share cake with Mario and Miyamoto at NYC's Nintendo World Store
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., Nintendo invited fans to celebrate with an incredible cake, adorned with recreations of levels from the game. Not only did Mario show up, but so did his creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, and NOA president Reggie Fils-Aime.
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]
Reggie: Nintendo sees Apple as larger threat than Microsoft and Sony
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime wants to make sure you're not getting it twisted -- he's not competing with other game companies, but with the very concept of time itself. Speaking to Forbes recently, Fils-Aime explained that "It's all about time." Rather than just competing with the likes of Microsoft and Sony, Fils-Aime said, "I compete with Zynga, I compete with surfing the net, I compete with the newspaper." What about eating ice cream, Mr. Fils-Aime? Hmmmm? Regardless, he does see one direct competitor to worry about: Apple. Fils-Aime rhetorically wondered, "Do I think that in the near term they can hurt us more than Microsoft? Absolutely." Though, despite astronomical sales of both the iPhone and iPod Touch, Fils-Aime believes that content will win the day, bringing up Dragon Quest IX as an example of a game that can "consume." He even pointed out that 14 of the top 20 selling games this generation originated with Nintendo. Fils-Aime didn't point out Apple's bigger trump card -- its device does a lot more than play video games. We're confident that Nintendo isn't going anywhere anytime soon, but competing with a phone in terms of handheld sales? Not so sure about that.
Reggie confirms 2011 launch for 3DS on Fallon
Nintendo of America's towering president stopped by the set of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon yesterday, closing off the show's week long celebration of upcoming video games with a look at Donkey Kong Country Returns. After teaching Fallon the correct method of Diddy-maneuvering, Reggie Fils-Aime brought out the big guns: The 3DS, which he told Fallon would be coming out "next year." Oh, that thing you just heard? That was the sound of one thousand Christmases being simultaneously ruined. You can check out the Donkey Kong demo and Fallon's enthusiastic reaction to the handheld's glasses-less 3D effects in the video posted after the jump.
Nintendo's Fils-Aime promises 'commitment' to improve online experience
Nintendo enjoys breaking conventions. Disruptive ideas have been part of the company's heritage, and while some innovations set industry standards -- from the D-Pad to motion controls -- other ideas seem different for the sake of being unique. Case in point: Nintendo's implementation of online in both the Wii and DS. In an interview with IndustryGamers, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime admitted that the company has shortcomings in that arena. "The online ... or let me state it more broadly, the digital area is an area where we can improve, and we've made a commitment to dramatically improve in that area." It may be too early to celebrate the death of friend codes, though. In typical Nintendo fashion, the company won't be following the models created by Microsoft and Sony. "I can just about guarantee [our plan] is unlike anything that our competitors have done to date. The reason for that is it wouldn't be innovative, it wouldn't be distinctive, and therefore, it wouldn't be Nintendo ... Our approach will be to enable the consumer to discover our digital content much more easily." It's hard to imagine a service that offers a drastically different experience from PSN, Xbox Live, or even Steam. Let's hope that Nintendo's desire to appear innovative in the online space results in something more akin to the 3DS and less like the Virtual Boy.
Wii installed base growing more quickly than PS2's did
During E3, Nintendo gave a presentation to analysts about the company's new offerings and its current status. Reggie Fils-Aime presented the above slide, which shows the startling truth about the Wii's installed base in the United States: in its fourth year on the market, it's larger than the ubiquitous PlayStation 2's installed base at the same point in its life, by a margin of almost five million units. Of course, the PS2 has had a spectacularly long lifespan after that, with Sony announcing 7.2 million units sold just last year. Later in the presentation, Reggie revealed that around 300,000 units of the black Wii console have been sold since its May 9 introduction in North America, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 is "approaching 900,000 units here in the U.S."
Reggie: 3DS launching in 'major markets' by March 2011
When Nintendo of Japan made its first terse, cryptic announcement of the 3DS in March, it offered a vague release window: "during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011." At the time, we assumed that this time frame applied to the Japanese launch only. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime kicked that assumption in an interview with IndustryGamers. "The one thing, for sure," Fils-Aime said about the 3DS release plan, "is that we will launch in all of our major markets by March 31, 2011." As for the specific release dates, Nintendo is still "making individual market decisions in terms of what's happening in Japan, what's happening in the Americas [and] what's happening in Europe." It's worth noting that the last two DS systems launched in the spring in North America: DSi on April 5 (2009) and DSi XL on March 28 (2010). Fils-Aime also reiterated that the design of the device seen at E3 is not final, so don't get married to the analog stick placement or those shiny paint jobs just yet.%Gallery-95697%
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 of America opens new Redmond HQ
[TechFlash] We imagine the interior of Nintendo's new headquarters in Redmond, Washington to embody the four quadrants it's divided into: Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Wario. Unfortunately, Nintendo wouldn't allow press to take interior photos of the company's recently opened US headquarters, citing "security concerns," so we just don't know. Nor do any images exist of the "gigantic top-floor conference room" that's appropriately named "The Master Sword;" though, according to Techflash, it's said to resemble a Wall Street-style conference room more than anything you'd find in a Hyrulian office -- the 75,000 square feet of greenery on the roof would likely make Link feel more at home. As you can see above, Nintendo of America head Reggie Fils-Aime and Nintendo worldwide head Satoru Iwata were hilariously joined by Washington Governor Christine Gregoire and her friends the Mario brothers for the building's opening ceremonies last week. "Hopefully this new building will help [employees] to be even more creative and productive, and continue to put smiles on the faces of our consumers," Iwata said of the new HQ. The beautiful facility -- detailed in several photos here -- is said to house 650 staff members. No official number of hidden Yoshis has been given.
Reggie: five million Wiis sold this year; almost a million have 'participated' in Netflix
Nintendo's had quite the start this year, president Reggie Fils-Aime revealed during a recent CNBC interview (that you can watch after the break). Both the Wii and DS are performing exceedingly well in 2010, Fils-Aime reported -- a level of success we're certain Nintendo isn't familiar with. "In the last four months, consumers have bought over five million Wii consoles," Fils-Aime boasted. He was quick to jab competitors Sony and MIcrosoft as well, stating "that amount is equal to the entire amount that our competitors have sold over the previous 12 months." Fils-Aime also offered a neat statistic on Wii Netflix usage. Since launching on the console in March, "almost a million" have participated in the service. He added that "we're getting great consumer compliments." Fils-Aime said that the DS has been selling extremely well and that "we think that through April that we'll have the best four month time period to kick off a new calendar year that we've ever had with the device." We'd comment but, really, doesn't this happen every year? Update: We were contacted by Charlie Scibetta, senior director of corporate communications for Nintendo of America, who offered this clarification on Reggie's reported sales figures: "The sales figures referenced in the CNBC interview were not for the first four months of calendar year 2010, but rather the last four months of current publicly reported NPD data which runs December of 2009 through March of 2010." Well now, we're glad that's all cleared up! [Via Edge]
Reggie Fils-Aime: Nintendo 3DS is Nintendo's next 'platform'
It may sound like the obvious statement to make, but for how much Nintendo has enjoyed marginally improving its handheld over the last few years, it's a big deal. According to an interview with Businessweek, Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime has stated that the upcoming 3DS will indeed be Nintendo's next platform -- not simply another revision of its already existing DS tech. "The Nintendo 3DS for us is our next handheld platform," Fils-Aime assures. Even though Nintendo's business is "fundamentally about software, not hardware," the new tech will be "a means to an end" -- the final goal being "a great consumer experience." Reggie wouldn't offer anything else on the proposed new handheld, other than mentioning Nintendo's plans of debuting it at E3. We'll be there. [Via MCV]
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.
Reggie courts core devs, questions motivation to Move
In an interview with IndustryGamers, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime asserted that Nintendo does care about third parties and does need them, despite the fact that Nintendo's business is sustained pretty well by first-party games. "The fact of the matter is we know we create great content for younger consumers," he said, "we know we've got great content for more casual players, and we want fantastic content for that more active player who loves Metroid or Zelda, but maybe also wants something like a BioShock 2 to play as well." Reggie then admitted, "We're not good at it and it's not a key focus area," thus Nintendo's interest in third-party developers. The boss man also reiterated, almost word for word, his previous position that Nintendo would begin work on the next Nintendo system when a developer was unable to do something on the current Wii hardware, and he repeated that an HD feature alone wouldn't be enough to justify a new console. When asked about the PlayStation Move, Fils-Aime questioned the Sony device's appeal. If the Wii already scratches the itch for motion-based gaming, then why would consumers be moved to pick up a PS3? "What's going to motivate them to spend minimally $300 for a new [PS3] system, plus minimally $100 for the Move motion bundle? So [as a consumer], now I'm into this for $400 and I still have to spend money on software. What's going to motivate me to do that?"
Reggie: Nintendo not 'thinking seriously' about next console yet
In a Forbes interview, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime gave the impression that a new home console from Nintendo is still in the distant future. "The way we approach that innovation," he said, referring to Nintendo's innovative "jumps" (like the Wii), "because we have hardware developers working side by side with software developers, is that when the software developer comes forward with an idea that can't be executed on the current platform, that's when we start thinking seriously about the next system. We're not there yet, from a Wii perspective." Of course, E3 is still a few months away. Satoru Iwata recently commented that a Wii successor would "need something new" in addition to HD graphics to be worthwhile, and Fils-Aime, who has previously, "forcefully" denied plans for an Wii HD model, echoed this sentiment. "So when people talk about high definition for the Wii console, our feedback is that that by itself will not create a brand new experience. Therefore, we're not interested. What we have to push for are groundbreaking new experiences. Technology has to enable it, not to be a means all by itself." [Via Edge]
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.
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.
Reggie: Wii users don't care about HD Netflix streaming
As spotted by Siliconera, Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aimé recently told CNBC that users streaming Netflix through the Wii aren't going to miss the HD content they won't be able to access -- free content that's available through other devices. He justified that claim with a simple argument: "over 26 million consumers have bought a Wii. The consumer is saying, for them, the quality of the visual is not nearly as important as the overall entertainment." It may irritate 360 and PS3 proponents to no end to hear him lay it out that plainly, but we're having a hard time finding a flaw in Reggie's logic.
