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Online voice chat a possibility for the Wii
Reggie sure had a lot to say today, didn't he? He may have crushed our hopes for online features coming to the Virtual Console, but in the process managed to dangle another carrot (a voice chat flavored carrot, that is) in front of our faces. To quote the man himself, "I would not be surprised to see that capability come to this system." He also stated that the Wii has the capability for voice chat, it was just a matter of making a peripheral.That's definitely better than some of the outright "no" statements that we're so used to hearing.
Virtual Console: Online features are for suckers
During the same conference call with Reggie, the notion for online features in Virtual Console games came up. And, like a huge megaton hammer, Reggie came crashing down on the notion with enough force as to completely shatter each and every dream we'd ever had, from ridiculous to surprisingly plausible. It's a shame, because it wouldn't be that hard to give us something so small as online leaderboards.For those of you looking forward to updates to these past titles, much like the norm on the Xbox Live Arcade, grab a box of Kleenex and sit with us. It's just not going to happen. It's okay, cry. Let it out. We're here with you, doing the same.
Nintendo to offer 'Wii Rainchecks'
In an effort to help dull the impact of the Wii supply crunch, Reggie Fils-Aime has announced in a conference call that Nintendo will make "Wii Rainchecks" available to those who pay in full for a system on December 20th and 21st (but don't actually get a system). The rainchecks will be available at GameStop, and Reggie says they have plentiful supply of certificates, not to mention a large supply of actual Wiis heading out to stores including but not limited to GameStop.Who wants to bet they'll run out of rainchecks?
Reggie on TV listings channel, development costs and shortages
Speaking at the Dow Jones Consumer Technology Innovations Conference, Reggie Fils-Aime talked about some upcoming Wii-related topics, including things other than how great Wii Fit will be. He discussed Japan's new TV Program Schedule Channel briefly, but only to mention that there are no plans for a U.S. release of such a service. Then, to answer the question proposed in the CNet article's title "Will the Wii be a set-top box?": no. Look to something like the Xbox 360, with which you can already purchase TV shows and movies, for something like that. The TV Program Schedule Channel is a neat convenience designed to get people messing with the Wiimote. Reggie mentioned that future channels "... may look like games. They may not look like games." Other topics included Wii and DS development costs, which are obviously lower in comparison to other systems', meaning that a game can sell fewer copies and still make a profit. For Nintendo, of course, who is aiming at the biggest mass-market audience they can, this doesn't necessarily mean experimentation, but ridiculous profits. He also went on to talk about shortages, calling them "missed opportunities".He also talked about how great Wii Fit will be.[Via NeoGAF]
Reggie: MS and Sony are hobos, living in cardboard boxes
Well, not exactly, but imagination can be fun!No, Reggie in fact thinks that his company's competitors have boxed themselves in this generation. Why? Because they chose to invest heavily into cutting-edge technology. The decision to go with photo-realistic, HD graphics is going to be bad for them in the long run, Reggie thinks. Sony and Microsoft have "gone down the path with building expensive machines that they lose money on. They've gone down the path with games that are hard to develop," he adds. And, if you want to look at sheer profit-per-console, then Reggie is right. And, if you want to look at total consoles sold, then Reggie is right again. Microsoft and Sony have yet to turn a profit on their divisions, while Nintendo has been enjoying the cash money for quite some time now.But, he makes a valid point: if Microsoft and Sony are already producing crazy, high-end graphics for their games, where will they go from here? Nintendo has innovated how games are played without the need to produce these expensive visuals and been incredibly successful.
Reggie named Grand Marketer of the Year
Brandweek magazine, which we suppose we'll have to get familiar with if we want to continue pretending to know something about business, named Reggie Fils-Aime their "Grand Marketer of the Year" for 2007. The magazine celebrated Reggie with a long article about how awesome the Wii is, and how his strategy and competitiveness helped put the (awesome) Wii in a gazillion homes.Reggie is given a lot of the credit in this article for Nintendo's unusual Wii marketing, including the "Wii would like to play" commercials and the Wii ambassador program (in which popular bloggers in non-game fields were invited to Wii parties in fancy hotels). Whatever role Reggie has had in the adult-focused marketing of the Wii, it's paying off.[Via Game|Life]
Wii will fail to meet demand this holiday
As hard as Nintendo is trying to quench the thirst of the market by upping its production of Wii consoles, things don't look good for the holiday season. If you have someone on your gift list that is asking for a Wii console, your best bet is to pretend you never knew them. Or, tell everyone you know one of their most intimate secrets in the hopes that they will no longer be your friend. It's the only way you're going to get out of the difficult task ahead of those brave enough to attempt picking one of the consoles up this season.In proper spin fashion, Reggie is quick to claim that it isn't merely a production issue, but that the demand for the system is just ridiculously high. Regardless of how he spins it, we know it's a production issue. And, given that how hard it is to meet the demand, isn't it better for a company to not be able to keep up with demand than that of the demand being nowhere near the output of the company?[Via Joystiq]
Say it with us: Reggie "FEE-SUH-MAY"
Finally! With Nintendo of America's executive washroom looking emptier and emptier these days, it's increasingly important that we not mangle the surnames of the few execs who remain. We're pretty sure we've got Perrin Kaplan down (though we're still not sure if she's sticking around), but Reggie Fils-Aime's last name has always presented something of a problem. Everywhere, gamers and journalists have ... paused before uttering his unique name. "Did I just say that right? PHILS-AMY?"Well, MTV's Multiplayer blog went right to the source and asked Reggie, How the crap do you pronounce your last name? Watch as Reggie kicks ass and enunciates names. "It's not PHILS-AIM. It's not PHILS-AMY. It's FEE-SUH-MAY." Really? Fils-Aime is pronounced "fee-suh-may"? Yeah, err, that's totally how we've always pronounced it.
Wall-to-wall Wiis in stores this holiday season
In an interview with The Mercury News' Dean Takahashi and Mike Antonucci, Nintendo of America president (and t-shirt subject) Reggie Fils-Aime assured us all that there'd be tons of Wiis forthcoming this holiday season. "The good news is we're flowing more and more product into the marketplace, and the amount of Wii hardware that will be in North American stores will be unprecedented-- substantially more than the launch, substantially more than has been seen to date," Reggie told "Dean & Nooch." But don't start clearing warehouse space for Wii forts yet, Toys R Us employees: "The bad news is that given the level of demand, and given the fact that the more we put in, the more we sell, it is still gonna be difficult to get hands on the Wii."Which, of course, means that you still need to do a bunch of legwork to get a system. Reggie suggests calling retailers, figuring out shipment dates and times, and basically the same kind of stuff we all had to do to get our Wiis over the last year.[Via Game|Life]
Micro makes list of worst-selling handhelds
When thinking back to that moment when Reggie pulled the GBA Micro out of his pocket at E3, the only feeling that could come close to what we were feeling then is if we were repeatedly punched in the crotch. And while some find the Micro to be a wonderful little gadget, we think those folks are crazy. Looney Tunes crazy.Numbers don't lie, however, as even with 2.5 million units sold, it's still one of the top ten worst-selling handhelds. It probably has something to do with the fact that squinting at its tiny screen for mere minutes causes incredible headaches in the player (based on our own experience). [Via NintendoRevolution]
Reggie talks Nintendo's Japanese focus, Wii Ware
In another section of Stephen Totilo's E3 interview with Reggie, this chunk focuses mostly on Nintendo's perceived favoritism to the Japanese market. With that region receiving lots of titles that we only get to hear about, Stephen asks Reggie if we should even be hopeful that such games will be localized. The discussion then moves to Wii Ware, where the question of storage space on the Wii arises. Stephen asks Reggie about the possibility of a Wii hard drive, to which Reggie responds "could there be a market for a Wii hard drive? There certainly could be."Catch the video embedded past the break.
Reggie talks H.A.M.M.E.R., other E3 highlights
MTV's Stephen Totilo managed to not only take down Reggie's name, but also got him to plant himself in a seat for 15 minutes so that an interview may be conducted. Divided into smaller bite-sized chunks, the first-part of the proposed three-part interview has Reggie tackling many a subject. Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii and Endless Ocean are all discussed, but what we found most interesting were Reggie's comments on Project H.A.M.M.E.R.Turns out, the game isn't canceled, but has just been put on the back burner. While the game could very well become lost in limbo forever, we're kind of excited to see what some time away from the project could do for the game. Because, frankly, what we initially saw at E306 was nothing worth writing home about.
Petition: Tell Reggie to lose some weight
The most surprising thing about Nintendo's E3 2007 press conference wasn't the Wii Zapper or the upcoming release dates or even the official announcement of Wii Fit. No, the most surprising moment of the show was when Nintendo of America President and CEO Reggie Fils-Aime's Mii ballooned to an "overweight" body-mass index of 27.51 in front of a crowd of thousands. While the ass-kicker and name-taker claimed that the extra weight came from muscle and not fat, we agree with Shigeru Miyamoto, who said that was simply a "nice excuse."The folks over at WiiHealthy aren't too happy with the public face for their weight-management system of choice. They've started a petition to convince the Regginator that "he has to lose some weight by playing healthy games on the Nintendo Wii!" Sure, there are probably more important issues to sign your name to (like a PS3 price drop, for instance) but we can definitely get behind the idea of continued good health for our favorite Nintendo revolutionary.
Your guide to Nintendo's E3 press conference
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo_wii/Your_Guide_to_Nintendo_s_E3_2007_Press_Conference'; It's the final countdown! Need the quick skinny on catching all of Nintendo's megatons, minitons, and Reggietons at this afternoon's E3 press conference? We've collected it all -- starting times, links to FREE and LIVE video streams, and even Morrissey -- right here!Event location: Santa Monica Civic Center (Santa Monica, CA) Press conference starting times (today): United States - 9:00 AM PDT, 10:00 AM MDT, 11:00 AM CDT, 12:00 PM EDT Europe - 5:00 PM WEST, 6:00 PM CET, 7:00 PM EET Australia - 12:00 AM AWST, 1:30 AM ACST, 2:00 AM AEST Japan - 1:00 AM JST Countdown clock Live video streams (free): 1UP G4 GameSpot Gametrailers Nintendo (GameSpot) Songs that will get you pumped up: Europe - "The Final Countdown" Morrissey - "Irish Blood, English Heart" Mega Man 2 - "Intro" If you're stuck at work, unable to watch any of the video streams, don't forget that our big brother, Joystiq, will be liveblogging the presentation. We'll also have our usual quips and tips afterward, as well.[Via NeoGAF]
Want to watch the Nintendo press conference?
With the Nintendo E3 press briefing taking place today, many of you might be wondering where you can catch an eye full of Reggie, Iwata and the whole Nintendo gang. Maybe you want to be there to see every single thing go down. We can't blame you! But, for the sake of making your life easier (it's kind of our goal, don'tchaknow), we'll run down some facts and places for you to watch the show.And, of course, our Big Poppa site Joystiq will be liveblogging the event, so we'll direct you to where you need to go for that later on today.Event location: Santa Monica Civic Center (Santa Monica, CA) Press conference starting times (today): United States - 9:00 AM PDT, 10:00 AM MDT, 11:00 AM CDT, 12:00 PM EDT Across the Atlantic - 5:00 PM WEST, 6:00 PM CET, 7:00 PM EET Australia - 12:00 AM AWST, 1:30 AM ACST, 2:00 AM AEST Japan - 1:00 AM JST Countdown clock Live video streams (free): 1UP G4 Gamespot Gametrailers
Nintendo takes wraps off of WiiWare
Nintendo is the latest on the indie console-development bandwagon with WiiWare, a "game-creation service that will allow developers large and small to create new downloadable video game content" that the company announced this morning. The company is making it clear that they're looking for little guys to make games for the console, though it's currently unclear exactly how that will be done. Interestingly, Reggie Fils-Amie told N'Gai Croal of Newsweek that the games would be checked for bugs but not vetted by Nintendo. Developers would be responsible for securing an ESRB rating (AO titles won't be welcome, sorry Manhunt 2.) Look for the first WiiWare to start appearing in early 2008.Nintendo will also be deciding how many points the games will be sold for when they're put on the Wii Shop channel. With this brave new world of indie development, who knows where the next big Wii game will come from now? Well, we do, it will come from Nintendo. But thanks to WiiWare, the search for the next big way to wait for the next big Nintendo game just got a lot more interesting.Read -- Nintendo's WiiWare Paves The Way ...Read -- What is WiiWare? Level Up Gets the Scoop ...
Fils-Aime sees strong future in store for Wii
Nintendo's resident ass-kicker and name-taker Reggie Fils-Aime sat down with the Wall Street Journal recently, not only to discuss the state of the Wii, but to also comment on the competition. The first thing that Reggie spoke about was the success of third-party publishers on the Wii, which he claims has allowed them to push more software on the Wii than Nintendo themselves. He even commented that a few of Ubisoft's titles are close to cracking the one million mark.Touching on the future of the console, including the competition from Sony and their argument that the Wii's graphical capabilities limit it in the eyes of the consumer, Reggie stated ""I guess when you're not doing well you have to grasp at something." Reggie added "From our perspective, this industry is about entertainment and it's about driving a consumer interface and engagement with content. That's why people want to play games. From that standpoint, our strategy is certainly working and we believe it's going to work into the future."[Via Gamasutra]
Nintendo Media Summit: Mario Strikers Charged hands-on (Wii)
During the press conference with Reggie Fils-Aime, the President of Nintendo of America, he mentioned that some people felt that Nintendo was catering too exclusively to casual gamers with titles like Nintendogs and Brain Age. To this he countered that they had a number of games that appeal more to the core players, as he called them, and said he was going to show us one of them today. The title in question was Mario Strikers Charged, a sequel to the generally well received Gamecube original. Seemed kind of dubious to consider it a 'hardcore' game, but I suppose it was when compared to the other titles shown at the event.Before we were able to get a hands-on with the title, Reggie called up one of the developers of Mario Strikers Charged who loaded up the opening cinematic of the game for us to enjoy. The cinematic was a high-energy movie featuring all the major Mario characters kicking ass on the soccer field in some form or another. The characters had an interesting art design, much more anime-esque than the normal Mario designs. One of the highlights of the opening cinematic was seeing all the special moves that each of the characters have, like Donkey Kong's ability to smash the ground and knock everybody out around him. The developer pointed out that even though the opening movie was pre-rendered CG, all the moves are actual ones that the characters themselves have.%Gallery-3412%
DS Daily: The signing
Yesterday's eBay treasure-find got us thinking. We tend to idolize certain figures in the gaming world, even if they happen to just be suave business men. And don't get us wrong, Iwata-san is the very definition of a ladies' man. But in all the realm of gaming, from players to publishers, who would you want to sign your DS?Bonus points if you don't pick Miyamoto, but, uh, we totally pick Miyamoto. I mean, he deserves it, right? And he's got such a cool signature.
CNet takes Reggie's name and other words
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime contributed a column to CNet's News.com, in which he discusses the "technological divide" growing between those who can afford and understand expensive, complicated equipment and those who cannot. He suggests that there is in fact a way to cross this divide, and serve consumers on both sides. Avid followers of Nintendo should know what he suggests: a low-cost device that innovates and creates new markets. He then proceeds to describe the Wii as simple and accessible enough to appeal to people who aren't willing to commit to complicated new developments-- the way cereal bars appeal to people who enjoy eating food but have no time to cook a full breakfast. We respect that there seems to be an actual strategy behind the Wii, and we recommend reading this column to see it laid out in very logical terms.
