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Reggie pledges no game droughts
Reggie recently sat down and talked with Newsweek, claiming that their will not be any new game drought on the Wii, something that a lot of folks claim killed the GameCube. Seeing as how many purchase Nintendo systems for Nintendo-created games, this is the greatest worry facing the Nintendo consumer and with delays on Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, many are fearing this to be the case. Reggie puts those fears to rest, however (or, at least, attempts to): NEWSWEEK: Let's look at first-party software for a minute. As evidenced by software sales, gamers who purchase Nintendo platforms do so primarily to play Nintendo-developed games. But from the Nintendo 64-era on, Nintendo has a history of repeatedly delaying key titles, creating long droughts between the AAA games for which its fans bought the hardware. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, your flagship title for the Wii, is in fact a long-delayed Gamecube game that has been moved over to the Wii, as has Super Paper Mario. So how can you assure gamers that are considering a Wii--keeping in mind that they've heard such promises before--that they won't endure the same droughts between AAA first-party titles that they suffered on the Nintendo 64 or the Gamecube? Reggie Fils-Aime: The way I answer that question is with three very real examples. First, Zelda: Twilight Princess, on Wii, is arguably the best game we've ever made. Period. It is fantastic. It's been essentially made, from the core essence of that game, to be perfect for Wii. And yes, while its development started as a Gamecube title, the fact is the Wii version plays fundamentally different. A consumer can buy the Wii version and the Gamecube version and have two fundamentally different experiences. Now certainly, the Gamecube version of Zelda is fantastic. But the Wii version of Zelda is without peer. The second example I point out is Metroid Prime 3, which is a from-the-ground-up creation of Metroid for the Wii system. That title is going to come out early in 2007. That will give us fantastic momentum coming off of the launch, and will certainly be an example of how there will be no new game drought for this system. The third example I would give you is Mario Galaxy, another from-the-ground-up Wii game that we are strategically timing the launch to make sure that we continue driving momentum through 2007. So N'Gai, how do I answer the question, "Will there be no drought," and "How will we make sure that there are fantastic titles for Wii?" The answer is Zelda, Metroid and Mario. Which is a pretty darn good lineup. So are you willing to make a "Read my lips" pledge right here? I thought I just did. All right. I'll be checking in with you when these titles actually ship. [Chuckles] Exactly. [Via Codename Revolution]
Japanese hardware sales, 4 December - 10 December: Terminator edition
Listen to me. I've been sent from the future, sent to warn you about the impending destruction of the human race. There were so many, we just couldn't ... we were overwhelmed within weeks. Humans now live in scattered clusters, fearful of the raids, desperately clinging to life. We need to stop it. They're gaining power.Surely, you've seen the signs. They're infecting homes, complacent, waiting for their chance to strike. Soon, their numbers will be unstoppable, and you're allowing, nay, helping their cause. Every week they grow stronger! They added what will be their strongest general, Dragon Quest, to their arsenal quite recently. Yes, surely you see it now: within two months, the DS Lites will become sentient. They'll launch a attack on the Pentagon and all major military bases in the continental United States, removing our defensive capabilities. From then on, it'll be inevitable ... Judgement Day.From their seat of power in Akihabara, Japan (the new capital of Nitro, their self-proclaimed worldwide empire), they will launch wave after wave of attack on the remaining humans. We're led by the one man who might rally us from defeat ... Reggie, of course. He sent me here, to prevent it, but now I see that it's already too late. February 13th is the day, gentlemen. May Iwata have mercy on your pathetic souls.- DS Lite: 309,630 132,729 (75.03%)- Wii: 85,439 264,919 (75.61%)- PS3: 50,171 18,735 (59.6%) - Xbox 360: 35,343 31,290 (772.02%) - PS2: 30,460 7,345 (31.78%) - PSP: 28,930 5,013 (20.96%) - GBA SP: 1,896 324 (20.61%) - Game Boy Micro: 1,555 303 (24.20%) - Gamecube: 569 252 (30.69%) - DS Phat: 167 27 (19.29%) - GBA: 17 5 (22.73%) - Xbox: 6 5 (45.45%)[Source: Media Create]
Reggie talks Wiimote battery life
MTV.com's Stephen Totilo recently sat down with Nintendo's one-and-only, ass-kicking, name-taking man in charge Reggie Fils-Aime, where the problem of battery life came up. Reggie seems to think that any kind of rechargeable solution to the problem will have to come from third-parties. This comes as a surprise to us, given that Microsoft's rechargeable solutions for their controllers were, and are, such a hit. Why would Nintendo deny themselves the money from selling rechargeable packs for their Wiimotes?[Via 4cr]
Reggie sez: Online in Q2
When the big man speaks, we listen. And yes, we're referring to the deity that is Reggie Fils-Aime, standing atop his mighty pedestal after supplanting Zeus for the title. He was recently on Spike TV's GameHead, speaking rather generically about the Wii. But, as you may have guessed, there was a diamond in the rough: the news that the first multiplayer online Wii games will be announced in Q1 2007 and start shipping in Q2. Finally!We're a little disappointed that online didn't come right out of the box; God knows some games really could have benefitted: Madden 07, Call of Duty 3, and Red Steel certainly could have used the boost. Still, at least a smidgeon of online functionality is coming quite soon, with the ability to trade custom levels in Elebits via the magic of the internet intertron. That's its new name. Thus have we spoken, and thus it is so.[We don't normally steal our sister site Joystiq's pictures, but this one was just too good.]
Featured Friday Video: Reggie will stomp all over you
The Reggienator may not be able to stay out of the gutter when it comes to the real world, but in the virtual world of Wii Sports, he will kick you in the face and talk about your momma. And don't even think about mentioning Wii60 to him. Despite the way the portmanteau rolls off the tongue, he ain't trying to hear that. When he's done stomping on you, Reggie is gonna go get your 360 and stomp that, too.Check out Reggie's bowling after the jump!
More Times Square silliness
As sort-of promised, we've got some more coverage for you. After meeting up with various head honchos of the geeky online blog community (Christopher Grant, Andrew Yoon, Raw Meat Cowboy from GoNintendo, Chris from Advanced Media Network, I'm talking to you), the "festivities" started. They opened with a rather lackluster performed by someone named "DJ Ravidrums", who was essentially a drummer playing along to some prerecorded music. Bah. But then ... wait! It's friggin' Reggie!This man should have received a deafening applause. Eardrum-destroying. And truth be told, it wasn't bad. But Nintendo made the mistake of setting up the stage on a side-street, in which there was no way anyone standing in line could watch. As such, the viewers of the event were curious bystanders and members of the media, such as myself. Can you imagine this sad scene?"Hey, guys, it's great to be here. You can fill in the blanks, right? My name is Reggie, and I'm about ...!"Only around nine or so people shouted the obvious answer, including myself. How horrible.Still, the speech he gave was decent, and the rest of the stage performance consisted of some TRL/Miss USA woman and more of that weird drumming guy. Exit, stage left.Where to now, we asked ourselves? Well, let's check out the Wii display upstairs and then HOLY CRAP it's Reggie again! Yes, the Regginator was giving yet another interview for a major station (don't ask, we don't know), and right afterward, a few well-informed fans ran up to him to get their DS Lites signed. He was busy, he was in a rush, but Nintendo Wii Fanboy was able to edge in one question! And here it is."Reggie. Honestly, and PR spin aside, do you truly believe that the Wii is going to take first place in sales in the next generation against the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360?"A slight pause. He turns to stare me down."Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind. We're offering what gamers want, and they're going to love it."Hear that? It's the sound of oh snap.And by the way, that man's handshake is a vice of absolute death.
Reggie's on the phone for you
NoA president (and popular photoshop subject) Reggie Fils-Aime made a special guest appearance on phones and answering machines across America yesterday. If you pre-ordered a Wii at GameStop, you got the message included after the jump. If you didn't ... you can still hear it!Nothing like getting a recorded message from Reggie to make the waiting a little easier.
Times Square Madness [update 1]
[Update 1: Our apologies. The Nintendo World Store is not located in Times Square; the event in question is that of Toys R' Us. The initial stock is around 5k, far exceeding that of the two thousand or so people in line. If any local New Yorkers want to pick a system up tomorrow, you should have no trouble.]Nintendo Wii Fanboy is on-hand at Times Square, New York for the launch party of the Nintendo Wii. Upon arriving at around 1:45 PM, 150 people were waiting in line ahead of us. As of now, at 7:45 PM, approximately 1200 people are currently waiting for the festivities to begin at 8 PM.The store purportedly has five thousand units for sale, almost immediately ensuring a stress-free and calm environment. Everyone seems to be friendly and jovial, just as we had hoped. Some pre-partying from TRU has been impressive: jury-rigged "Seg-Wiis", Segmay machines rigged with LCD monitors and a Wii system to show off Excite Truck and Wii Sports. Some swag includes Wii hats, Wii beanies, free demo DVDs, and some extra goodies apparently being given away in a few minutes.We apologize for the lack of pictures, but there'll be plenty of video coverage sometime early tomorrow. If time permits, we'll update a little later as well ... good luck, everyone!
MIGS06: Reggie Fils-Aime keynote liveblogged (kinda)
On the second day of the 2006 Montreal International Game Summit, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime gave the first keynote of the day. His subject, Nintendo's current business model, is already well-worn territory, but more relevant than ever considering that the launch of the Wii is only a mere ten days away. We'll know soon enough whether Nintendo's latest strategy has what it takes to compete in the market. 8:55 - Wow, they sure brought a lot of Wii promo posters to this keynote. The podium area is flanked by Wii banners, and the podium itself features a poster saying "Oh Wii!" It confuses me.9:11 - Reggie is introduced. The man is a giant, especially when compared to the diminutive show organizer. "It's nice being in Montreal," he says, "where people can properly pronounce my name." The audience laughs appreciatively, so he milks it a little. "You should hear what they do to it when I go to Mexico."
Reggie chats rumors
During a video interview with Reggie Fils-Aime, CNET's Rich DeMuro grilled the Nintendo president about the upcoming console. Turns out, we should expect no mystery announcement, no major new bomb, basically nothing more until the launch of the console. Reggie wants to dispel all rumors that the company is planning a major announcement pre-launch. For the most part, we're thankful, because the roller-coaster ride has near caused a coronary in us already. We just want the console already![Thanks :P!]
New Wii promo trailer -- fans go fanatic
What's better than vampires, pumpkins and tons of candy? A new Wii promo video! Okay maybe not so much but still, we got excited. The trailer is full of hot Wii action featuring people of all ages and nationalities enjoying the system and most of the launch titles. For some reason, Wario Ware: Smooth Moves is shown along with the rest of the games even though we have been told it isn't ready for launch. I guess they are just flexing their muscles to keep the game fresh on our want list. As always, check out the video after the jump. [Via Joystiq; Thanks Zan and Vincent!]
Japanese hardware sales, 16 October - 22 October: Nintendo All Hallows Eve Edition
Satoru Iwata (dressed as a vampire): DS Lite perform amazing feat in global market! More hundred thousand units in time of week! Much party enjoyment, everyone, so scary is coming! George Harrison (dressed as Link): Ugh, these tights are starting to chafe. Perrin, wanna trade costumes?Perrin Kaplan (dressed as a slutty cat): Um ... no. But you should ask around, really. Has anyone seen Matt? He looks so damn good in that costume ....Matt Cassamassina (dressed as Mega Man, special guest to the event): Perrin. Storage closet. Now.Perrin: Rawr.Iwata: They are doing the fun, yes?George: Uh, yeah. Where's Miyamoto-san, by the way?Iwata: There. (points)George: The dinette set?Shigeru Miyamoto (dressed as a dinette set): Ah! You see, this is the inspiration for my next masterpiece. Get ready for the next generation of fun!George: Sunnuva bitch. Miyamoto, stop doing shrooms, and...ah! Finally, someone normal. But why aren't you dressed up, Reggie?Reggie Fils-Aime: What do you mean?George: It's Halloween. You need a costume. You're just dressed normally.Reggie: This is my costume.George: ...Reggie: Bitch.George: ...Reggie: Now get me a sandwich.George: Friggin' ... fine ....- DS Lite: 116,941 12,454 (11.92%) - PS2: 22,380 2,347 (9.50%) - PSP: 20,271 1,332 (6.17%) - GBA SP: 2,421122 (5.31%) - Game Boy Micro: 1,660 54 (3.15%) - Xbox 360: 1,287 456 (26.16%) - Gamecube: 638 15 (2.30%) - DS Phat: 130 143 (52.38%) - GBA: 37 25 (67.57%) - Xbox: 6 3 (100.00%)[Source: Media Create]
Take the Wii pill
Talk about a Revolution. Though difficult to see, the bottom of the poster features Iwata, Reggie, and Perrin Kaplan walking in badass black trenchcoats. If Iwata is Neo, though, where's Shiggy? And is Ken Kutaragi the "architect"? Nah. That guy couldn't make a square out of toothpicks.[Thanks, Spex!]
Wii60 combo no longer "officially" supported
Back at E3, it seemed as though Microsoft and Nintendo united against the big dog, Sony. Peter Moore, one of the big faces in the Xbox world, had lovely heaping praise for Nintendo's machine, recommending that players could get the high power of the 360 and the originality of the Wii for the same cost as a single PS3 (note: this is no longer true, unless you use the $300 core 360 and the $600 PS3 model). Nintendo also commented on the bundle, saying that it was a great idea.Did anyone really expect it to last? Recent comments by both Peter Moore and Reggie indicate that the companies have returned to their icy status-quo relationship. In a recent interview, Moore stated that he was worried that the Wii would only be fun for "a few minutes"...that punk! Reggie, when asked about the Wii60 combo, admitted that he thought that if gamers want to have another system to complement their Wii, it should be a Nintendo DS Lite. He then explained this comment with a very simple statement: "I'm greedy."Honest to a fault! We love ya, Reggie. Who here is going to let this travesty of public relations deter them from their beloved Wii60 combo?
Grand Theft ... Nintendo? [update 1]
MTV (yeah, really) has a great GameFile piece up right now that speculates on the upcoming battle between the Nintendo Wii and the PS3. But though the rest is interesting, we only had eyes for one little thing that Reggie Fils-Aime let slip:"We're reaching out to every publisher, frankly every day. I'll be spending some time later today with the folks over at Take Two to see what type of support they can give our console. ... The fact is there will be M-rated content on the Wii console."This is either the sign of the apocalypse or the red carpet down which the Wii may strut to console wars victory. Take Two Interactive is, of course, the publisher behind the impossibly popular Grand Theft Auto franchise -- a franchise that has never appeared on a Nintendo console, though GTA has surfaced on the GBA.We'll give you a moment to consider that one. It's okay. We'll wait.
Reggie: Wii no sidekick to 360
Numerous fanboys (not to mention Peter Moore) have predicted that the Nintendo Wii find success as "second console," tucked safely on the shelf next to an Xbox 360. An agile Robin, if you will, to Microsoft's burly Batman. Afterall, you can buy both a 360 and a cute, cuddly Wii console for the cost of a PS3. Unfortunately, Mario master Reggie Fils-Aime told USA Today that his Wii refuses to don the green underwear."I'd much rather have the consumer buy a Wii, some accessories, and a ton of games, vs. buying any of my competitor's products."So for Fils-Aime it's my Wii or the high-Wii. Hey, nobody expects Reggie to embrace the role of yellow-caped man-bitch...er...Boy Wonder. The economics just work out that way.
Nintendo confirms presence at the new E3
The E3 Media...whatever...is undergoing drastic changes in the coming year to reduce the utter chaos of years past. You can read the whole story here (in our wonderful mother-blog, Joystiq). Rabid game journalists immediately contacted the big three...Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft...to see if they would still be attending next year's event. Put those fears to rest, fanboys. Nintendo is the first of the bunch to come forward and confirm direct involvement and participation at next year's Min-E3 (get it?). We may not get a raucous blowout at the Kodak Theater, but we're sure Iwata-san and the gang won't disappoint.
We couldn't resist
Though people like J. Allard and Peter Moore manage to attain a psuedo-celebrity status, Nintendo's executive figures seem to have a following second to none. Shiggy, Iwata, and "The Regginator" are bonafide stars in the gaming industry. Luckily for us, they decided to cash in and take it to the next level. Bling bling.
Reggie talks flaps, WiiConnect24, and micro transactions
It's been awhile since we've heard from Reggie following his big promotion and in his latest chat with Game Informer, he confirms that the mystery flap on the front of the Wii will house the SD Card slot. In stating this, Reggie says that the SD Card is the only "announced" memory medium, so it's quite possible that Nintendo has another system up their sleeves.As for WiiConnect24 and micro transactions, Reggie sees this as digital delivery for smaller content for games, such as exclusive items or news headlines. In the interview, he says that this will be available to third parties, but is not something that will be forced upon them.
Reggie for president: changes on the way?
Yesterday, Nintendo revealed that several of their key personnel had been granted prestigious promotions, the most grand one being that of Reggie Fils-Aime being shifted to the role of President (we have to write it like that at least once) of Nintendo of America. Sure, Tatsumi Kimishima (now CEO) and Mike Fukuda (now executive vice president of business development) play important roles in the magical inner workings of Nintendo, but we haven't come to associate them with name acquisitions and posterior ass-aults quite like we have with Reggie.So, Reggie's the president. What does that mean for you, me and the creepy, unshaven guy reading over your shoulder? Well, apart from an increased desire to come up with a new and entirely daft nickname (The Preggie), not much. With the Wii's marketing plans already in full swing and a strong games lineup ready to be released and marketed to death, it's unlikely that a dramatic change in Nintendo's focus or image will manifest within the immediate future.The long run, however, may reveal some changes. When Reggie first took the stage back at E3 2003, many were surprised by his determination and attitude, qualities that didn't quite seem to fit in with Nintendo's supposed "family" image. The man can spin things at uncanny speeds, that's for sure, but there does seem to be conviction and passion beneath all the marketing hooplah. In his new position, Reggie may be able to influence Nintendo of America even more forcefully than before, taking command of its direction as opposed to just explaining why they've chosen that particular path.I'd like to know what you (creepy, unshaven guy included) think about all this. "Big deal!" or big deal?
