Nintendo Of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has defended the company's performance at E3 2012, has said he is "troubled tremendously" by core gamers' "insatiable" appetite for new announcements.
Speaking to Kotaku at E3, Fils-Aime said the announcements of Pikmin 3, New Super Mario Bros U and Nintendo Land proved the company was committed to its core audience - but that some people were just impossible to please.
"One of the things that, on one hand, I love and, on the other hand, that troubles tremendously about not only our fanbase but the gaming community at large is that, whenever you show information, the perspective is: 'Thank you, but I want more. Thank you, but give me more'," he said. "I mean, it is insatiable.
"For years this community has been asking, 'Where's Pikmin? Where's Pikmin? Where's Pikmin?' We give them Pikmin. And then they say: 'What else?'
"For years this community has said: 'Dammit Reggie, when you launch, you better launch with a Mario game'. So we launch with a Mario game, and they say, 'So, what's more?'
"I have heard people say, 'You know, you've got these fantastic franchises. Beyond what you're doing in Smash Bros, isn't there a way to leverage all these franchises?' So we create Nintendo Land and they say: 'Ho-hum. Give me more'. It's an interesting challenge."
Fils-Aime further defended Nintendo's record by pointing to the negative reaction to the announcements of the multi-million selling likes of Wii Fit and Nintendogs. "What's the fan community reaction? 'Ho-hum'," he said. "Until it sells millions of copies. When we showed Wii Fit on stage… go back and read your blogs, what was the reaction?
"It's a question of, as a gamer, 'Is this for me and something I can get excited about?' And Wii Fit did not get that reaction. And yet, [it sold] 43 million copies around the world. It's a phenomenon.
"And so I would argue that the gaming community is unable to differentiate between a phenomenon and something that is 'ho-hum'."
Fair points? Nintendo's core audience might rightly argue that, Pikmin 3 aside, the Wii U announcements to which Fils-Aime refers were aimed equally, if not more, to the massmarket. Wii Fit and Nintendogs were surely not produced with Nintendo's committed fans in mind.
If anything. Fils-Aime's comments betray the tough position in which the company currently finds itself. It is caught between two stools, trying to recapture the expanded market it did so much to create in the first place which has since been distracted by mobile and social games, while at the same time pitching Wii U to its long-standing core audience, many of whom, burned by the company's perceived drift to the massmarket, haved become committed customers of Microsoft and Sony.
Perhaps he's right: Nintendo can never win, and it's worth noting that its competitors have also come under fire at recent E3s for their perceived reduced focus on core games. But would the criticism had been so loud if Nintendo had announced a 3D, rather than a 2D, Mario title? Or F-Zero instead of Nintendo Land? We're not so sure; let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments
14You've hit the nail on the head there Edge. A follow-up to one of the weakest and dumbed down Mario titles to date? Whoop-de-doo. Give us Mario Universe! Give us F-Zero XU (?)! A Mario Kart to better those released on GC and Wii.
He just has to be joking when he says that Nintendo Land, which is basically a minigame collection to show off the WiiU pad's functions, is a game meant to satisfy the core audience and then goes on about how many units Wii Fit sold. I'd be interested to see the number of Wii Fit sales that weren't bundled with a console.
Also those upcoming WiiU and 3DS Super Mario games don't look new at all. They might as well be a map pack for New Super Mario Bros. Why can't Nintendo accept that Mario is near dead, doesn't need a dozen games on every new system they release, and that creating new IPs or at least sequels to classic series such as F-Zero would be more worthwhile?
Firstly, Mario isn't dead. That has to be one of the most ludicrous statements ever uttered on an Edge thread. And sorry but last time I checked, F-Zero GX bombed (despite being one of the most wonderful games ever made). The two Galaxy titles have sold 17 million copies between them.
Simple maths. Nintendo are a business. The chances of them making an F-Zero game are very slim.
Mario is nearly dead?
So I guess the Super Mario Galaxy games were just a figment of my imagination?
He's a corporate mouthpiece. Everything he says is aimed at stockholders. In this case, he's saying: "Investors! Don't be alarmed by the negative reaction to our presentation - you can't please these people, but they'll buy our products anyway!". That's why he tries to sell a (false) either-or difference between a "sales phenomenon" and something that's "ho-hum" to core gamers (Wii Fit was obviously both at the same time).
I'm surprised the core even gives a shit about Nintendo at all still.
The reason the "core" still give a shit about Nintendo is because, whether you like to believe it or not, in amongst all the dross they have put out of late Nintendo has created some of the most imaginative and "core" games I can think of. "Core" gamers appreciate clever level design and puzzles, unlike the so called "hardcore" gamers who own only non-Nintendo consoles. A "core" gamer should be able to appreciate a well designed game regardless of what console it is on. If someone is unable to do so then how possibly can they refer to themselves as a "core" gamer. I think the true meaning of what a "core" gamer is has got lost somewhere within this current generation of gaming. Give me a Kirby's Epic Yarn over an unchallenging poorly designed generic identikit shooter any day.
Case in point. Kirby's epic yard? My seven year old niece plays that. It is a game for children.
Yeah, why do the "core" care about Nintendo? It's not like they helped pioneer the industry, revolutionized it on more than one occasion, and created a hefty number of the most acclaimed video games of all time.
.....Oh, wait a minute...
When Nintendo do get it right it can be nothing short of sublime. Those untouchable moments. They've set such high standards for themselves that it takes a lot to hit those highs. The games will come eventually, no doubt about it. It's just that Nintendo-land and New Super Mario Brothers don't feel like them (not to mention Nintendogs and wii-fit). There's no way around it.
Fans want Nintendo to succeed just as much as Nintendo themselves. They want to be playing these games with their grand-kids (if they're not already) and see what Link looks like in another 20 years time. With every major new console release we all get a bit nervous. Could this be it? A console landscape with only Sony & Microsoft would feel like a bit of a sausage party. It's a caring concern.
And then of course there's just the good old fashioned curiosity and excitement. We're waiting to see where Mario goes after space? The fact that we're waiting (some of us impatiently) is a compliment.
Reggie, Reggie, Reggie, where will you go when you find out that Nintendo JP dose not care who you are - just you make them lots and lots of money!
After reading the Trip piece, and then the piece about the UK Nintendo Prez that just walked, I wonder now if the executives are beginning to realize that it 'is' all about the game - and that they are nothing but just egos!
In Nintendo's defense, at least you actually play their games and not just watch them. That alone beats Sony and Microsoft's presentations.
Most powerful piece of Nintendo hardware yet produced and they launch it with a 2D Mario that's essentially just a re-hash of a Wii game? Where the hell is Mario U-niverse?
I can see Nintendo's problem. They just can't produce first-party games at a rate that will satisfy the core gamer.
Likewise I think the message from gamers is confused. "We want more games" but when they arrive they have to be the right game. They want the classic Nintendo style, but when it arrives they dismiss it as a kids game. It's a bit like the gamers who cried out for years for more retro-styled Sonic, but ignore it when it arrives.
I think Nintendo should just worry a bit less about what the cacophony of the internet says.