Iwata-san Voices Wii Music Disappointment & Discusses Future News

Speaking in a lengthy Q&A session after the release of Nintendo's latest financials, Satoru Iwata has confirmed that core Nintendo fans have been screaming out for ages... Wii Music was a disappointment.  TVG has summarised the most important bits but it's still a lengthy read, so be warned.

Responding to a question about Shigeru Miyamoto's latest creation, Iwata-san responds:

"I agree that Wii Music, as of now, has not achieved its true potential."

Recognising its Marmite ability to split audiences' reception, Iwata-san suggests that Nintendo won't back away from the title, however, citing the fact that the original Brain Training was poorly received initially and only became a phenomenon with the release of More Brain Training.  "We should not have the attitude that a game does not have sales potential because the first week or first month sales were small," cautions Iwata-san.

Of more concern to Iwata-san it seems is the sliding demand for Wii across Japan.  TVG noted a decrease in units compared to last year with the release of Nintendo's financials.

"Perhaps, the Japanese market is the least robust market in the world today with regard to home console systems. In the U.S., the home console market is very robust. If the U.S. sold two or three times as much as Japan, it would be tolerable," claims Iwata-san.  "Yet, I feel that something is wrong when the U.S. is selling ten times as much as Japan on a weekly basis."

Iwata-san moved onto confirm that neither Animal Crossing nor Wii Music managed to revitalise the Wii market across Japan in the manner to which Nintendo had expected.

But despite the cautionary outlook, Iwata-san reminds that Nintendo are in the business to innovate and offer fresh ideas, some of which won't always become the next big thing: 

"I shudder at the thought of what if Nintendo DS had not had 'Brain Training' or 'Nintendogs,' and if Wii had not had 'Wii Sports' and 'Wii Fit.' For each of these products, we create them hoping for a winner, but it is impossible to hit a bulls eye every time."

Following the caution and criticisms, Iwata-san discusses the virtues of user generated content in Nintendo titles.  Suggesting that gamers have grown tired of the "surprises" that game designers adopt, Iwata-san believes the answer to keep interest high relies on players getting creative in a similar manner to LittleBigPlanet's user-generated levels and custom paintjobs in Forza 2.

Rolling it under the possibilities offered by "network gaming", Iwata-san contrasts the differences between, something you can probably expect to appear increasingly in future Nintendo titles, and "competitive" gaming.

"With competitive games while some people become very excited, we saw that the platform became too intense for novice players to join as they felt the widening gap in the skill levels between an experienced and a new player", Iwata-san warns. 

"Because Nintendo has been striving to expand the gaming population, the more we went towards that direction in network gaming, we felt that the hurdle became higher for those who were not accustomed to playing video games to enter into the market, and that this was not the solution to the problem." 

"This is where UGC comes in," Iwata-san adds.  "There are some people, although they may be a minority, who love to create something creative, share that with others, and enjoy seeing other people being entertained or responding positively to their creation.

At the same time, great majority of people are rather passive and love to applaud the creative efforts by others and enjoy playing with them. In other words, UGC has the unique characteristic that, regardless of their game skills, people on both sides can enjoy."


Finally, Iwata-san lays down the corporate fist, warning about the blinkered outlook Nintendo's overseas staff have whenever they're met with a Wii Music instead of the next Mario, and perhaps sending a cautionary statement to the risk-adverse industry as a whole.

"... when we announce that a new "Mario" or "Pokemon" software is developed, marketers of Nintendo products all over the world naturally look forward to the launches even when they do not know the contents of the game," exclaims Iwata-san.  "On the other hand, when we make a presentation to the same people about software which has had no previous track record and no name recognition, their reactions are not positive for most cases.

If one is presented with two products, and the successful sales of one of them is guaranteed, and if they have to anticipate allocating a lot of resources to sell another, it is only natural that people have higher expectations for the one guaranteed to sell."

With uncertainty still surrounding the Western release of the DSi following initial suggestions that the new handheld could make it to Europe during spring 2009, Iwata-san is cautious about being too specific. 

"I am imagining that launches of DSi overseas will be in the first half of the next fiscal year," (April-September) before warning, "... considering the current foreign currency exchange rates, there is no possibility of selling DSi overseas with the same price as DS Lite at all."

Confirmation of region themed titles under the Touch! Generations label also appeared, with Iwata-san claiming:

"We are actually working on U.S. and Europe-originated Touch Generations products, which may have a smaller demand in Japan than overseas. I can not tell if it will go well or not at this moment. I think one or two of these initial trials will reach the market within this year. If they actually flourish, I think our strategy will have to take the next step."

Finally, Iwata-san provides an insight into the happy, shiny people that you can expect to find in the halls of Nintendo HQ, and suggests that all Nintendo wants to do is put a smile on everybody's face.

"I continue to tell our employees that if it makes everyone involved in Nintendo smile, then that is something that we should do," before explaining the ultimate criteria, "if it doesn't make them smile, then it's not something Nintendo should do."

Pretty noble in the current climate.