Reggie Fils-Aime at DICE 07: Of Wii issues and the DS success

The DICE Summit is just getting warmed up. After Phil Harrison‘s interview, which some received with raised eyebrows, it’s Reggie Fils-Aime turn to talk about, what else, the Wii and the DS. The Mercury News was able to interview NOA’s chief operating officer at DICE and he has some very interesting things to say.

First off, he mentions that the new data on sales for their hardware and software products will be out next week. But with or without data, he is confident that the Wii is one hot commodity. He said that two thirds of the software sales were by third parties so “developers are sharing in the success.” He is also very confident that the Wii would surpass the installed base of the Xbox 360, if this type of sales rate continue.

Now, NPD found out that the top selling console last December was the six-year-old PS2. When asked about his opinion on the PS2, he mentions that the PS2 is not a direct competition of the Wii. Then he was reminded that Bill Gates said that the Wii isn’t a direct competition of the Xbox 360, here’s what he said about that:

When you’re as rich as Bill is, you can say anything…They have done some things that are brilliant at Microsoft. We want to bring gaming back to the masses. Consumers are voting with their wallets and pocketbooks.

As for those who are saying that the gameplay of the Wii is limited and its style of playing is just a novelty, he rebutted by saying that these detractors have probably never seen Zelda – a game which is blessed with 90 hours of gameplay. As for the controversies about the Wii (like the hold your wee contest), he says that the death of the contestant is an unfortunate scenario.

As for the DS, he disclosed that it has sold more than 35.6 million units now and that they “are making millions a month, but the demand is above that.”

To read more about the interview, click on our read-link below.

The DICE Summit is just getting warmed up. After Phil Harrison‘s interview, which some received with raised eyebrows, it’s Reggie Fils-Aime turn to talk about, what else, the Wii and the DS. The Mercury News was able to interview NOA’s chief operating officer at DICE and he has some very interesting things to say.

First off, he mentions that the new data on sales for their hardware and software products will be out next week. But with or without data, he is confident that the Wii is one hot commodity. He said that two thirds of the software sales were by third parties so “developers are sharing in the success.” He is also very confident that the Wii would surpass the installed base of the Xbox 360, if this type of sales rate continue.

Now, NPD found out that the top selling console last December was the six-year-old PS2. When asked about his opinion on the PS2, he mentions that the PS2 is not a direct competition of the Wii. Then he was reminded that Bill Gates said that the Wii isn’t a direct competition of the Xbox 360, here’s what he said about that:

When you’re as rich as Bill is, you can say anything…They have done some things that are brilliant at Microsoft. We want to bring gaming back to the masses. Consumers are voting with their wallets and pocketbooks.

As for those who are saying that the gameplay of the Wii is limited and its style of playing is just a novelty, he rebutted by saying that these detractors have probably never seen Zelda – a game which is blessed with 90 hours of gameplay. As for the controversies about the Wii (like the hold your wee contest), he says that the death of the contestant is an unfortunate scenario.

As for the DS, he disclosed that it has sold more than 35.6 million units now and that they “are making millions a month, but the demand is above that.”

To read more about the interview, click on our read-link below.