Reggie Fils-Aime: DS success led to the Wii

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime discussed about the Wii and DS in an interview, shedding light on why the gaming giant chose innovative controls over visuals. More details await at the full article!

Nintendo’s man of kicking ass and taking names, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, said the white hot Wii is a product of the DS’ success. In an interview, he talked about Nintendo’s decision to “embark on a radical departure and offer consumers a new way to play” than going head to head with Sony and Microsoft.

Fils-Aime told Globe and Mail:

Our success with Nintendo DS told us we were on to the right strategy. That a simplified input that would allow all types of consumers to get into the gaming would be our best path to the future. That thinking is what led to the Wii remote.

Nintendo’s president called the Wii and DS “the real brought-to-market executions” of the company’s strategy to encourage immersive gaming and make games “more involving and more accessible for all types of consumers.”

Since GoldenEye 007, the Nintendo 64 title which deviated from the formula of simple games to something that required complex controllers for fast-twitch oriented games, the gaming giant’s market-leading console and handheld today catered to innovative inputs via Wii Remote and the DS stylus/mic combination.

“We had to make the games more immersive, not from a visual standpoint, but from a game-play standpoint,” Fils-Aime continued. The Wii went on to instigate high demand, and the console is often difficult to find even after Nintendo began producing 1.8 million units a month. The way Fils-Aime puts it, “these are rates and ramp-ups that this industry has never seen before.”

Via Globe and Mail