Reggie Fils-Aime: Wii shortage, hardcore, online more than “simply first person shooters”

The man who’s about taking names, kicking ass, and making games sat down in an exclusive interview with GamePro to receive major feedback of the Nintendo Wii’s continuing success in – and apparently even outside – the gaming industry. When asked on three most pressing issues, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime appeared to sit back comfortably into the ol’ Reggie as we all knew him.

Perhaps the biggest issue is how many Nintendo fans, which include the core gamers, suddenly feel left behind, despite the DS and Wii breaking sales milestones every quarter of a fiscal year. With so many casual, mini-game and non-gamer appealing titles being shoveled, hardcore gamers felt as if they were shot in the back by the Japanese gaming giant.

Games that cater to the core are apparently taking too long, and there are very few and far between in terms of caliber and gameplay level being delivered in the third-party development front. Fils-Aime took the opportunity to re-assure hardcore gamers that they aren’t being ignored, stating:

From that standpoint we embrace these new customers the same way we embrace the Core. That’s why it was so important to bring out Metroid Prime 3 in its perfect state; that’s why it’s so important to launch Smash Bros. this year; that’s why it’s so important to bring Mario Kart for Wii out early next year. These titles for the Core are very, very important for us.

And while concern that the mini-games, brain-twisters and even the newly announced Wii Fit is becoming Nintendo’s new sweetheart has settled in lately, Fils-Aime admitted that it was something they had to do – something they had to prove once and for all. It’s a classic Blue Ocean opportunity. Nintendo had the opportunity, saw it, and knew they had to take it. He said:

This is something Nintendo takes very seriously. In our view we need to lead the industry in certain areas to show what can be. Wii Sports was very important to us. That’s why we packed it in with every piece of hardware to show just how intuitive using the Wii Remote could be. Wii Fit is a way to just expand the mind and have people thinking about an input device in a whole new way. Brain Age and Brain Age 2 again were very important this way for DS. So I think at times the Core gamers mistake our passion for constantly pushing out the envelope for fear that we’ll leave them behind. We’ll never do that.

More on how the Wii’s will be more than just “first person shooters” and how the the shortage is no longer a supply issue at the full article after the jump!

The man who’s about taking names, kicking ass, and making games sat down in an exclusive interview with GamePro to receive major feedback of the Nintendo Wii’s continuing success in – and apparently even outside – the gaming industry. When asked on three most pressing issues, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime appeared to sit back comfortably into the ol’ Reggie as we all knew him.

Perhaps the biggest issue is how many Nintendo fans, which include the core gamers, suddenly feel left behind, despite the DS and Wii breaking sales milestones every quarter of a fiscal year. With so many casual, mini-game and non-gamer appealing titles being shoveled, hardcore gamers felt as if they were shot in the back by the Japanese gaming giant.

Games that cater to the core are apparently taking too long, and there are very few and far between in terms of caliber and gameplay level being delivered in the third-party development front. Fils-Aime took the opportunity to re-assure hardcore gamers that they aren’t being ignored, stating:

From that standpoint we embrace these new customers the same way we embrace the Core. That’s why it was so important to bring out Metroid Prime 3 in its perfect state; that’s why it’s so important to launch Smash Bros. this year; that’s why it’s so important to bring Mario Kart for Wii out early next year. These titles for the Core are very, very important for us.

And while concern that the mini-games, brain-twisters and even the newly announced Wii Fit is becoming Nintendo’s new sweetheart has settled in lately, Fils-Aime admitted that it was something they had to do – something they had to prove once and for all. It’s a classic Blue Ocean opportunity. Nintendo had the opportunity, saw it, and knew they had to take it. He said:

This is something Nintendo takes very seriously. In our view we need to lead the industry in certain areas to show what can be. Wii Sports was very important to us. That’s why we packed it in with every piece of hardware to show just how intuitive using the Wii Remote could be. Wii Fit is a way to just expand the mind and have people thinking about an input device in a whole new way. Brain Age and Brain Age 2 again were very important this way for DS. So I think at times the Core gamers mistake our passion for constantly pushing out the envelope for fear that we’ll leave them behind. We’ll never do that.

And in that respect, Nintendo will be serious about anything being implemented online, including online multiplayer. The Regginator stated, “We will offer more than simply first person shooters online,” and emphasized how the Wii will become instrumental in inviting everyone to go online – everyday. “That’s why we have the Check Mii Out channel. That’s why we have Wii Ware with other downloadable content that consumers can choose from,” added Fils-Aime.

But they aren’t forgetting what matters most to the core. He reassures gamers that online gaming and multiplayer is already part of the strategy. It took them long enough, but he stated that 40% of Wii consoles are already connected over the Internet now, so Nintendo’s system is now online. But they’re doing more than just taking shooters and popping online play into them. Fils-Aime explained:

[Madden NFL 08] is going to be fabulous. [Mario Strikers Charged] is fabulous. But we want to do more. These are the little examples that highlight how we are different from our competitors. They talk about online versus and co-op play. For us online will be much more than you against me sitting in our living rooms in two different states.

But more interestingly, even while the Wii is catching up to the total global sales of the competition, Wii supply is still struggling against demand. Contrary to what’s been said before, it appears that the problem of the console’s shortage is no longer a supply issue. Fils-Aime had this to say:

I have to correct you. It’s not a production issue. It’s not like our competitors who are missing a component and couldn’t scale up. We’re making huge amounts of product every single month. It’s not a capacity issue; it’s a demand issue. We’re not trying to temper demand, what we’re now trying to do is to figure out how to add additional lines to meet a higher level of demand.

Efforts have been spotted in Taiwan and other parts of Asia, with venerable hardware manufacturers stepping up to aid Nintendo in supply.