Satoru Iwata talks about Wii games and the gaming industry

Nintendo Company Ltd.’s CEO Satoru Iwata sat down with Mercury News to talk about the games industry successfully expanding into a viable business venture, and Nintendo’s approach on reaching out to the mass market.

Iwata said that the gaming industry struggled in the past, but with the recent success of many gaming companies – like Nintendo and its Wii console – working in the gaming business gradually became a lucrative investment. “The market itself is expanding,” said Iwata. “Everyone else is finding business opportunity now.”

Mercury News also noted that Nintendo’s approach in enticing more people to play games is a bit different compared to others. Unlike producing games to multiple platforms including mobile phones and PCs, Nintendo chose to release consoles with innovative control schemes. Iwata explained that while game companies that target cell phones and PCs share the same ideology of “anytime, everytime game” as Nintendo, they couldn’t deliver good gaming experience due to mediocre or sub-par control and display interface. Iwata then makes a good example out of their Nintendo Wii:

But our platform, our types of games have to be accessible for anybody. IÂ’m not just talking about the controller interface, but displays. On phones, they are terrible. The fact of the matter is those who enjoy Wii Sports personally really felt like talking their own experiences to someone else. They really feel excitement from it. I donÂ’t think the same thing has happened with cell phone or PC casual gaming.

Iwata also discloses that while pricing is going to be a big factor for success, he feels that expensive gadgets or games will still sell as long as they deliver what the people want. “Look at the iPhone. ItÂ’s expensive. But I think it is going to sell,” said Iwata. “ItÂ’s an emotional thing that goes beyond the price point. Price point is not necessarily what makes a mass market successful.”

When asked about the fall line-up Nintendo had in store for its consoles, and why the company did not discuss a lot of games other than Wii Fit, Iwata responded that they chose to emphasize quality over quantity. “It was important for us to further expand the market for core gamers and we featured Wii Fit today to introduce gaming to somebody new,” said Nintendo’s CEO. “We think they may be interested in fitness.”

Check out the full interview in the Read Link!

Nintendo Company Ltd.’s CEO Satoru Iwata sat down with Mercury News to talk about the games industry successfully expanding into a viable business venture, and Nintendo’s approach on reaching out to the mass market.

Iwata said that the gaming industry struggled in the past, but with the recent success of many gaming companies – like Nintendo and its Wii console – working in the gaming business gradually became a lucrative investment. “The market itself is expanding,” said Iwata. “Everyone else is finding business opportunity now.”

Mercury News also noted that Nintendo’s approach in enticing more people to play games is a bit different compared to others. Unlike producing games to multiple platforms including mobile phones and PCs, Nintendo chose to release consoles with innovative control schemes. Iwata explained that while game companies that target cell phones and PCs share the same ideology of “anytime, everytime game” as Nintendo, they couldn’t deliver good gaming experience due to mediocre or sub-par control and display interface. Iwata then makes a good example out of their Nintendo Wii:

But our platform, our types of games have to be accessible for anybody. IÂ’m not just talking about the controller interface, but displays. On phones, they are terrible. The fact of the matter is those who enjoy Wii Sports personally really felt like talking their own experiences to someone else. They really feel excitement from it. I donÂ’t think the same thing has happened with cell phone or PC casual gaming.

Iwata also discloses that while pricing is going to be a big factor for success, he feels that expensive gadgets or games will still sell as long as they deliver what the people want. “Look at the iPhone. ItÂ’s expensive. But I think it is going to sell,” said Iwata. “ItÂ’s an emotional thing that goes beyond the price point. Price point is not necessarily what makes a mass market successful.”

When asked about the fall line-up Nintendo had in store for its consoles, and why the company did not discuss a lot of games other than Wii Fit, Iwata responded that they chose to emphasize quality over quantity. “It was important for us to further expand the market for core gamers and we featured Wii Fit today to introduce gaming to somebody new,” said Nintendo’s CEO. “We think they may be interested in fitness.”

Check out the full interview in the Read Link!