1UP's Reggie Interview

talking head said:
wtf is with the "isssssss", and i don't think a nintendo pr dude can say something like "shitload" in an interview, can he?
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My bad. I transcribed 3500 words in about 45 minutes. I think my face started imploding around the time my S key stuck. It should be fixed in a minute or so. Reggie did not in fact utter a sibilant S.
 
Milkman said:
My bad. I transcribed 3500 words in about 45 minutes. I think my face started imploding around the time my S key stuck. It should be fixed in a minute or so. Reggie did not in fact utter a sibilant S.
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For a moment, I thought Reggie was secretly Cobra Commander. It explains his badassnessssssss.
 
mj1108 said:
SSB:M was just 2 weeks after launch -- not something like 6 months or anything. It was still very, very close to launch.
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Very true, but to people who bought the 'Cube at launch, SSB:M was missing. To me it didn't really feel like a launch until I got SSB:M.

Launch is launch, and Nintendo should've got it right.
 
Jonnyram said:
The whole thing about being an "AND" company was awesome. I hope this idea is being communicated well within the company.
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Exactly. He hit the nail very squarely on the head with that -- that is EXACTLY Nintendo's problem and this idea needs to be forcefed to Iwata and his crew at NCL if Nintendo wants to have any kind of chance at success next-gen.
 
Snippets of this interview is awesome.

Reggie really handled himself in just about every question.

The way he answers, it doesn't sound like spin at all. He's quick to tout Nintendo's strengths, and he's humble enough to admit the mistakes they've made.

I can't remember the last non-Reggie, first part (Sony/MS/Nintendo) interview that was as down to earth and honest as this was.
 
True that. True that. Hiring Reggie was on of the smartest things NOA did in a long time. NOA needed a new voice, and Reggie is the right man for the right time. I don't think i've ever gushed this much for a Nintendo employee since Miyamoto :lol
 
miyuru said:
Very true, but to people who bought the 'Cube at launch, SSB:M was missing. To me it didn't really feel like a launch until I got SSB:M.

Launch is launch, and Nintendo should've got it right.
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They DID get it right...money-wise. How many people do you think would have bought Luigi's Mansion if SSBM was at launch? :lol I wouldn't have.

It's nice that nintendo seem to be shaping up and getting ready to kick ass.
Was there such confident talk about say, the Dreamcast before it's launch?
 
Date of Lies said:
They DID get it right...money-wise. How many people do you think would have bought Luigi's Mansion if SSBM was at launch? :lol I wouldn't have.
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They got it right perhaps in terms of milking Nintendo fans, but got it wrong in making a very bad first impression.

A lot of people refused to give the GCN a second chance after seeing it as a odd purple console with some so-so Luigi game at launch.

And yes, there was a lot of bruhaha before the Dreamcast launch.
 
soundwave05 said:
They got it right perhaps in terms of milking Nintendo fans, but got it wrong in making a very bad first impression.

A lot of people refused to give the GCN a second chance after seeing it as a odd purple console with some so-so Luigi game at launch.

And yes, there was a lot of bruhaha before the Dreamcast launch.
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Bad first impression? Are you kidding me? If anything, let's talk about 'bad first impressions' regarding the lack of four controller ports on the PS2, which essentially killed an entire genre of games on the system, or the original 'Duke' Xbox controller which left a pretty big sour impression on anyone who doesn't have massive hands.

Anyone who would've bought a GCN solely for SSBM was more than happy to wait a meager two weeks for it. I did. Gave me plenty of time to play SMB/SW:RS/THPS3 in the mean time.
 
Hero said:
Bad first impression? Are you kidding me? If anything, let's talk about 'bad first impressions' regarding the lack of four controller ports on the PS2, which essentially killed an entire genre of games on the system, or the original 'Duke' Xbox controller which left a pretty big sour impression on anyone who doesn't have massive hands.

Anyone who would've bought a GCN solely for SSBM was more than happy to wait a meager two weeks for it. I did. Gave me plenty of time to play SMB/SW:RS/THPS3 in the mean time.
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Problem with this line of thinking is Nintendo is the one that came into the generation with an existing image problem in the eyes of many players.

If the system launched with a better design and a game like Resident Evil 4 ... maybe then it would've been a different story.

I think with GameCube everyone wanted to see how much Nintendo had changed from the N64, and in some ways, it looked like a step backwards (the design is even more "kiddie", Luigi is no Super Mario 64).
 
UP: Can you do that with Mario Kart, and Princess Peach, and Yoshi?

RFA: I think you can definitely do it with Mario Kart. I think that you can definitely do it with Metroid Prime Hunters. I think you can do it with Advance Wars. Yoshi, Princess Peach, nuh uh. It's a different consumer. But quite frankly, we want that consumer just as much as we want the 21 year-old.
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that had me rolling. :lol :lol
 
wow. nice job 1up. great questions, and some great answers by reggie. maybe i will play my revolution for games that aren't made by nintendo...
 
soundwave05 said:
Problem with this line of thinking is Nintendo is the one that came into the generation with an existing image problem in the eyes of many players.

If the system launched with a better design and a game like Resident Evil 4 ... maybe then it would've been a different story.

I think with GameCube everyone wanted to see how much Nintendo had changed from the N64, and in some ways, it looked like a step backwards (the design is even more "kiddie", Luigi is no Super Mario 64).
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I was merely arguing what you said that Nintendo dropped the ball by having SSBM release two weeks after launch.

Better console design, better color, I agree.

And Star Wars was a fine release, much like Shadows of the Empire for 64.
 
Interviewing Reggie was fun. We went in planning on asking hard questions, and he didn't crumple or take offense. Big ups to Reggie for sure. But talk doesn't put games people want to play on store shelves. When Nintendo finally releases Revolution, it had better have Resident Evil 4-quality games at launch. I said "games" in plural. People are not going to buy yet another console based on potential. Of course some will, but you won't win the war that way. I didn't buy a DVD player back in the day, assuming there would be movies I wanted to watch. I bought a DVD player WHEN there were movies I wanted to watch. And I'm sure glad I held off on that Digital Audio Tape player while the music industry decided which was going to be the principal format. Anyone remember DCC? Oy, the laserdisc. I really want Nintendo to regain their lost form.
 
I'd also like to commend 1UP for giving thoughtful, hard-hitting questions. At least Reggie has a clue. Hopefully his enthusiasm is because Nintendo has actually gotten the memo and has really changed.
 
Enigma said:
I'd also like to commend 1UP for giving thoughtful, hard-hitting questions. At least Reggie has a clue. Hopefully his enthusiasm is because Nintendo has actually gotten the memo and has really changed.
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could be.

a constant ass-kicking down in console-marketshare from gen to gen to gen, combined with the threat that PSP represents to Nintendo's livelihood, just might be doing that.
 
Milkman said:
Interviewing Reggie was fun. We went in planning on asking hard questions, and he didn't crumple or take offense. Big ups to Reggie for sure. But talk doesn't put games people want to play on store shelves. When Nintendo finally releases Revolution, it had better have Resident Evil 4-quality games at launch. I said "games" in plural. People are not going to buy yet another console based on potential. Of course some will, but you won't win the war that way. I didn't buy a DVD player back in the day, assuming there would be movies I wanted to watch. I bought a DVD player WHEN there were movies I wanted to watch. And I'm sure glad I held off on that Digital Audio Tape player while the music industry decided which was going to be the principal format. Anyone remember DCC? Oy, the laserdisc. I really want Nintendo to regain their lost form.
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I believe people bought the PS2 partly based on potential. Some of the launch titles were complete ASS.

Like you pointed out to Reggie in your interview though - people are sold on how things are marketed and look. If Nintendo really gets that like he says he does, I think they're gonna have less of a problem starting this next year.
 
RFA: I'll tell ya this, when we launch Revolution, we will have greata franchise game: Mario, Zelda, Metroid. We will also launch new franchises. Because what you're saying is true. I think any consumer is looking for something new, and for great as Mario is, when it's the hundredth Mario game, it could be perceived as old. Even if it's highly innovative, and so yes, we're hard at work on new franchises and things that will excite the current gamer.
 
radioheadrule83 said:
I believe people bought the PS2 partly based on potential. Some of the launch titles were complete ASS.

Like you pointed out to Reggie in your interview though - people are sold on how things are marketed and look. If Nintendo really gets that like he says he does, I think they're gonna have less of a problem starting this next year.
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It probably didn't hurt that while people waited for better games than Sky Odyssey (yeah, yeah, I know, spiritual successor to Pilotwings, etc.), that they could watch DVDs on it too.
 
Anyone familiar with Japanese etiquette? I ask cause i wonder if Nintendo of Japan has ever been interviewed tough questions like these and if so how did they respond.

For as much as he danced around some of those questions, it shocked me a little bit at how candid he was at admitting to mistakes, that i could never imagine hearing, coming from from Nintendo of Japan.
 
You can't directly compare against the PS2 either, since the PS2 was coming off the PSOne, the best selling console in video game history.

Of course many of the initial sales were a given, that's simply the benefit of the doubt you get when you're the market leader.

What that basically means is Nintendo and MS have to work harder than Sony.

Its like a basketball game where star players get preferential treatment/calls from the refs ... if you're on the opposing end, you can't bitch and cry about it, that's just how it is, you have to suck it up and play better.
 
Any1 said:
Anyone familiar with Japanese etiquette? I ask cause i wonder if Nintendo of Japan has ever been interviewed tough questions like these and if so how did they respond.

For as much as he danced around some of those questions, it shocked me a little bit at how candid he was at admitting to mistakes, that i could never imagine hearing, coming from from Nintendo of Japan.
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I do remember at E3 2001, during the Q&A session (after Iwata played up the "Nintendo Difference" slogan), one female reporter asked what was so "different" about what Nintendo had shown, commenting that it looked like more of the same.

Iwata looked like a deer caught in the headlights :lol
 
This interview was even better than the IGN one. It addressed nearly all of my concerns with Nintendo as of late:

-Image and perception of new hardware
-The importance of the launch window and killer apps
-Taking advantage of the hardware
-Launching with a major franchise and new IP
-Emphasis placed on third-party developers and publishers
-Critical nature of getting developer kits out there and finalized

But that wasn't the best part of the interview, I think this was:

Hence, Pokemon Dash. There's a key part of the message, and this is my language, not Mr. Iawata's language, is that Nintendo needs to be an "And" company, and what I mean by that is that it's not either or. Right. It's not core gamer or casual. It's not first-party or third-party. It's an "and" company. We need to do both. We need to have the best first-party games out there, and cultivate great relationships with third-party publishers. We need to have the core gamer and the casual gamer. It's not an either or proposition. It can't be.
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And then there was this tidbit which really piqued my interest:

What you will see will be more and more about Zelda. You guys have had the luxury of having some sneak peeks into that game, but we're only scratching the surface as to what that game's gonna be all about.
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I stand by my prediction that Nintendo is going to blow the doors off everyone with Revolution at E3.
 
The new franchises will also be key. In a way I hope Nintendo views the Revolution launch as the launch of an entire new generation of Nintendo character properties.

Sort of like how Disney "re-launched" itself in the 1990s with The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King, etc. joining the older guard of Mickey, Donald, Snow White, Cinderella etc.

Also is it me, or is Luigi's Mansion very heavily inspired by Disneyland's Haunted Mansion attraction?

I don't think Nintendo will blow the doors off E3 unless Revolution is playable with a brand new Mario game that floors people like Mario 64 did. But Zelda on the GCN and Nintendo unveiling the "ideas/tech" behind the Revolution should make for a very strong show nontheless.
 
SomeDude said:
Do any of you honestly expect Nintendo to do better than 3rd place next gen?
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Realistically, no. I think it would take a new monster/blockbuster franchise/fad on par with Pokemon in the late 90s or Mario in the 80s to catapult Revolution past XBox 2 or PS3.

What I think might be a more doable goal for Nintendo is getting their userbase up, even slightly. The GameCube is on pace to finish around 25 million, if Revolution can do 30+ million (more along the lines of the N64), I think Nintendo would be happy with that. That would be no small feat either, since the PS3/XB2 war is likely to be so intense that every extra system Nintendo sells is going to be quite hard fought for I'd imagine.

The coming generation will be tougher for Nintendo than this past generation was.
 
SomeDude said:
Do any of you honestly expect Nintendo to do better than 3rd place next gen?
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Of course. It gives me bragging rights.

Nintendo is still a force in this industry whether people like it or not. Jason Rubin put it best awhile back when he said that Nintendo controls the most powerful IP in the industry but they simply don't use it to its full potential.

We're still talking about a $7 Billion company here.
 
SomeDude said:
Do any of you honestly expect Nintendo to do better than 3rd place next gen?
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Yes yes we do, Nintendo is fighting back and about time they did. Stay Tuned

hell its not even crazy anymore to imagine Nintendo could be #1 Next-gen.

Ever since Reggie came, i've had this feeling, its finally time, Nintendo is truly back.


OMG i'm getting too emotional here :)
 
I don't think Mario or Zelda have enough juice these days (although they should be selling better than Sunshine and Wind Waker did) to carry a console on their own.

Nintendo will need some kind of new franchise to help carry the load, something about 10,000x more popular than Pikmin.
 
Cold-Steel said:
Of course. It gives me bragging rights.

Nintendo is still a force in this industry whether people like it or not. Jason Rubin put it best awhile back when he said that Nintendo controls the most powerful IP in the industry but they simply don't use it to its full potential.

We're still talking about a $7 Billion company here.
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I really don't think at this point it is possible for Nintendo to overtake Sony or Microsoft. There ip's aren't enough. They have to have strong 3rd party support. Without good 3rd party support they will never become number 1.
 
My guesstimates right now would be ...

PS3 - 85 million worldwide

XBox 2 - 50 million worldwide (almost dead even in the US with PS3 tho)

Revolution - 25-35 million worlwide

I think there's a swing number for Nintendo there depending on how much they really act in the areas they need to act in.

If they have a sleek, cool looking console, a great, unique controller interface, and very strong software in the first 9 months (this is the critical period -- the N64 got three huge blockbusters in Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, and GoldenEye in this period, which I think sustained it even with the derth of overall software).
 
SomeDude said:
I really don't think at this point it is possible for Nintendo to overtake Sony or Microsoft. There ip's aren't enough. They have to have strong 3rd party support. Without good 3rd party support they will never become number 1.
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Did you read the interview at all?
 
Cold-Steel said:
Did you read the interview at all?
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Well yeah reading the interview is one thing, but third parties will probably not be tearing down Nintendo's door to offer exclusives (RE4's sales are ok, but really should be much higher), even those with good relationships with Nintendo.

It will boil down to Nintendo being able to establish the userbase first and third parties playing more a complimentary role initially.

If Nintendo can built a strong userbase though, then I think you would see more support. Its sort of the chicken and the egg scenario.
 
While I doubt that Nintendo will come in first in the home console race next generation, I'm starting to think we might get something a lot closer to a three-way split of the market. I don't think the PS2 will necessarily sell quite as madly as everyone expects if the new Xbox launches first AND the new Nintendo system launches at the same time as the PS3.
 
soundwave05 said:
Well yeah reading the interview is one thing, but third parties will probably not be tearing down Nintendo's door to offer exclusives (RE4's sales are ok, but really should be much higher).
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Money, licensing of franchises, and lower development fees in exchange for supporting exclusive features helps.

Nintendo used the Zelda GBA games to leverage Capcom for RE4, GBA Connectivity to lower fees for Ubisoft to keep support on GCN, and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes to leverage all development costs in exchange for Dance Dance Revolution with Mario! - among other partnerships.
 
Cold-Steel said:
Money, licensing of franchises, and lower development fees in exchange for supporting exclusive features helps.

Nintendo used the Zelda GBA games to leverage Capcom for RE4, GBA Connectivity to lower fees for Ubisoft to keep support on GCN, and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes to leverage all development costs in exchange for Dance Dance Revolution with Mario! - among other partnerships.
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MS and Sony already offer special kinds of deals and any third party worth its chops would take any offer they get from Nintendo and see if MS or Sony would top it. So that's really not a clear cut avenue.

This time around I don't think Nintendo will be able to convince anyone to give a franchise of Resident Evil caliber exclusive to them though. Everyone saw how Capcom weaseled out of that deal, so Nintendo has that strike against them. They'll have to re-earn some trust in this area, because no developer wants to put their franchise on the line and then have it lose its sales power. When Capcom signed the deal with Nintendo, Iwata was saying there'd be 50 million GCNs down the line sold, of course Nintendo hasn't even come close, so Capcom has to feel a bit burned.

I can see more character/collaborative efforts though. Square-Enix and Nintendo should really be thinking about a joint RPG ala Kingdom Hearts ... like two years ago. If Revolution is unique enough, I could also see it becoming a platform for many game designers' "vanity" projects, ie: a wacky kind of Kojima title.
 
That was a really good interview. Great questions, interesting answers (pretty much what every Nintendo fan wants to hear). It'll be great if Reggie's words are backed up with action.
 
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