At today,s pre-E3 conference, Nintendo,s main man, Reggie Fils-Aime decided to hit everyone between the eyes and declared in his opening statements that:
“If all you want is next-generation, you’re in the wrong place."
Nobody in the press corps left as Fils-Aime continued by stating, It’s not just next, it’s what’s absolutely new. Playing is no longer just about looks, it’s about the feel." But in stating this, he also remained extremely closed lipped about any additional features the Wii may have by saying, "We believe it’s in our interest to keep the details private."What he did, confirm however, was the Wii would be scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of this year.Fils-Aime responded to the immense negative reaction to the Wii,s name by quipping, "First, we want to thank everyone who wrote good things about it the day you heard it–both of you.” He continued on a more serious note by saying, "At first every distinctive name sounds strange. It’s the sound of the future." Of course, others would disagree and say that Wii is not the sound of the future, but the sound of urination.Other than the Nintendo,s controversial name of its next-gen gaming console, Wii, no other topic has generated as much interest and criticism as the Wii,s game controller. While more people are won over by the remote control-like device and its motion sensing abilities, there are those who still have reservations about its design.Today, at the pre-E3 meeting, Nintendo passed out press kits that had the standard promotional materials, in addition to photo which depicted a rather common looking game controller. The new device has a strong resemblance to an old school styled SNES game controller with the familiar directional pad on the left and theX,Y, A, and B buttons on the right. Additional shoulder pads are seen on top of the controller with several other small buttons. But what is interesting about this particular controller is the dual left and right joysticks.There was no information in regards to whether the controller was an accessory for playing old school Nintendo games or was to be used as an alternative main controller but the very existence of another controller for the Wii opens up the door for other possible accessories for the Wii.Fils-Aime emphasized the fact that Nintendo,s Wii was revolutionary, “The bottom line of every E3 is simple – what’s hot and what’s not. It’s hot if it’s disruptive; it’s not if it’s predictable. Wii and the DS represent the same thing: risk. Risk allows progress. We don’t run from risk, we run to it. Change is good."Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, announced a new feature of the Wii when he took the stage, as well. The Wii will have the capacity to connect to Nintendo,s WiiConnect24 system while it is in a low power mode. Essentially, this will enable the Wii to download content or interact with other players, automatically, while the machine is in this state of stand-by. So while Wii gamers turn in for the night, the Wii could still be actively receiving downloads regarding updates, new gaming content or other pertinent material.
In regards to gaming, Iwata suggested that gamers who owned the Animal Crossing game could leave their Wii machines in low power mode during the night, and find new objects or conditions in their game the next morning.
Iwata said, "We designed a machine to provide a variety of services even when it seems like it is turned off. [It,s a] system that never sleeps. What we are aiming for is a system that is new every day."The concept is somewhat revolutionary, so to speak, as it will redefine the concept of what a game console is. Presently, they are seen as static machines which only come to life when they are turned on. Shut the power off, and they are again static. However, with the idea of a “system that never sleeps,” this brings on an entirely new dimension in which game scenarios, characters and attributes can change overnight. But there may be a downside to this. If the Wii has a constant open connection to Nintendo,s WiiConnect24 service, this also opens up the possibility of receiving unwanted material from advertisers and developers.Whether the idea of a game console which continues to “play” while gamers are asleep is well accepted by the public will depend on the downloaded content and the trust Nintendo can generate among owners of their new machine. The concept of having a “new” game system everyday, as stated by Iwata, is certainly novel. But whether this new feature can be entertaining as well, can only be answered by Nintendo,s customers.
Iwata also expanded on his ideas for the console.
"When I became president, we decided on a new goal for our company: expanding the total number of people who play games… The solution is to reinvent the relationship between player and game, the game controller interface.While much has been said about Nintendo,s plans to reach out to demographics outside of the established gaming community, he was also careful to point out that “core gamers always represent our most important audience."The statement by Iwata concerning ‘core gamers, is interesting, if not contradictory to statements made by other Nintendo executives about core gamers. David Yarnton, head of Nintendo UK seemed to have dismissed the gaming community, in regards to marketing the Wii, by saying previously that, “What we wanted to do was to appeal to new people. It had to be something that was fresh; while I wouldn’t say it didn’t have any connections, it had to be all-encompassing for people, rather than just necessarily a small user base." The small user base was his euphemism for the core gaming community.Evidently, Iwata has a better handle on the situation as he realizes that gamers will play an important role in making the Wii a success. While Nintendo may be going after new customers that generally do not play games, ignoring the gaming crowd who has essentially made Nintendo what it is today would be ill advised, if not downright foolish.
