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In an interview with Kotaku during E3, Reggie discussed some of the numerous announcements that took place during the event. He stated why Nintendo decided to adopt Facebook on the DSi and not on the Wii. He also declined the possibility of a DSi Virtual Console for the time being. Reggie dismissed another possibility of the Wii featuring a Netflix service.
However, the highlight of the interview was his comments on Sony and Microsoft's new motion controls. Satoru Iwata already stated earlier that he expected motion controls to have been adopted last year. But Reggie explained the irony behind this. He stated how the industry was all about greater processing power and better graphics at the start of the current-gen. However, the industry is now adopting motion controls, which were treated with skepticism back then. Furthermore, similar to how EA considered implementing their own Natal, Nintendo had also considered using "similar technology."
In an interview with Kotaku, the president of Nintendo of America discussed the Wii's new motion-control competition, and an array of topics that included some E3 rumors that didn't come true: Wii Netflix and DSi Virtual Console.
Reggie Fils-Aime was his usual confident self during Kotaku's interview with him in a Nintendo meeting room this past E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Fils-Aime was proud this time of, in his words, "a holiday with content that speaks directly to the core Nintendo fan."
He was one E3 removed from many Nintendo fans' least-favorite Nintendo moment of the Wii era, the 2008 E3 media briefing that focused on more casual gaming experiences and was capped with the non-hardcore Wii Music. No regrets from Nintendo, of course: "Last year we focused on Wii Music, and that is a title that's very important to [Nintendo's head of game development, Shigeru] Miyamoto," Fils-Aime said. "And for all of the criticism, it's still a title that on a global basis has sold over two million copies."
Comments
Pure win.
How can you find irony in the other companies using motion sensory??
Thats not the reason many people are disappointing from motion sensors.
But the fact that there's is probably more accurate than your wii-mote right out of the box, and they still cater to hardcore fans means an epic win for Sony.
And Microsoft as well assuming Project:Natal goes well.
It would be irony if Sony and Microsoft catered almost exclusively to the casual gamers leaving only about 3-4 hardcore games a year. (and some of them not that hardcore)
You can't hide behind Wii*insertverb* forever.
But both the PS3 and 360's motion control appear to be more accurate (in PS3's case) and more immersive (in Project Natal's case), so when they are implimented (the PS3's probably sooner than later) then what advantage will the Wii have? Nintendo will have to step up their game in that aspect. They can't rely on casual sales and the Wiimote for much longer.
Though it does make you wonder. If Iwata was expecting them to release it last year, Nintendo sure are late with the Wii Motion Plus.
As such, you can't completely look at it right now as a bullet point list of what each system offers from a hardware perspective. With the PS3 and 360 and their responective motion control implementations, there is no Wii Sports. Just because all systems will be on somewhat equal footing with similar capabilities, in the end, software is what matters. The Wii's advantage is in this aspect.
The irony noted by Reggie is that most people had just spent the better part of the last three years dismissing motion controls, and now the rest of the industry is working to finally employ it, thinking it's finally now the future.
Iwata mentioned in his interviews that he expected the motion control systems for the PS3 and 360 to have been revealed last year, not launched last year.
But when all systems are on equal footing regarding motion controls, you're right, software will definitely be more closely looked at. But I certainly wouldn't say that Wii has the definite advantage in that area. Unless you're a fan of Nintendo's first-party titles or a casual gamer, Nintendo will be at the disadvantage there, because it's the PS3 and 360 that have a larger variety of games/genres, more third-party support, more impressive visuals, and now (with the motion controls) more immersive gameplay. And as much as I'd love to say that graphics (and hardware capabilities) don't matter, they do. Especially nowadays. If people had to pick between a gorgeous-looking game with motion controls, and an average-looking game with motion conrols, most would pick the former.
I don't think Reggie's right in saying that people dismissed motion controls because they're motion controls. I don't think anybody has a problem with motion controls if they're done right. It's pointless "waggle" in many of the Wii's games that people seem to have problems with. And that's another aspect where Nintendo will have to pick up their game because (from what we've seen) it appears as though the PS3's motion control "wand" is far more accurate than the Wii's Motion Plus. And that's gotta be a worry for Nintendo.
This means that it is still the Wii's advantage right now because it has proven software: Wii Sports, Mario Kart Wii, Wii Play, Wii Fit, etc. Granted, once we actually see games, this may change. But, you can't assume that the gorgeous-looking motion control game and the average-looking motion control game will be of the same quality in the "fun" department. Not yet, at least.
And, I don't think Reggie is saying that people were saying motion controls sucked because they were motion controls, but that the industry acted as if it wasn't ready to accept them, precisely because of the "waggle" conundrum that keeps getting popped up. However, Wii games are getting better in the motion control aspect, as expected.
We don't know if that's the case. Natal and PS3Mote haven't released; there's no guarantee that they will be successful.
Remember, third party publishers thought they could emulate Nintendo's success by throwing casual game after casual game; most are failing in this respect.
I find it ironic that Reggie finds this ironic.
The PS3 and 360 are using techniques which have proven to be successful. Reggie find this ironic. I don't really see why, as neither have really bashed the concept, just never took to it, and thus I see nothing particularly ironic about it. Therefore I find it ironic that Reggie is calling the situation ironic.
That make sense?
It's not ironic at all, since they just doubted it. If anything it would have been ironic for them to see motion controls be succesful and then not have their own versions, since their aim is to make money. You don't see something be majorly succesful and then say 'HaiGuyz, lets not do anything about it and make Halo 9 instead!'
They didn't say 'we's never, ever doing dat thar', did they? It's business; you may doubt something but when it proves successful you do it yourself. If that's ironic then Reggie needs a refund on his education.
Is it ironic that you would run out with a bucket? No. Is it ironic that Sony and Microsoft would implement something in the industry that worked? No.
It is ironic, however, that once the sky actually broke and started dropping 50 pound notes, because you at one point believed or stated that it can't happen.
Microsoft, Sony, and the rest of the industry spent the better part of the past three years dismissing motion controls, resting on their current strengths. Despite never publicly saying "We'll never do that", from their actions as a company regarding their platform you can surmise that they believed they could outlast or triumph over the Wii with their current hardware values. The fact that these motion controllers exist makes it ironic.
In the same way Microsoft and Sony (as much as they hate to admit it) don't have a crystal ball into which they once peaked and said 'motion controls won't work' (like Silver (Bale) said, Sony have had sixaxis for a while now
By your logic everything that has been doubted at some point and proved to in fact be true is ironic, which is ridiculous. You must have what is known as 'The Alanis-Morrisette-Understanding-of-Irony', also known as the wrong one. BTW, if you're late for work and there's a traffic jam that isn't ironic either (unless you're a road planner of some sort (god bless Ed Byrne)).
Technically, you can still considering ironic given a relevant timeframe; forgive me for not clarifying. There is a situation where that scenario is ironic.
Sixaxis is nowhere near the level the PS3Mote is purported to be; it had not been fully supported by Sony since its inception in the way the PS3Mote will seemingly be done.
That said, let me make the clarification that this is from Nintendo's point of view. Both Microsoft and Sony had pushed the "better graphics, etc." line for this generation up until this point, and made that the selling point for their systems, and made it as one of the primary reasons it would outsell the Wii. The industry, for the most part, believed that this would be the case, too. Outside of a distinct minority, the Wii and its motion controls were an afterthought.
Now, you have people considering the possibilities of motion control, and people speculating that the next generation may only be a small power increase, with a standardization of motion controls. You even have some people saying that Natal is the Xbox 720. The industry line is starting to change from "more power, bleeding-edge technology" to "motion control is the future".
To Nintendo, that the industry changed its stance in a relatively short amount of time, is ironic.
Microsoft and Sony are still pushing the "better graphics, power, etc." and they're in fact doing it with their new hardware more than ever. They're both saying that by making more powerful consoles, they're able to one-up Nintendo in their own department. The "stance" hasn't changed at all. Hell, it's even strengthened that stance in a sense. Honestly, if the Wii didn't have its initial price tag then it wouldn't really have anything on the competition.
Wii Sports sold the system. It's the game of the generation in terms of impact.
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