A+E Interactive

Here’s a transcript of a short interview I did with Satoru Iwata, CEO of Nintendo, just after Tuesday’s press conference.

Q: It seems like the goal of expanding the market is now shared by many companies in the industry.

A: Going back in time, we wanted to expand the gaming market, but how? We were struggling with that challenge. That was in the past. What would seem to be impossible in this industry. It’s not impossible if you can do it right. That is what we have done now. We have been successful to some extent with the Wii. In combination with our endeavours, the market itself is expanding. There is no question about that. Everyone else is finding business opportunity now. That is where we stand right now. In other words, some peers in the video game industry has found an untouched continent for the very first time. That is a huge business opportunity. That is what everybody is looking into right now.

Q: There are mass markets of gamers on the cell phone and casual online web sites on the PC. They are already playing games there. Why is Nintendo trying to bring those casual gamers onto the console, instead of going after them on the cell phone or PC where they already are?

A: In the dawn of this industry, we were always trying to get to the mass market. But because we were always trying to be more sophisticated, games got bigger. That direction was good for games but it alienated the newcomers to the market. That trend in our industry is unhealthy. That’s why we felt we needed to approach the mass market again. If you look at game companies targeting cell phones and PCs, there is a distinct difference in what we are doing and what they are doing. We are sharing the same concept of anytime, everytime game. But our platform, our types of games have to be accessible for anybody. I’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 don’t think the same thing has happened with cell phone or PC casual gaming.

 Q: Microsoft came up with a new controller last night. Sony has SingStar. They seem to be trying to reach the mass market. I suppose their prices are the big problem?

A: Price point is always important for mass market commodities. Look at the iPhone. It’s expensive. But I think it is going to sell. It does something that people really want to do. People want to share it. It’s an emotional thing that goes beyond the price point. It has emotional power. You are connected to it. Price point is not necessarily what makes a mass market successful. If you look at the Wii, and all we could do was provide sequels to GameCube games, I don’t think it would have reached the mass market.

 Q: How do you feel about the fall line-up? I noticed you spent a lot of time on Wii Fit and didn’t discuss a lot of games. Do you feel you have a complete line-up?

A: I think it’s balanced. Rather than quantity, we wanted to show quality. We could show, like with Wii Sports, showing to the core gamer what kind of new gaming experiences they can have if Nintendo is going to introduce them to the Wii version of traditional Nintendo franchises. I think we have enough titles to satisfy gamers from now until next year. 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. The people who didn’t pay attention to Wii Sports and never thought of having a game machine at home. We think they may be interested in fitness. It’s a balanced line-up we showed today. I’m serious we would like to make Wii the best-selling console in the history of video games.

 Q: Where are other titles like Wii Sports 2, the orchestra game, and new Nintendo characters?

A: All I can say is that we are researching them and will make an announcement when we can.