“We would like our consumers to thoroughly know and review our software more than before.”
☆ NintendObs Event – Nintendo’s 2014 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders.
Question:
I would like to ask about the lineup for Wii U software. For Wii, a few games like “Xenoblade” and “Zangeki no Reginleiv” (Japanese title), which provide more immersive experiences when played alone, rather than when played with your friends and family in the living room, were released in a row. However, there are no games like those ones for Wii U. Has the policy changed for Wii U?
Regarding the type of games that you play by yourself, I know there are plans for the release of the sequels to “Xenoblade” and “Bayonetta 2,” but it has been two years since the Wii U was launched, and I would like to hear an explanation for this blank period.
Mr. Miyamoto mentioned earlier that he does not like to use commonly used terms like “open world” for games, but I think that this is both Nintendo’s strength and weakness. People are hesitant to buy a game when the title and the game screens do not give any clues about the game content. However, if words like “open world” are used, for example, consumers will be more comfortable and will be more likely to buy the game, because they can relate to other “open world” games and imagine that it would be fun. Hereafter, how do you plan to appeal to such emotions when you develop games in which people enjoy playing by themselves?
Answer:
Takeda:
These questions cover different fields, so first, I would like the development division to answer and then the sales division will follow. First, let’s hear from Mr. Takahashi.
Takahashi:
Regarding your question on the lateness of Wii U titles for advanced game players, you are absolutely correct. However, at E3 this year, we announced “Xenoblade Chronicles X,” which is being developed under Mr. Tetsuya Takahashi from MONOLITH SOFTWARE INC. I hope you will think of this game as one in the “Xenoblade” series, not a sequel to “Xenoblade” for Wii. We are planning to announce details of this software’s content through various channels.
Also, we announced “Devil’s Third” (temp.), which is being developed under Tomonobu Itagaki from Valhalla Game Studios Co., Ltd. The announcement of these titles may have been late, but I hope consumers will be able enjoy software titles like these ones from now on.
Miyamoto:
I received a comment on my previous remark, so please let me explain what I said. (Regarding the new Legend of Zelda title for Wii U,) I intentionally used the term “open world” so that it would be easier (for consumers) to understand, just as the shareholder has pointed out. Please understand I meant that when the development teams have discussions, I dislike heavily using terms that are commonly used (when developing something new and surprising).
I suspect that software makers that develop game software (for advanced game players) for the game systems from Microsoft and Sony must have actually been having a harder time than we think. It takes a year for the development teams to get used to high-performance graphics using recent shader technology, and afterwards it requires two or three times the time and labor costs to develop a game. According to one theory, since some projects even require the budgets of over 10 billion yen, not all projects will be profitable. It is a harsh world, in which a game can hardly survive if it doesn’t make it into the top ten of the sales rankings.
However, I am not saying that Nintendo will not work on this. As Mr. Takahashi previously said, our subsidiary, MONOLITH SOFTWARE INC., is working on several projects, and PlatinumGames Inc. has announced two titles for the “Bayonetta” series. It took time, but we are now able to develop software suitable for Wii U, and we would like to release new titles from now on.
Yamato:
Even if such new titles as Mr. Takahashi and Mr. Miyamoto mentioned are developed, if we fail to solidly promote them in the market, the games will not sell well. So, I would like to talk about our mindset on Nintendo’s sales.
Over these past few years, the number of choices that consumers have for how to spend their leisure time has significantly increased. Accordingly, it is now more difficult than before for Nintendo’s products to rank high in consumers’ wish lists. Also, the way that consumers gain information about the products they want used to be mainly through television commercials, fliers in newspapers, and promotions (in stores, etc.), and Nintendo sent out information through those channels. The information flow has changed dramatically over the past few years, and I worry that Nintendo might not be able to keep up with these changes sufficiently.
Regarding the previous question about how to deal with smart devices in the future, we have answered from the development division’s point of view. As for the sales division, we would like to utilize smart devices and social network services to advertise and run campaigns for new titles and their selling points, and deliver information to our consumers through these channels. As a result, we would like our consumers to thoroughly know and review our software more than before, and in turn, we hope this will help us achieve higher sales. We have a positive outlook, and we would like to make this happen as soon as possible.
— The 74th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
Source: Nintendo JP.
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