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Perrin Kaplan talks Wii - online is definitely coming, be angry at Rockstar, not us
Perrin Kaplan sits down with GameSpy to discuss online play for the Wii, Manhunt 2 feelings, and much more.
GameSpy: Twilight Princess has shown that there will always be a place for compelling single player experiences. Wii Sports and Wario Ware: Smooth Moves tell us that party-setting multiplayer is still lots of fun. But then there are the incredibly popular online multiplayer games like Halo, the EA Sports titles and even World of Warcraft. Do you feel like Nintendo may be missing the boat by not making online gaming a significant part of the Wii experience?
Perrin Kaplan: I think you’re asking why we’re not following the other guys. And we feel that everyone has developed their own niche of expertise. So for example, our Virtual Console has been astoundingly successful. People absolutely love it. We aren’t giving up on online games at all, and Mario Kart for the Nintendo DS is an excellent example of Nintendo’s online gaming that almost everyone is playing. Now, massively multiplayer online gaming is probably not a direction that Nintendo will be going. I think that’s a niche area that other companies have more expertise in.
But worldwide online play is a priority for Nintendo and you will see it. Our system had a lot of complex new components to it. We had to introduce the Wii remote, and it took nine to ten months for the gaming press to get their heads around it. At first, they said, “this is weird…” and then they experienced it and that turned into, “this is kind of cool…” It just took them a long time to get it. And once they did, they really embraced it.
I think if we had just taken the whole package, here are all the channels, here are all the online games, here are the Miis, the news, the weather, I just think it would have overloaded the mass consumer. So instead we began rolling everything out in a fashion where people can really understand it. First the remote, then the system itself and Wii Sports. Then the Mii channel, and Virtual Console. Then we purposefully unveiled forecasts after that and most recently news. We have more things coming, and online is definitely one of them.
GameSpy: Many people still can’t find a Wii in stores. What’s Nintendo doing to correct this?
Perrin Kaplan: It’s really hard to anticipate demand. We ramped up supply as well as possible, and we’re more experienced at this than any other company in the gaming business. Pretty soon we’ll be shipping about a million a month, and our shipping numbers should even go up from there. We’re shipping as fast and as often as we can. I want to say thank you to the consumers for loving our product, and please don’t give up on us. Just keep checking back with your retailer. There are weekly shipments, and in some cases daily shipments, but we understand that it’s stressful for people who want a system, and we just hope that we can get them a system soon.
They can go on eBay, though! I know there are some people who are trying to sell their PS3 on eBay so that they can buy a Wii…
GameSpy: Rockstar games has just announced Manhunt 2 for the Nintendo Wii. Are we going to see Wii remote strangulations?
Perrin Kaplan: Let me just say that I hope most consumers’ minds don’t go where yours just went!
GameSpy: Well, the first Manhunt was a very violent game. One of our editors still cries himself to sleep thinking about it. Do you anticipate any negative backlash?
Perrin Kaplan: I don’t think so, but we have been going back and forth on it in terms of what it means to our audience. But it’s not our game, it’s Rockstar’s game, and if the press decides to direct its anger somewhere, it should be towards them, as it’s their content. It’s also not the kind of game that most gamers are going to buy, it’s for a very specific audience.