Reggie Engadget interview

Reggie - Well, a couple of things. First the number of concerns or questions that have been raised by consumers who use the service are extremely modest. I mean we are talking hundredths of a percent of actual connections in terms of any consumers who are saying something negative about the service or the approach.

And the second point, in terms of having to have new friend codes for every game, quite frankly, what that does is put control in the hands of the gamer. So there are some people that I want to let into my house with Animal Crossing and others that I don't, and that friend code set up allows me to manage that title by title. We think that's the appropriate way to go.

Engadget - Where is Nintendo right now with the development of the Revolution?

Reggie - We have been sharing the controller mechanics with developers across the world. We have shipped over a thousand controller dev kits to developers so that they can begin getting experience with the controller mechanics. The response to the controller has been fantastic. Developers are truly embracing the innovation. They're embracing the approach and quite frankly, they're embracing our vision; our vision of creating games that are as sophisticated as the core gamer wants it to be but could also be as straightforward and as accessible as brand new gamers. And that vision, that strategy is what Nintendo is all about. We want to create a system with Revolution that appeals to all types of gamers versus going down a path that, frankly, is a bit exclusionary.

Engadget - You mean in terms of the competition and what they're doing?

Reggie - Exactly. They have gone down a path that is very expensive for consumers, very expensive for developers to create content against, and they’re providing a level of horsepower technology that not many consumers want. We in providing to consumers and to developers an approach that is certainly high-tech and certainly powerful enough to create the most sophisticated games, but also has an approach that is open for developers to create whatever type of content they want.

Engadget - Nintendo has said all along that the Game Boy and the DS are of parallel platforms and that the DS is not the next Game Boy, but how long will it be until we see a new Game Boy come out?

Reggie - You know, that's a great question better posed to Mr. Iwata. From my perspective, our focus is on driving Nintendo DS, launching the plethora of titles that we have coming up for this platform over the next time period, as well as driving Game Cube successfully until the Revolution launch, as well as driving Game Boy Advance.

We've just talked to retailers about some new titles coming for Game Boy Advance; obviously Drill Dozer has just launched and is getting very positive reviews out in the marketplace. Our plan continues to be to support all three lines of our business; the home console, DS, as well as Game Boy Advance.

Engadget - (Speaking of new franchises on Revolution) Something that will be as big as a Nintendogs or a Zelda?

Reggie - That is certainly the goal, but you'll have to tell me when you see it at E3. We will be showing a lot of information about Revolution at E3. You know we've said publicly that this year's E3 will be Revolution's coming out party. Now, we've also been quite clear that there are innovations inherent in Revolution that we will be sharing ongoing. That it is simply not a one time event for us to share information about Revolution and all of its innovation. I have seen blog entries on your site and other sites that criticize us for that, but quite frankly, it's just good business. In terms of letting the consumer know what's involved and sharing that information all the way up until launch.

Engadget - Is Revolution going to be the final name or is it still a code name?

Reggie - It is still a code name.

Engadget - Will you unveil the new name at E3?

Reggie - Maybe.

Engadget - I know we don't have a ton of time left, so one of the last things I wanted to ask you about was about how Sony and Microsoft are positioning their new consoles as multimedia digital entertainment devices in addition to gaming devices, something which Nintendo has not emphasized. Sony talks about the PSP and how it can play music and video, and while the DS can have those capabilities, it’s not something Nintendo talks about very much. What is Nintendo’s philosophy about all this stuff going forward? Do you see multimedia as a distraction from gaming?

Reggie - Our philosophy is that consumers want great gaming experiences and our passion is delivering great gaming experiences. In the home console space, we believe that the best way to do that is with a dedicated machine. In the handheld space, as you've said, the DS does have other capabilities in the multimedia area, but we believe it's important to first establish its credentials as a superb game playing device.

To be perfectly clear, the Microsoft and Sony strategies are based on overall corporate objectives versus what's right for the consumer. That's a reality. Microsoft is essentially trying to get you to put a PC in your living room because they are fundamentally a PC software company. Sony is trying to get you to put an entertainment hub that has Blu-ray technology because that's important to their movie business and the rest of their entire electronics business.