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Iwata Asks - Iwata talks Apple/Nintendo similarities, possibility of DS phone, and much more
Iwata on Apple and Nintendo…
I think Nintendo’s attitude in trying to fulfill its mission of creating entertainment that will be fun for anyone regardless of age, sex or experience shares a common element with Apple’s philosophy—or the set of values put forth by Steve Jobs—of making features as straightforward as possible, as easy to understand as possible, and as simple as possible because if there are too many options users will be confused.
However, Apple is clearly a hi-tech company, whereas Nintendo is an entertainment company, so the ways we order our priorities are quite different. For example, we won’t hesitate to choose making something more durable over making it 0.5 millimeters thinner. By contrast, I don’t think Apple needs to perform repeated endurance tests dropping iPods from the exact height of a bicycle basket.
If Apple and Nintendo have a similarity, I think it is enhancing appeal through simplicity. When you really pursue something, it rapidly gets simpler. But I do think there are differences between us. Because our priorities are different.
Iwata on adding phone capabilities to the DS…
Well, if our customers didn’t have to pay monthly fees, I wouldn’t mind [giving the DS a phone]. Right now, however, they would have to. That’s why the Nintendo DS family doesn’t have a phone.
There’s much more in the full feature, which you can find right here