Wii Rally

While hanging out in Nintendo’s Online press room I found this .PDF document which contains a Q&A session with Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. To be honest it kind of reads like one of those White House briefings I see on CNN. Seeing how this Q&A is directly from Nintendo you really have to take it with a grain of salt. The document has most likely been screened by both Nintendo’s lawyers and PR department so don’t count on any big bombs being dropped. The document contains about 27 questions which I’m guessing are from all sorts of different people.

Iwata does his best to answer every question, he only passes over the questions regarding former Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman Ken Kutaragi.

Here are some highlights.

Q1: Please tell me when and what game titles will be launched that can satisfy hard-core gamers.

Iwata: “It will be from around the end of this summer to the end of this year.
We will then launch a new title of Super Mario (Super Mario Galaxy), Smash Brothers (Super Smash Bros. Brawl) and Metroid Prime (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption) although the last one is primarily for the overseas markets. These will be the key titles for the period ranging from the summer until the holiday sales season of this year, and I think we will be able to cater to the specific needs you mentioned.”

Big titles coming out in the window between Labour Day and Christmas; now that’s thinking “outside the box”

Q9: Please give us your impressions about the announcement that Mr. Kutaragi resigns from his post of chairman at Sony Computer.

Iwata: “I cannot say anything. Of course, it is not something we decide. Even if you ask me, I am not in a position to say anything. Sorry.”

Now now kiddies lets stay focused.

Q18: Do you have any plan to increase your territories, such as Asian countries?

Iwata: “When we want to create a market where we can sell 300 million software, not only do we have to expand the gaming populations in Japan, the Americas and in Europe, but also we should tackle other challenges. Actually, we have established our Korean subsidiary to initiate the local business. I also heard that Wii is much talked about in Taiwan. Many other Asian and non-Asian countries are thriving in their economies. However, if you ask me if we should seriously expand into these countries, we have to prioritize on meeting the current demands from existing markets”

Orwell had it wrong we should not fear the uprising of Eurasia but the rising of Nintendo for world domination.

Q23: A big home electric shop I know is selling 1,000 DS hardware at the end of every week, and each one of them is snatched up instantaneously. On the other hand, I know that some of the small retail shops in town complains that they never receive supplies. What do you think about this situation?

Iwata: “Please note that Nintendo is dealing with wholesalers. We sell our products to wholesalers, and they make allocations based upon their own decisions. Usually, Nintendo and wholesalers decide our allocations based upon actual transactions made in the past. In terms of the current situation that any DS and Wii hardware can be sold through in a relatively short time period at the outlets, every wholesaler demands more allocations. However, basically, between Nintendo and the wholesalers, we are agreeing to allocations based upon past transactions.

On the other hand, there are some small retail outlets that have been kindly dealing with Nintendo products for a very, very long time and which do not belong to any big retail franchise and, for these specific retailers, some special allocations are being made. So, if our products are not allocated to some specific retailers, unfortunately, it is the issue between the retailer and the wholesalers, which Nintendo cannot control. Please note, however, that our basic policy is to realize as fair allocation as possible based upon the past transactions and their willingness to sell Nintendo products.”

I knew it! Damn you BEST BUY!!!!!!!!

Link to PDF