Monday, March 1, 2004
Japanese website Mainichi Interactive published an interview with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata conducted prior to the official announcement of the Nintendo DS on January 20, 2004.
The interview, conducted in early January, has been translated once again by GameSpot. Below are the most recent translations followed by several other translations that were originally published in January.
Since translations from Japanese to English can sometimes lose the accuracy of their original meaning, hopefully several translations combined will provide a better and more accurate picture.
On wireless connectivity:
- "The innovative machine has a short-range networking capability. It will introduce a refreshing new experience if it's played by one person alone, but we're hoping that it will be even more fun when it's played with multiple [people]."
-Satoru Iwata, GameSpot translation (March 1, 2004)
- "[It] will enable fun and movement not seen before. I expect it to become a third pillar, next to GameCube and Game Boy."
-Satoru Iwata, Gamasutra (January 07, 2004)
On the Media's reaction to the Nintendo DS at the upcoming May Electronic Entertainment Expo and what the Nintendo DS means to Nintendo's future:
- "It is a 'unique' machine, so not everybody will understand it right away. There might only be 10 to 15 people applauding during its unveiling at E3, but they'll understand it once they touch it. At the least, it should serve as a hint towards [our] next-generation console."
-Satoru Iwata, GameSpot translation (March 1, 2004)
- "We want to offer to customers a play experience that they've never had before. We're not expecting everyone to cheer following the announcement [at E3]. It's okay if ten percent of the people say the product is 'interesting' and word spreads with people finding themselves wanting to try it."
-Satoru Iwata, Kyoto Shimbun (January 13, 2004)
- "We'll announce the new product in America in May. We use the phrase 'A product of a different nature' to describe the product, but the idea that anyone who plays it will find it interesting remains unchanged." It should be a hint to the next generation of hardware. This will be the year that we put up a serious fight with this new product."
-Satoru Iwata, Mainichi Shimbun (January 11, 2004)
On the future of games:
- "Games have come to a dead end. Creating complicated games with advanced graphics used to be the golden principle that led to success, but it is no longer working. The biggest problem is that [developers] need to satisfy the core gamers, who want games with more volume and complexity, while they also need to satisfy average users, who don't have as much knowledge about games. The situation right now is that even if the developers work a hundred times harder, they can forget about selling a hundred times more units, since it's difficult for them to even reach the status quo. It's obvious that there's no future to gaming if we continue to run on this principle that wastes time and energy [in development]. Nintendo is called 'conservative' and 'quiet' nowadays, so we hope to show our existence as an innovator to new styles of entertainment."
-Satoru Iwata, GameSpot translation (March 1, 2004)
- "Game creation has in various ways, met a deadlock. Over the past twenty years, games have followed a straight path in development that have made them more complex and good looking. This law of growth and success is no more. Put frankly, games have stopped selling."
-Satoru Iwata, Kyoto Shimbun (January 13, 2004)
Source: Mainichi Interactive