Nintendo exec on E3, streaming and game delays – TechCrunch



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This year's E3 has been a bit of a mixed bag. Sony was completely absent, Microsoft was looking to the future and Nintendo, as always, was games-oriented. The show took place at a strange moment at Nintendo release cycle.

The company recently unveiled all the details on the forthcoming titles, Mario Maker 2 and Pokémon Sword and Shield, making Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Luigi's Mansion 3 one of the foundations of the company's great Nintendo Direct unveiled Tuesday morning .

The long-awaited title of Animal Crossing, unfortunately, came with the warning that gamers will have to wait even longer (2020), but the company had a lot of playable titles on the show, including the remaster of Link's Awakening and the aforementioned Luigi. after. This was probably the surprise success of the series, Gooigi, which, as the coat rack suggests, is actually a gooey version of Luigi.

Any new announcements regarding the hardware and any new news on the fourth Metroid Prime were missing from the event. The company, however, had a major surprise in its sleeve in the form of a trailer for an unnamed sequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of Nature.

After the grand unveiling, Charlie Scibetta, Senior Director, Corporate Communications, Nintendo, discussed the company's position regarding streaming, mobile and what could be happening after the departure of Reggie Fils-Aimé .

TC: I wanted to start by talking about some more general tendencies. Microsoft, Sony and even Apple consider streaming as the future of games. Where does Nintendo stand on this, from the point of view of potential material agnosticism and subscription versus purchase?

CS: Streaming is certainly an interesting technology. Nintendo watches it closely and we evaluate it. We have nothing to announce at the moment regarding the adoption of this technology. For us, these are physical and digital downloads, via our online store. While there is a lot of downloadable content to keep the games up-to-date, but when it comes to streaming as a way to get the games to work, we have nothing to announce in this regard.

TC: Hardware has always been an important differentiator for Nintendo. Do you think we are moving towards a point of material agnosticism? Or is the hardware going to be a major differentiator for Nintendo?

CS: Well, we think that our games are really optimal on our hardware, because our software and software developers work closely together to create the most powerful game based on how to bring this software to life. You come back to the Wii, for example, because it gave life to tennis and bowling through motion control. It worked really well for that, it was a launch title provided with every system that actually sold it, because you immediately understand the value proposition. Even passing in front of someone who was playing, you understand well, and we think we are trapped in a bottle the same way with Nintendo Switch because it's a complete console that you can play at home, listen on a big screen TV, then you can take it with you.

And the market has responded. At the end of our fiscal year, which ended in March 2019, we sold more than 34 million units worldwide. 14 million in North America. People buy the software. During the past year, more than 70% more software than the previous year, more than 23% more hardware. So, people buy the games to play on the system. And a show like this, at E3, is to present the games that will feed this system. For us, it's about unveiling games and getting people to interact with them. They will have a good time on the system.

TC: It's clear that Nintendo's line of conduct has softened somewhat in terms of mobile. The company had taken a very tough position against offering only gaming experiences on first-party material. What is the importance of mobile? How important is iOS and Android in the Nintendo game?

CS: Mobile is very important for Nintendo. You're right that we did not participate in mobile gaming for many years, but we jumped into the bath and have already brought a lot of our most valuable IP to the mobile, Mario Kart being the one to come. And what we like is the combination of hardware and software that we have described. We only bring the mobile software that we think we can really play on a mobile device with the speed of control offered by a phone. so that each IP address is not suitable. Those who came out are the ones that our developers have deemed appropriate for that. So that people can have a good time with our IP on a mobile device.

TC: The absence of Sony occupies a prominent place in the series. It has shifted the concentration and the spatial dynamics a bit in this room. Nintendo has obviously switched to Direct and Treehouse, so all content is transmitted to the general public, as well as to ourselves. How important are such shows for Nintendo?

CS: We have participated in many E3s. We are a supporter of the series. We think this is a great way for us to interact with people like you, journalists, influencers who create YouTube videos, retail partners, and more importantly, more recently, with consumers. We like to see consumer reactions to our games in the booth. We do interviews here and try to bring these games to life by explaining more; The approach of Treehouse Live is nice because we make a Nintendo Direct the morning of the first day. Then we will deepen these games with people interested in those of our experts and developers.

We think it's a great way to showcase not only our offers and what the industry as a whole represents. We are part of the industry, so we support the show. Other companies have to make their own decisions based on what's right for them, but for us, we like E3. We think it helps us a lot to connect with consumers and the people who cover the industry so they can learn more about the products.

TC: Doug [Bowser] took over for Reggie [Fils-Aimé]. Whenever this happens, even with a very large company, this tends to be a good opportunity to re-evaluate things, rethink things, consider the broader context. Do you see a change in direction or a reassessment of the role that Nintendo currently plays in the industry?

CS: Reggie has been an excellent leader for us for many years. We wish him good luck and he is still a fan, in his own words. He said that he would always be a fan of Nintendo, so he will always be with us. Doug is himself a veteran of the industry. He worked for many companies. He has been at Nintendo for over four years. He therefore has a thorough knowledge of marketing. I would say that what has not changed is that we are a product-driven company. We always like to bring back our messages on what is the game, how you feel, what is the emotion that we want to generate with this game. Doug thus perpetuates the Legacy of Reggie and D & # 39; others who preceded it. him.

TC: There have been a lot of rumors about a Switch Lite and Pro, with a portable laptop, and things like that. Is it wise to have a purely portable switch? How integral is this hybrid experience? And are we approaching or approaching this point in the life cycle when it's time to start thinking about new versions of the material?

CS: We have nothing to announce at this show in terms of new material. We have more than 2,000 games available right now. So we think that as long as we have great games to fly, the system will have a good life. Our developers will have to make a decision if they think the time has come for the new materials to materialize their creative ideas. This is really what determines when to choose a new material. Is there anything that can not be done for their creative vision with the current material?

Then they take it in a different direction. In the case of the Nintendo Switch, we obviously have the Wii U and our developers wanted to start thinking about playing in a different direction: you can take it anywhere or at home. That's why the Nintendo Switch was created. That's why they married the software and hardware that way. There is nothing to announce as to where we want to go for the future, because at the moment, what we have in our hands is working really well.

TC: What happened specifically with Animal Crossing? Obviously, no one is really excited when a game is delayed. Can you give any information, just as to why this was pushed back to 2020?

CS: We're not going to release a game until we think it's ready to be enjoyed by fans. In the case of a franchise, like Animal Crossing, which has so many loyal fans, we would not do them any favors if we publish a product that was hastily shipped. So it is a difficult decision to make for a company to go out on an expedition date. We believe that moving to March 20 next year was the right decision because we needed to give the development team enough time to make it the game we wanted to do. So this is the Nintendo approach from the beginning and that's something we will continue to do. We will not rush a match before it is ready, as we want to keep this bar high in quality.

TC: Metroid [Prime 4] was pretty absent. Is there an update for this purpose?

CS: It's now in the hands of Retro; they certainly have a history with this franchise. They are doing a great job with her and we are looking forward to what they are doing with this release. But there is nothing new regarding the delivery date or the details of the game.

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