Interview: Satoru Iwata - Transcript
Exclusive and extensive interview with Nintendo President Satoru Iwata on Nintendo DS, PSP, Shigeru Miyamoto, Hiroshi Yamauchi and Nintendo Revolution.
When he took presidency at Nintendo Co. Ltd almost exactly two years ago, Satoru Iwata wasn't doing the same job he's now admired for. Back then his job was to sell GameCubes and GBAs. Now he is charged with the massive task of making Nintendo viable against living room behemoths Sony and Microsoft in the next generation. And never have we been more confident that Nintendo and its fans are in safe hands.
How does he plan to do it? By doing what Nintendo does best - innovating. This much we know from his speech at Nintendo's E3 briefings this year and last. But is that enough?
On the agenda:
- Nintendo DS and its E3 showing and software line-up.
- The delay of Nintendo DS in Europe - an official apology!
- Relationship with developers and how they could be improved.
- The next generation Nintendo home system.
- How will the next generation battle take place?
- Why Iwata believes there won't be a bright future waiting for Microsoft or Sony in next gen.
- In strategic terms, how will Nintendo compete with Xbox 2 and PS3?
- On Sony PSP - will it succeed and will DS compete?
- Hiroshi Yamauchi - his current role at Nintendo and his surprising level of involvement with Nintendo DS.
- Shigeru Miyamoto - what does his new role mean, and how much involvement does he have in specific projects?
- Mr Iwata also discusses his new responsibilities and his own personal involvement in current projects.
- Nintendo's current financial position.
Here is the full transcript of our exclusive video interview feature, available here.
Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo
Interview conducted by Steve Boxer and Adam Doree
Kikizo: The best place to start is probably the DS, I'm quite interested in the game support because upstairs you have, sort of demos really, but can you tell me how many games there are going to be for it at launch?
"We have not yet decided which software titles we should launch simultaneously with the Nintendo DS." |
Kikizo: One thing I found slightly disappointing was that you announced it will be launched in the US and Japan this year but not in Europe until next year. I hate to say this but there's a slight feeling, particularly in the UK, that Nintendo's more interested in the American and Japanese markets than in Europe, and Europe's like the poor relation, and I don't know whether you'd agree with that...
"Metroid Prime 2: Echoes will be launched in Europe by the end of this year, at the sacrifice of the Japanese launch." |
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