Nintendo Shuns Rivals' Advances

Wii360? Not if Reggie has anything to say about it.

Both Sony and Microsoft had good things to say about Nintendo's new console, the Wii, after this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. Microsoft's Peter Moore even went to far as to recommend that people get a Wii and an Xbox 360 rather than a PlayStation 3. Nintendo doesn't feel the same way about its rivals.

"I'd much rather have the consumer buy a Wii, some accessories, and a ton of games, versus buying any of my competitor's products," Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime told the USA Today.

And he would think that way. Fils-Aime was recently promoted to president of Nintendo's American arm, and one of his aims is to make sure the Wii gets its job done. That job: growing the games market through new experiences rather than simply foisting glitzier versions of the same games on people.

"Our goal is to have as many teens and young adults as we have 40-plus-year-olds excited about the platform," said Fils-Aime. "We're trying to expand this business here in the US in a way that it really hasn't been expanded... for the health of this industry."

Online is becoming a bigger part of that plan. The Wii will build on the model created for the DS, which had a mantra of simple, safe, and free.

"We will offer online-enabled games that the consumers will not have to pay a subscription fee for," Fils-Aime said. "They'll be able to enjoy that right out of the box. The Wii console is going to be Wi-Fi enabled, so essentially, you'll be able to plug it in and go. It won't have hidden fees or costs."

But the cost most people are interested in is the price of the Wii. We have boundaries in place already. Nintendo said the Wii will not cost more than $250 in the US or ¥25,000 in Japan - that translates to about £130 for the UK.

"We're well on our way to sharing all of that information with our retailers and our licensees," said Fils-Aime. "We'll be sharing that information publicly later on."

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games