Reggie recently sat down and talked with Newsweek, claiming that their will not be any new game drought on the Wii, something that a lot of folks claim killed the GameCube. Seeing as how many purchase Nintendo systems for Nintendo-created games, this is the greatest worry facing the Nintendo consumer and with delays on Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, many are fearing this to be the case. Reggie puts those fears to rest, however (or, at least, attempts to):NEWSWEEK: Let's look at first-party software for a minute. As evidenced by software sales, gamers who purchase Nintendo platforms do so primarily to play Nintendo-developed games. But from the Nintendo 64-era on, Nintendo has a history of repeatedly delaying key titles, creating long droughts between the AAA games for which its fans bought the hardware. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, your flagship title for the Wii, is in fact a long-delayed Gamecube game that has been moved over to the Wii, as has Super Paper Mario. So how can you assure gamers that are considering a Wii--keeping in mind that they've heard such promises before--that they won't endure the same droughts between AAA first-party titles that they suffered on the Nintendo 64 or the Gamecube?
Reggie Fils-Aime: The way I answer that question is with three very real examples. First, Zelda: Twilight Princess, on Wii, is arguably the best game we've ever made. Period. It is fantastic. It's been essentially made, from the core essence of that game, to be perfect for Wii. And yes, while its development started as a Gamecube title, the fact is the Wii version plays fundamentally different. A consumer can buy the Wii version and the Gamecube version and have two fundamentally different experiences. Now certainly, the Gamecube version of Zelda is fantastic. But the Wii version of Zelda is without peer.
The second example I point out is Metroid Prime 3, which is a from-the-ground-up creation of Metroid for the Wii system. That title is going to come out early in 2007. That will give us fantastic momentum coming off of the launch, and will certainly be an example of how there will be no new game drought for this system.
The third example I would give you is Mario Galaxy, another from-the-ground-up Wii game that we are strategically timing the launch to make sure that we continue driving momentum through 2007. So N'Gai, how do I answer the question, "Will there be no drought," and "How will we make sure that there are fantastic titles for Wii?" The answer is Zelda, Metroid and Mario. Which is a pretty darn good lineup.
So are you willing to make a "Read my lips" pledge right here?
I thought I just did.
All right. I'll be checking in with you when these titles actually ship.
[Chuckles] Exactly.
[Via Codename Revolution]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-20-2006 @ 2:36PM
silkylove said...
But that doesn't really answer the question. If Mario and Metroid don't come out until next holiday season then that's still a drought unless some third party comes with an AAA title out of no where. He also makes no mention of Smash Bros. I think Nintendo can ride the launch buzz and Zelda high until mid-march/early april at the latest, but if there's nothing else coming down the pipeline by then they'll lose momentum.
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12-20-2006 @ 2:49PM
20XX said...
I'll never get why people think delaying finished products is better than a "drought." JUST PLAY SOMETHING LATER, IF YOU WANT TO.
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12-20-2006 @ 3:01PM
bobby said...
ummmm, this is extremely old... title is misleading, sounds like he has reaffirmed this pledge he previously made, after news of super mario galaxy and super metroid 3 delays. this interview was before this announcement. come on wii fanboy, keep your shit together.
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12-20-2006 @ 4:23PM
z3r0w1n6 said...
@bobby
Um... from TFA: "Posted December 19, 2006 3:33:52 PM"
Doesn't look "extremely old" to me...
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12-20-2006 @ 4:33PM
Mr. Khan said...
The way Newsweek says a "read my lips" pledge makes it sound like they won't believe him, a la the famous George H.W. Bush read my lips pledge that also turned out to be a lie
But he said, Metroid Prime 3, early 2007
(If you think the Wikipedia page confirms this, you are most likely wrong, as I, Mr. Khan, edited that page to conform with his recent hints at a Q2 2007 release)
I trust Reggie...
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12-20-2006 @ 6:31PM
Probot said...
This isn't a recent interview.
ComputerAndVideoGames.com recently ran a story saying that Metroid and Mario Galaxy had been delayed until Christmas.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=152528&skip=yes
This is purely speculation. They reference a "reliable source" but that doesn't mean anything nowadays.
The article linked in this post is simply Newsweek responding to those rumors. They quote an interview they did with Reggie in October.
The point is Reggie promised in October not to have a drought of games in 2007. CVG is saying that Mario and Metroid are delayed, and they're assuming that means there will be a drought.
However, they fail to take into account "Wario Ware" which is a major game being release early next year, "Super Mario Strikers: Charged" and "Smash Bros Brawl", which is probably the most anticipated game save for Mario Galaxy. So even if Mario and Metroid are delayed until next Christmas, there will be no 1st party drought next year.
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