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Reggie talks about Nintendo’s slow adoption of online play

Reggie E3 2018
Picture: Nintendo via YouTube

Reggie has been doing a lot of laps lately, hasn’t she? The former president of Nintendo of America advertised his new book, Interrupt the game, since its release in North America earlier this month. And along the way, Reggie Fils-Aimé dropped tons of nuggets and thought about the company that many people still associate with him.

The latest stop on his book advertising adventure is with GeekWire podcastwhere Reggie talks about the story behind his book, his time at Nintendo, and the origin of a famous quote. During the second half of the podcast, GeekWire co-founder and podcast host Todd Bishop asks Reggie about Nintendo’s approach to online gaming – something the host acknowledges Microsoft and Sony have invested in. much better investment – and whether regrettable or not, lessons learned.

Reggie’s response is particularly detailed, as he reflects on Nintendo’s philosophy and what they excel at, and how that may have affected the slower response:

First, Nintendo’s business philosophy has always been to do things differently, innovating in a way that matches the strengths of the company versus the strengths of others. And so, for example, when it comes to multiplayer, Nintendo really excels at what we call ‘couch play’ – sitting next to someone playing Mario Kartsitting next to someone playing various games like Wii Sports. That live multiplayer is really a place where the company excels, and that’s where they focus a lot on.

In order to do online multiplayer, the company really needs to think about what kind of new games are, the different types of experiences we will need to create in order to now excel in that form of play. . And to be honest, it took the company a while to think about that, to come up with something they believed would be fundamentally different and add value in a new way. I think the core success of the company begins with them Smash Bros. – a major franchise for them – put that product online, which works exceptionally well. It’s purely a first-person shooter – kind of between first and third person experiences – with a franchise called Splatoon, has performed extremely well in the market. So that’s the first part of the answer – the company is always thinking about how they are going to enter these markets in a unique, different way and to the best of their ability.

Nintendo begins its foray into the online space in the Wii and DS era – with Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros.and Animal Crossing: City Folk (among many other games). Many of these proved wildly successful, but online gaming was a hit many years ago, back in 2002 and the launch of Xbox and Haloand Sega’s ill-fated Dreamcast also boldly entered the online market with Phantasy Star Online – also has online functionality in the GameCube release.

However, Nintendo wanted to bring its philosophy into online gaming – it didn’t want to compromise. Recreate the feeling of ‘couch play’ or challenge popular genres – like racing games, first-person shooters, etc – but this approach is said to have slowed the company’s entry to the market compared to its predecessors. with other genres.

Reggie also reflects on another aspect that may have influenced Nintendo’s approach to online gaming and that is culture:

The second thing I want to emphasize is – and this is where it comes in for some cultural differences. Culturally, the company doesn’t see a big opportunity in the online space. It’s an area where the Americas and Europe are constantly trying to educate the Japanese company on the value of playing online, investment in the online infrastructure needs to be made for the experience to be immersive. pole. You are absolutely right about the three main hardware competitors in the video game space, this is where Microsoft invested a lot and it became their competitive advantage – to this day I will debate their connected gameplay. It’s an area that is constantly being pushed by the company’s Western divisions to encourage growth and investment in infrastructure, and I’m sure that conversation continues today.

Nintendo is currently quite firmly in the online game market – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Smash Ultimate still gets online multiplayer – but not without its hiccups. Nintendo is still considered behind the curve – especially with Smash’s online gameplay – but it has improved recently. Capcom’s Monster Hunter Rise is the first game on Nintendo’s new and upcoming online server Mario Strikers: Battle League and Splatoon 3 should be a showcase for playing online.

Still, it’s extremely interesting to hear the former president of Nintendo of America reflect on why Nintendo has been slower to adopt online play. And, as he puts it, “that conversation continues today,” so Nintendo is now acutely aware of its importance.

You can listen to the full episode of GeekWire’s podcast with Reggie below. How do you feel about Reggie’s comments? Let us know in the comments section.

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