Reggie Fils-Aime Thinks Fans are “Insatiable,” and “Always Want More”
Nintendo of America’s head honcho is getting frustrated with fans after another E3 filled with criticism and confusion. Calling fans “insatiable” and always “wanting more,” Fils-Aime wasn’t afraid to take a shot at gamers.
“One of things that, on one hand, I love and, on the hand, that troubles me tremendously about not only our fanbase but about the gaming community at large is that, whenever you share information, the perspective is, ‘Thank you, but I want more,’” said Fils-Aime in an interview with Kotaku. “I mean, it is insatiable.”
Perhaps it’s not so surprising, given the not-so-warm reception following the Wii U’s announcement last year and this year’s follow up press conferences. Confusion is still at an all time high regarding the console’s power, what it can do, and the tablet thingie gamers have to hold. While developers are saying one thing about the capabilities of Nintendo’s “wonder,” some of us are still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“For years this community has been asking, ‘Where’s Pikmin? Where’s Pikmin? Where’s Pikmin?’ We give them Pikmin,” Fils-Aime continued. “And then they say, ‘What else?’ For years, this community have said, ‘Dammit Reggie, when you launch, you better launch with a Mario game.’ So we launch with a Mario game, and they say, ‘So what’s more?’
“It’s not a question of understanding. I think people understood what we showed. It’s the question of, as a gamer, ‘Is this for me and something I can get excited about?’ And Wii Fit did not get that reaction. And yet 43-million copies around the world, it’s a phenomenon.
“And so I would argue that the gaming community actually is unable to differentiate between a phenomenon and something that is ‘ho-hum.’”
We could sit here and argue all day that the issue at hand is your audience — who are you catering to, and who is actually buying your product? While some of us are indefinitely excited for Nintendo’s future, some of us have already moved on. What’s your take on Fils-Aime’s comments?
To read the full interview, head over to Kotaku.
Via MCV.
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He’s right about fans being insatiable for more, more, more. And not just about Nintendo, but everybody. Sony barely mentioned the Vita at E3 and immediately everyone declared the Vita an abandoned project with nothing in the works. Like, it never enters anybody’s tiny brain that maybe these companies do not want to announce absolutely every single thing they’re working on. That they have their own reasons for announcing what they announce and holding off on others.
So then they all get drubbed in the forums and in comments sections and on Twitter, and I can see how that would grate on people like Reggie. Nothing is ever good enough, because the fan “community” is so large and varied that giant portions are going to be disappointed, loudly, no matter what cool new stuff comes from Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Apple, anybody.
You hater-hater.