Halo 3 had to come up sometime, and Reggie discusses the juggernaut release in respect to its effect on the market. More importantly, he points out why, for the most part, Nintendo does not need to worry about it moving so many systems. Here’s what he had to say to Mercury News.
Mercury News: There’s been a lot of buzz about Microsoft’s “Halo 3.” How do you expect it to affect the console battle this holiday season?
Reggie Fils-Aime: Will they sell a lot of software? Certainly. Will it sell hardware? I think it’s an open question. Why? Because I think that the “Halo 3″ consumer already has the hardware, because they’re playing “Bioshock” and “Crackdown” and a variety of games that are, in the end, quite similar: first-person shooter experience, multiplayer capable online. Tell me what’s new?
MN: So do you feel like you need to counter “Halo 3″ in some way?
Reggie: No.
In addition, Reggie countered the growing arguments that the Wii can’t last long this generation due to its lack of power. He seemingly weakened his argument by confirming that Nintendo’s R&D, as expected, is working on the start of something new.
MN: One of the issues that keeps being raised about the Wii is the question of whether two or three years from now people are still going to be buying it, particularly as prices of the other consoles come down and the next-generation features they offer – realistic graphics, high-definition capabilities – start to become more affordable.
Reggie: The best way to answer that question is that in our view, we’re just getting started … We’re looking at our business and constantly looking for … how do we continue driving the business forward? And I believe because of that relentless pursuit for more, that this platform is going to be vibrant for quite some time.
MN: Are you already planning your replacement for the Wii?
Reggie: You know, our hardware group, literally as soon as the system’s out the door, they’re already thinking about what’s next. That’s true for any of our platforms.
