Fischer regrets calling Wii storage critics 'geeks and otaku'

Wii News | Wasn't meant to cause offence. Apparently.

Laurent Fischer, marketing bigwig for Nintendo Europe, has told videogaming247 that he 'regrets' saying that the only people who care about the Wii's lack of storage space are 'geeks and otaku'.

Fischer made the original comment earlier this week to Edge magazine.

"I have huge respect for those who, like me, share a common passion for Nintendo and want to make it clear that I would never use and I didn’t use this terminology in such a context or way to cause offence," said Fischer, after realising he just insulted most of his company's user base.

"I regret that this misunderstanding has created such offence and disappointment within the community."

God of War creator David Jaffe was among the most critical of Jaffe, ripping him to pieces in a recent blog entry.

"This statement, especially coming from a marketing person, reeks of one of two things," said Jaffe.

"A - Arrogance at a level that should make Nintendo - if this statement reflects the core of the company - very ashamed."

"B - A marketing person who has no real clue about games and thinks she’s being cute and coy by dissing the ‘geeks’ cause she thinks the mainstream loves them now. If this is the case, she really needs someone to sit her down and explain to her which side her ****ing toast has been buttered on for years and will eventually get back to being buttered on."

Fischer is actually male, but you get the point.

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15 Comments

renegadesx

3 years ago

Quote

Fischer is actually male, but you get the point.

Well it takes balls so say something like that.

It was a very stupid comment, dissing and dismissing the guys (us) that basically kept them in business during the cube days. I think it does indeed reflect a sign of Nintendo pretty much dismissing their core audience unless they are seriously working on it and keeping it tight lipped (which should be of no surprise)

I wouldn't expect much news out of them until E3. Reggie has hinted they got "huge" announcements which is surprising considering they have done pretty much all their major hits.

Tom101007

3 years ago

I would have thought someone that high up might think about their comments. I mean how much do casual gamers spend on games? not much compared to us, and anyway why would you alienate any of your fanbase? that just screams bad marketing

lennex15

3 years ago

Well looks like Fischer has been given the old slap across the face and the don't argue. Still his initial comment reveals the contempt nintendo really has for it's consumer base or is it that the Wii and DS have been so successful thar their heads have clearly reached critical mass and are now unable to be supported by their necks hence the extreme brain fart and the movement away from company line. Which is don't say anything about anything that will look controversial.

Deus Sceleris

3 years ago

wrote

God of War creator David Jaffe was among the most critical of Jaffe

Wait, what?

What he should regret is using the word otaku at all... Freakin hate that word...

We all got along fine before those elitist CDs came out and decided they didn't want save files sitting next to them.

Sinthesys

3 years ago

Hah, 'I didn't mean to cause offence'. Yeah, I'm sure you meant the derogatory comments as terms of endearment. I love how stupid corporate backpedalling is. Why this guy wasn't fired for damaging Nintendo's image and basically doing the exact opposite of what his job is I don't know.

Lord Haart

3 years ago

Laurent F***er wrote

I would never use and I didn’t use

But he did...

Lots of people would love to revise history, but trying to do so is merely a soft and pathetic way of trying to waggle out of having to give an ego-hurting apology.

Why not just be a man and say sorry?

Laurent F***er wrote

I regret that this misunderstanding has created such offence and disappointment within the community.

Note that the chip on his shoulder is so large that he fails to realise that the only thing worth regretting is that he opened his mouth in the first place. Again, the word "sorry" (or rather, the lack thereof) stands out.

darklord

3 years ago

He only regrets it after being slammed for it. Apology not accepted.

Buttmouth

3 years ago

What an idiot. Don't want to hear from you anymore.

Thats the thing about dismissing a group of people as not worth
the effort, once they realise you've done it you're **** for life.

EDIT: or you could fix the problem and we'd be sweet.

Passa

3 years ago

I love how anyone who needs a storage space above a pathetic 512MB is shoehorned into this 'nerds and otaku' group. Fischer is clearly proud of the fact that he doesn't fit into this 'group', and certainly needs a job in another industry.

What a douche.

Fly

3 years ago

Tom101007 wrote

Really what's going to happen though? A bunch of individuals are going to, rightly, stick it up him for opening up his mouth and saying what he did, but at the same time these people will then go out and continue to support everything he works for. A simple forced retraction effectively satiates any consumer confidence, hell even no retraction does as consumers are gullible instead of speaking with their wallets or making it a point.

It's a wonder people still get up in arms on such comments when the reactions always been at least a quick retraction and then forgotten in a week as people buy their products, rinse and repeat. If the core group were really insulted, and really demanded action, they would be better served being patient, hurting the sales (even if delaying the purchase until a panicked price drop) and making it an issue as they believe it to be instead of effectively dismissing it.

Lord Haart

3 years ago

^Well, what does happen, is that if Nerdy Nick hears this, and is considering buying a console at the time, he might think that Sony or MS are more "geek friendly", and buy a 360 or PS3 instead.

So this certainly will hurt sales. I for one was considering getting my sister a Wii, but that's off the table as long as Nintendo have that attitude.

edit: on the flip side, how many prospective casual gamers will hear this comment and think that it makes the Wii any better for them? The simple fact is that it shows only that Nintendo has no problem alienating people, and no concept of customer loyalty. So they will give Wii Fit a miss and just go to gym.

Buttmouth

3 years ago

Well I'm not downloading any more content from VC or WiiWare for a start unless they fix that whole thing.

Gonna be hard though with Alex Kidd out now...

Anyways, I kinda think Fly is right. In the end - one douchebag comment wont kill
the Nintendo Empire. The casuals want to waggle. As they so confidently state.

ugh the boot

3 years ago

I just read Dave Jaffe's blog and he's summed it up perfectly for me. I'm not going to continue to blindly give a company my money when i'm not completely satisfied with how they're treating me.

So basically gonna give No More Heroes, Mario Kart, Manhunt 2 and Super Mario Strikers a miss when I was actually planning on buying all of those (a couple of those I was waiting for the price to drop significantly). Still gonna be buying Super Smash Bros but I don't see any other games on the horizon I want, so that might be my last Wii game for a while. Will concentrate on buying all 360 and Ps3 games I want before even thinking about Wii.

I've had it with Nintendo, it's too frustrating and it's better I just stop caring altogether. It's not all related to the comment Laurent Fisher made but it's put it all into perspective for me.

What I hate most of all is when some idiot says something controversial and then a couple of days later is coming up with excuses of 'being misunderstood' or 'didn't really mean it', bullcrap! You meant it, now that you got a slap on the wrist you're backpedalling. Whatever, I lose respect for any fool that does this crap because first and foremost they can't even stand by their own opinions. Absolutely retarded!

Lord Haart

3 years ago

BoomBoom wrote

In the end - one douchebag comment wont kill the Nintendo Empire.

It's not about killing an empire. It's about you, and what you choose to do with your money.

I don't care what happens to Nintendo - all I care is that I learn from comments like these that Nintendo isn't standing up for hardcore gamers like me, so they aren't right for me. Therefore I'll go with MS or Sony.

Sinthesys

3 years ago

Also, if Nintendo is stupid enough to employ that a-hole, I don't really want to put any eggs in that basket.

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