One of the more surprising tidbits was that apparently, approximately 50% to 60% of the 4 million Wiis sold in the US are online in any given week, suggesting that while the console may be the affordable entry point in the market, a surprising number of purchasers are already technically savvy enough to have set up and be actively using a wireless network.
When asked how far along he felt Nintendo was to achieving mainstream entertainment status, Reggie responded that a key issue was that historically, the vast number of consumers haven't felt like they can participate in gaming. He stressed the importance of appealing to everyone, stating, 'We know that products like Brain Age and Wii Sports are getting consumers 50 to 60 to 80 years old participating in gaming when they never would have before ... Will there be games very specifically targeted for an elderly market? I believe so. But it's just as important for us to have games for that 20-year-old, 30-year-old consumer, as it is for someone who is 50 or 60 or 70. We need the breadth.'
Contradicting other reports that a majority of Wii owners aren't using their consoles after purchasing them, he also stated that in his experience, more people are playing the Wii now than when they originally purchased it. Moving on to the next Wii, he explicitly spoke of development having already commenced on the Wii's successor, stating, 'Whenever we launch hardware we immediately start working on the next iteration. That is the way we keep our selves fresh and we keep ourselves from being disrupted much like we've done to our competitors.' So, while we probably shouldn't expect anything in the near future, it's clear that Nintendo's already working on their next console.
When asked what he wished was on the Wii, Reggie gave a surprisingly honest answer, stating, 'I've been very intrigued with Little Big Planet (from Sony). I don't know that it belongs on their platform. Microsoft has done well ... Certainly, the Halo trilogy - anyone who would look at that and say, "No, I think we could live without it," probably doesn't think real long about this industry. Even games like BioShock. I thought that was tremendously well done ... I would love to see more of that type of content in the industry overall that actually makes people think a little bit.'
Given the popularity of Miis, SFGate also asked Reggie about the potential for Mii advertising and other merchandising. Putting a slightly wet blanket on the suggestion, Reggie responded that while merchandising isn't something they've looked at, it's not something they've completely written off.
Finally, wrapping up the interview, Reggie spoke of his days delivering Pizzas and playing Zelda: Link to the Past. He described how his son recently stole his thunder, explaining, 'My oldest son, who is 15, would play the levels after they were beaten and the funny part of this story is that when it came to beating the final boss, it was 3:30 a.m., and I had to get up to go to work the next morning, so I saved the game and said, "I'm going to go tackle this tomorrow." All day at work I was consumed with beating Zelda. When I got home, that saved file wasn't there. I asked my son David what happened and he said, "I beat the game." He went back into that file and beat the game and deprived me of the glory.'
The full interview can be found here and is well worth reading.
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