Nintendo VP Reggie Fils-Aime issues fight'n words

by Blake Snow { Jan 19th 2006 at 5:00AM }

Well, not really, but in a recent interview with CNET, Nintendo Sales and Marketing VP drops some potshots on Sony and Microsoft. Here's a few of the things the big fella had to say. Fanboys, tread lightly:

"This industry is about entertainment, and in the end, he with the best games wins."
"The buzz for the DS is huge and growing, and the most anticipated handheld titles are on our platform, not on Sony's."
"We've shown that sports games can be brought to a new level of immersion with the [Revolution] controller."
"We have partners like EA and Ubisoft and Activision and THQ excited about developing for the Revolution."
In response to how the Revolution will sell: "We will sell more units than Xbox 360 did here in the United States in our launch window. I mean, in December, we sold more GameCubes in the United States than Microsoft sold 360s, and Revolution will do better than that."
"On a worldwide basis in the home console area, we are the No. 2 player. Here in the United States, if you look at today, we are the No. 3 player."

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Pretty Obvious @ Jan 19th 2006 5:35AM

The Gamecube as a console was crap, to bad he didnt take his own motto "he with the best games wins" seriously. I can count the cubes best titles on one hand, and boy can this guy can talk, especially for a next-gen system thats suppossedly a souped up Xbox. Honestly though, I do see them gaining a lil bit more share in the next gen but I do see Microsoft coming out on top this time.

Chris @ Jan 19th 2006 5:38AM

"I mean, in December, we sold more GameCubes in the United States than Microsoft sold 360s"

oh no he didn't... yep, he went there. OUCH!

Rykin @ Jan 19th 2006 5:44AM

^ He may have meant that the Gamecube sold more systems in the December during its launch than the 360 did when it was released.

Fan @ Jan 19th 2006 5:54AM

@ 2

No they did sell more Gamecubes this december than ms sold 360s at launch.

An OLD console sold more units than the brand
new hyped 360 LOL. What an utter failure the 360 is. LOL @ MS.

Banshee @ Jan 19th 2006 5:57AM

"I mean, in December, we sold more GameCubes in the United States than Microsoft sold 360s"

And I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that a GameCube is roughly the same price as a 360 game. Sheesh.

Sean @ Jan 19th 2006 6:02AM

WHATS THAT HE'S HOLDING???? IS THAT A DS REDESIGN?!?! SELL IT TO ME NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zsavior @ Jan 19th 2006 6:06AM

A DS IN HIS WAIST A FIST TO YOUR FACE REGGIE'S TEARING UP THE PLACES FILS-AIME BABY FILS-AIME BABY!LMAO NICE!

What Did FILS-AIM hand Say to Kutragi and Gates? SLAP!

doug @ Jan 19th 2006 6:10AM

@3 I think your mistaken. Not by the time frame but by your user name. The n and g are close on the keyboard though.

Graham @ Jan 19th 2006 6:20AM

What he's holding in his hand is the prototype DS design. That's a shot from E3 2004.

Fan @ Jan 19th 2006 6:28AM

Oh yeah that nice #7. Bash me because i point out what a failure the 360 is. Hate me because im honest, lets make it personal because your offended by me speaking the truth about your wasted purchase.

Just sell the thing on ebay or just trade it in for a couple of dses or something. When they production ramps up you will get 360s thrown after you because nobody wants em. Its not my fault is it?

melloncollie @ Jan 19th 2006 6:41AM

I never understood why calling someone a bundle of dry sticks and leaves used to start a camp fire was such an insult.

Tim @ Jan 19th 2006 7:00AM

I bet it's because anyone could just buy a Gamecube. Because all the people who matter (gamers?) had already bought up the next gen consoles.
I bet he didn't think about how totally smacked they were on launch day. No, he's just comparing to the "we're refilling the supply as fast as we can" units. What a joke this guy is. He should be a politician, the way he makes "nothing" look like a big deal.

Lou D @ Jan 19th 2006 7:10AM

The GC is less expensive than the 360. It's also been out for almost 5 years. Revolution is going to be less expensive than the 360. Who's fault is that? Microsoft's. There will be plenty of Revolutions available at launch. Why? Because Nintendo has been in this game for over 20 years - that's why.
If you include handheld sales, Nintendo is actually #1. If you just look at software, Nintendo is #2 - behind only Electronic Arts. If Nintendo was cross-platform like EA, they'd be #1. They don't need to be.
OK, so Nintendo's last president was an arse-hole. Iwata, however is far from it. You can't knock their business sense. Yes they are out to make money just like anybody else, but atleast their is alot more emphasis on quality and value to the consumer in their products.
I used to hate Nintendo in the NES days for de-throning ATARI. I became a Sega fan by default. Eventually, I learned that it was stupid. The companies (Atari, Sega & MS) did it to themselves with poor quality and bad business decisions. I don't buy into Sony's B.S. hype-machine. This is the 3rd system where claimed gross horse power is alot higher than real world net horse power.
The 360 and PS3 will be equal in power, 360 is easier to program but PS3 has blue-ray for all the FMV fans out there (just rent some anime for goodness sake).
We all own PC's. Between a PC and a Nintendo console, we can play 95% of anything that will be released on consoles. Only the PC version is usually better, for everything else, there's the Revolution.
Alot of HDTV's have a VGA input, mine does and can do 1280x720p, so there's my HD era...

Vagabond Artist @ Jan 19th 2006 7:11AM

I like Reggie.

I dig the professionalism and the tone he brings to the table for Nintendo.

By the time E3 rolls around though none of his stats will matter, because the 360 will have an ENORMOUSLY improved userbase.
Hopefully, Nintendo and Sony don't forget that.

MS should be showing off plenty of 2nd wave software and other enticements to keep people from getting excited about Nintendo and Sony.
I'm REALLY looking forward to E3... I think it will be the best one in years.
(what with all these companies bringing out the big guns)

BlackYoshi @ Jan 19th 2006 7:12AM

Its hard for MS to sell more than they manufactured. Also, Reggie is wrong when they say they are 2nd worldwide, unless they passed original Xbox at the end of the year. They were about 3 million behind overall (something like 19 to 22 million). He sure is a confident fellow though.

J @ Jan 19th 2006 7:14AM

He's pretty much spot on with all of those statements.

Ocho @ Jan 19th 2006 7:22AM

Reggie Fils-Aime doesn't sleep. He waits.

doug @ Jan 19th 2006 7:29AM

I've got no beef with Nintendo. I own a gamecube,it sits in the corner collecting dust waiting for the real Zelda game to come out. I just Hate Reggie! That smack talkin' kickass takin' Pokemon braggin' chest thumpin' knuckle draggin' delusional Curious George lookin' Mofo.

Hey Reggie I'll buy a DS because I want to play Castlevania, not because your making Nintendo look less kiddie by acting like a macho ass! Your holding a Pikachu for christsakes!!

Kworn @ Jan 19th 2006 7:32AM

Reggie is a fap head

Sentience @ Jan 19th 2006 7:43AM

#12 It's MS's fault that the Cube's been out five years and is cheaper? OKay....ignoring that little dip in reality....

The 360 is a better console and aimed in a slightly different direction than the Rev.

umf_skibum @ Jan 19th 2006 8:07AM

are we supposed to expect someone that works in the video game industry to be attractive?

student @ Jan 19th 2006 8:10AM

I like how these people are commenting on his looks lol. Good for you guys, I'm glad you think Reggie is ugly. How come we don't write about Bill Gates sexy appearance when there's posts about Microsoft products? And I also find the fanboyism humorous. Kizza's comments about Nintendo fanboys virginity, comedy gold.

As for what he says, I'm leery about the comment "EA, Ubisoft, Activision and THQ are EXCITED about developing for the REvolution." I'd much rather hear they ARE developing for the revolution.

Kye @ Jan 19th 2006 8:20AM

At least he's not krazee like Ken!

He may be an oik, but at least he's working for the right company.

Nintendo Forever!
*he waves his flag proudly*

:)

JS @ Jan 19th 2006 8:21AM

Better lookout you MS kiddies, Reggie might take yer name and kick your asses!

But he has a point, the 360 launch is possibly the most misreported overlauded launch ever. The Sega Saturn even moved more units. The only two consoles to do worse in the past 20 years were the CD-i and the 3DO, that's not good company to be counted amongst. Even with the viral marketing, the massive hyping, the corrupt game reviews(see the doa 4 reviews 3 months before the game is finished much less shipped) and a large installed userbase for the first xbox(myself included); Microsoft messed it up bigtime. Showing they have no respect for their customer by shipping out a system that failed to meet demands and was not thoroughly tested;resulting in bugged hardware and software incompatability. The 360 is the first major release console I'm not planning on buying in my 20+ years of gaming and there are a great many reasons for it. If microsoft doesn't bow out before the next generation the xbox third generation will be the MS swan song.

Jay @ Jan 19th 2006 8:33AM

He'd wanna have a good personality, charm & be rich, as otherwise he'll die a virgin, like most Nintendo fanboys will.

But PS2 and Xbox owners won't even though they're busy having virtual sex in their games, right? And it's not Nintendo's fault Microsoft couldn't meet demands is it? You're saying they shouldn't take advantage of that to make more positive hype?

Badison @ Jan 19th 2006 8:35AM

I just read all the comments, just to refresh my memory (and because i am too lazy to look it up). How many Gamecubes were sold in the US in December? How many xbox360s? ... might be interesting to see the number of pre-orders for xbox 360 since it outpaced the supply (not sure if that statistic exists), thanks if anyone knows

GlitchCog @ Jan 19th 2006 8:39AM

I think people find Reggie's appearance funny because it doesn't fit the company he works for. Nintendo's got the kid thing going, and all the other people you see working for them are Japanese. So here's this giant beast-man who has to watch where he steps so he doesn't give Iwata the goomba treatment while trying to sell games to little kids. It's just funny.

As far as his statements go, he's right. And I don't think Nintendo is concerned that the hardcore gamers got the 360s and didn't help with the GameCube sales. All those GameCubes may have been sold more to non-gamers, but that's exactly what they want to happen.

JS @ Jan 19th 2006 8:42AM

740k gamecubes November 2005. ~670k Xbox 360s november->present day. Not sure how many gamecubes were moved in december though.

The freaking atari Jaguar had a better launch.

Andrew @ Jan 19th 2006 8:47AM

pwn3d!!

The PSP has great functionality and it's a powerful machine. But, aside from the expensive pricing and for both the system and the memory, there are few great games for it. GTA is good, but what else? (Hopefully FF will be too). I don't mean pretty-good, I mean greaqt. Nintendo however, does have some great titles, with more on the way.

Kye @ Jan 19th 2006 8:54AM

Just wondering...

What if MS was to sell so badly this generation they had to bow out of the harware race?
Who would become the new third company? Would Sega or Atari re-enter? Would the Phantom surprise us?
What if the PS3 becomes a joke and Sony drops out? What then? What if the Revo gets laughed at? Anyone got any mad predictions or speculations?

Sean @ Jan 19th 2006 9:06AM

@30

Heres my prediction: Nintendo will release all the old games for free but stupid people who don't know how to read the box the Revolution comes in will be suckered by the sells staff at Best Buy into buying the libarary at the counter for a couple of grand. BestBuy stock will increase 7 fold but they will buy it all up. BestBuy buys Google and Nintendo and combines them into the ultimate apple fighting orange game system. People will burn revolutions to stay warm as they spent all their money on the Googtendo BestBuy Evolutionbox. The good people of earth will plead with Googtendo to allow them the means to buy food and clothing but Googtendo will deny them, stating their bottom line would suffer. The people will obey since the Evolutionbox is so advanced that halfway threw typing "happiness" on the system, the user will recieve a shot of dopamine directly to the brainstem. Other advanced features will include downloading emulators to the neural cortex complete with every rom for every system ever made including the Evolutionbox. The self-referentral nature of this paradox will cause the universe to fold in on itself inside a intelegent young slave womens brain, causing a halt-state in the universal CPU which Googtendo now owns. Googtendo starts selling refurbished universal CPUs in a gaming system designed for multi-dimensional beings. With the googleplex dollars Googtendo aquires with this daring new buiness method, they will purchase $god.

Vagabond Artist @ Jan 19th 2006 9:16AM

I predict that at E3, Nintendo Revolution steals the show with Microsoft's 360 games support onslaught running an extremely close second.
Sony disappoints everyone when they have 3 playable next-gen games on the floor (none of which resemble the killzone trailer), the batarang controller intact, and announce when they will actually be releasing PS3 hardware; Spring 2007.

Fan @ Jan 19th 2006 9:18AM

@ 30

If Sony bombs and drops out then the gaming industry is in a bad place. With the 360 beeing an utter failure the PS3 is the only hope for the power horse type console. Hopefully the PS3 will be a good and fully functional media center as well.

I personally predict the winner this gen will be nintendo, simply because the console is so cheap and it has a fun controller. Everyone wants one. Most gamers i think will get the PS3 and a revo on the side and then there is the nintendo fans and then there is the casual gamers that will get it cause its cheap. Nintendo will be the winner.

kizza @ Jan 19th 2006 9:20AM

Big deal kye, it used to be nintendo vs sega before you were a twinkle in your daddy's eye.
So what, as long as there's 2 major players, its all good. I'd rather see one go by the wayside than another crash & they all go.

If MS goes, that would be nasty, but not as nasty as ninty or sony going, if ninty goes..well if its left down to one company..you've all got rocks in your head if you think even your favourite wouldn't scew us consumers.

3 or 2 at the least..keeps the bastards honest..to a degree. I think Sony & nintendo battling it out for marketshare sounds good. MS don't need anymore money than what they get from windows & other ms pc programs. Sony & nintendo are struggling in electronics, Ninty is relying solely on handheld & sony is losing out big time on most of it's electrical items (apart from playstation) with cheap korean companies like samsung underpricing them all over the shop.

Sony & Ninty reigned supreme with non & limited online play, this time the playing field in that area will be even. MS better find some REAL gaming solutions, like ninty & sony have. Rare can't save them like they did with the 64.

Scott @ Jan 19th 2006 9:26AM

"We've shown that sports games can be brought to a new level of immersion with the [Revolution] controller."

Ummm, no you haven't. All you've shown of the Revolution controller so far is a bunch of actors swinging it around non-sensically pretending to play games.

kizza @ Jan 19th 2006 9:37AM

The controller will be crap I'm afraid. None of these gimmicky things work, it will be like th eyetoy, good for ten minutes, then you'll wanna put it dowm to don a real controller & play some real games.
If I wanted to swing something around my living room exerted unneccesary energy, I'd buy a frikken baseball bat, invite some mates over for a game of indoor baseball. At least it would sound more viable when telling people how you broke the mums or wifes china.

I also assume it is slow in reaction time as these kinds of new products like this are. this would be nintendo's new VR goggles I would say. Why can't they just go back to how they were in the snes days & shed all this gimmicky bullshit. All they rely on these days is gimmicky products & games.

J B Cougar @ Jan 19th 2006 9:38AM

Reggie's tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.

Anyway, on a more serious note... I didn't read every post here, so I don't know if the GC beating 360 in Dec. has been debunked, but if it hasn't yet, this can't be a good thing for PS3. Sure the thing will sell to the hardcore gamers, but if anyone has been watching the trends, the hardcore sect has been shrinking.

Add in the fact that it appears as though the controller has been scrapped and the case is a "concept" and we have some bumpy times ahead for this supermachine everyone is so frothing at the mouth about.

Everyone in this case meaning the few gamers who can afford a $500 system, plus games, plsu extra controller, plus Internet access costs, plus games, plus memory cards.. aw, you get the picture, don't you?

I guess Sony can pray for another Nintendo shortage when the Revo comes out, so they can at least beat Nintendo one more time before they tank.

Wanderer @ Jan 19th 2006 9:41AM

I sold my 360 this week. It pretty much had become a paperweight, I think it has potential still, but as of yet, that potential is unfulfilled.

Also, how can people make comments about a system that hasn't even been finalized yet?

kuroshi @ Jan 19th 2006 9:44AM

The 360 sells were limited by production. In business, selling all you can produce is not a bad thing. It just means you have to increase production. As far as gamecube sells go, I wouldn't boast so proudly. You sell a machine for $99 and give away a $49 game with it. The bundles have been used to clear out gamecube backstock. In retail, when you mark things down and put them on the clearance rack you don't pound your chest and proclaim victory when it sells. The CEO of nintendo even said that the GC was a failure. The DS is strong, but the psp is definately gaining momentum.

rta @ Jan 19th 2006 9:48AM

Nintendo isn't friggin going anywhere, they OWN Japan. What the crud are all their people gonna do all day crammed in those tiny apartments without their DS's?

Jules @ Jan 19th 2006 9:51AM

I very much doubt Nintendo is number 2 with gamecube. Latest figures I saw were 20 millions gamecubes sold at the end of 2005, while MS had already sold as much xboxes that at the end of 2004.

Kenofthedead @ Jan 19th 2006 9:57AM

You don't swing the controller around though.
It's like a mouse more then anything else. Do you swing your mouse every where around?

You can lay your hand down on your leg (if you are sitting) as you play, and it will be fine.

You can swing it around I'm sure, but it won't be that good, and as almost everyone who has used the thing (IGN, EGM, MTV, and other 3 letter named brands) all say the same thing about gentle movements being all you need.

Try this, take a cell phone or an IPOD shuffle and move it around gentle at a screen as though it was a pointer.
Don't swing it like a bat, as that would be foolish and not the point.

It is not slow in reaction time, as it uses Blue Tooth technology, as anyone who uses Blue Tooth pointers for 3D mouses, it moves quite quickly.

Oh and if you still have problems with it, which means you are bad at controller and need help, then there is always the Shell.

Oh and Gimmicks, well you can look at the Nintendo DS and how well that is selling. Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution for reviews and like, and MMORPGs (which were called gimmicks when they started as well).

Of course going by the meaning of gimmick, X-Box 360 controller with it's home button is a gimmick, X-Box Live Arcade is a gimmick, HD is a gimmick, wireless controllers are a gimmick, hell even blogs are a gimmick.

I find it funny people use the term gimmick as an insult to something, while it can actualy mean something quite good.

Just please do yourself a favour and actualy try out the Revolution's controller once you can. It would be a shame if you didn't at least try, for it really is easy to use.

Also, go learn about Blue Tooth and it's speed of communication.

Kye @ Jan 19th 2006 10:04AM

@ Kizza - Im 24, so I do remember the Ninty vs Sega days. I was only asking for opinions, no need to get pre-menstral on me.
But I do agree (even if you are an ass), one company surviving would be very bad for consumers, regardless of whom it is.

@ Fan - Remember how crappy the first games on a console look compared to games that come out years later. Although im laughing at the 360 now, im sure it will be a force to recon with in a few years.

@ Sean - That was a very deep and entertaining vision. *he gives the signal for the burly men with tranquilizers to move in* lol Ace imagination!

@ Kizza (again) - "gimmicky bullshit" ? What the hell do you think games are in the first place? Isn't it gimmicky enough that you're sitting there, staring at a TV screen controlling a pretend character whose killing ninjas, or driving through cities at 5 thousand miles per hour in a car you will never own? Games are just that. GIMMICKS! You aren't REALLY rescuing princesses, or killing the Covenant or throwing turtle shells into the back of Bowser's head.
Games are gimmicks made to bring enjoyment and a relief from everyday stresses & life. If you can't appreciate that you should burn your *name your connsole here* now!

Don't make me have to tell you off again!

the lorax @ Jan 19th 2006 10:05AM

Just curious how many of the people here stating "the 360 is an utter failure" have tried it? I'm loving mine. The new live capabilities are outstanding and there are some great single player games.

Who cares what the guy looks like?

I hope all three systems sell well, it gives us more choice & puts more pressure on on manufacturers to stay on the cutting edge and offer new features.

Neko Tsukimi @ Jan 19th 2006 10:09AM

Oh SNAP!

Tom @ Jan 19th 2006 10:24AM

Microsoft not selling a lot of 360's has nothing to do with it not being popular. I sick of idiots saying there system sold more acting like it is because no one wants the 360. Have you seen them in stores? No. The 360 didn't sell well because they weren't able to produce enough to meet demand. People that preordered before launch still haven't received their's. They were selling on ebay for twice the retail price. Do you think something would sell for twice the retail price if they weren't popular and nobody wanted them.

Soon Hui Vchai @ Jan 19th 2006 10:35AM

That december comment was cold. Nice one, Reggie

robrob @ Jan 19th 2006 10:36AM

LOL @ Corporate Fanboys in general.

it's like, dudes, they are all bug mega companies making good money selling you plastic. they aren't your freinds/family. wtf @ the way some of you people act.

Rug @ Jan 19th 2006 10:38AM

Just a comment about the new controller...

I had a controller for the PC that detected movement. You could turn it like a wheel or tilt it forward and back. I got it for a motorcycle game. It was shaped something like a PS2 controller as memory serves. There 2 little chips with little holes on the top that were used to detect the movement (no moving parts).

Anyway, the problem with it was is that you couldn't tell where the end points were. Was I turning it enough, or tilting it forward enough? It was very unconfortable as I wound up going further than I needed to or wondered if I was going far enough.

I don't know how you solve that problem, but it was a big enough problem that I stopped using the controller and went back to a traditional joystick.