Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan talks Smash Bros. Brawl delay

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Oct 23rd 2007 at 1:56PM }

Though she's on her way out, Nintendo's VP of marketing Perrin Kaplan still finds some time to speak to MTV's Stephen Totilo regarding all things Nintendo. As history has repeatedly shown us, one of those things inevitably turns out to be the dreaded delay -- though perhaps it's not as dreaded when it comes to the holiday months. It seems Nintendo now joins EA and Capcom in seeing the sales sense in slippage.

"And I think we're actually starting to look at the annual calendar differently," said Kaplan, justifying the February release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. "The first two quarters of the year tend to be more quiet. But now we've seen some evidence of sales in that period." Avoiding the jostling of the year-end crowd is but one benefit, with the added development time yielding a game that's "absolutely as perfect as Japan knows it can be." Kaplan, who views the Wii and DS as being a little more integrated into people's (boring) lives, concludes via basketball metaphor that timing isn't necessarily everything. "I think a really good product can be a slam dunk any time of the year."

A note of caution to other publishers considering delays: Let's not get carried away now. We don't want February becoming the new November.

Tags: Delays, Perrin-Kaplan, PerrinKaplan, Smash-Bros, SmashBros, Super-Smash-Bros-Brawl

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

megaStryke @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:05PM

Don't let the door smack ya in the chocha on the way out, Perrin.

Jerk Face @ Oct 23rd 2007 11:41PM

Perrin Kaplan is a stone cold fox.

SoulBlade @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:07PM

Still buyin it. Hordes of games to keep me busy until then.

Rubix42 @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:08PM

Honestly, I do the majority of my gaming in the winter months. So more solid releases in January and February make me smile.

CaptainAmericaX @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:20PM

Yeah this delay doesn't hurt that much to be honest.

I mean sure I'll be disappointed not to be playing it in December but it saves me some money and guarantees that this game will be excellent so its a win/win situation for both Nintendo and me as a consumer.

@ megastryke

Why don't you like Perrin? Just out of curosity? Is she a bad exec or something?

megaStryke @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:40PM

She has a nasty habit of being ill-informed. I think that SHE thinks she's in "the know", but really she's not. I don't think it's ENTIRELY her fault, however.

Oh, she's also really air-headed. Have you seen video interviews with her? It's like she's not even on the same PLANET as the interviewer!

Andy Witmyer @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:22PM

"A note of caution to other publishers considering delays: Let's not get carried away now. We don't want February becoming the new November."

But... but...

February is the month of my birthday!

J-Guy @ Oct 23rd 2007 3:57PM

Me too. btw, I'm back from my long (read: 10 day) recess from Joystiq!

GRANTED @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:27PM

i think we are actually starting to look at the annual calendar differently. for example, advances in theoretical physics have shown some evidence that time is not so much a dimension, as in, a linear progression, as it is a random onslaught of omega particles and waves, progressing to our eventual death and the end of civilization. by delaying the game until february, we can guarantee shipment of the game with flux capacitors, capable actually sending users back to november of the previous year. as a result, the future you will be able to give the game to the present you, essentially negating the delay completely. and since online play is kind of a joke, we also thought it would be a good way to guarantee you can play with... yourself. no, not in that way. people like you are the reason we opted for no waggle control. in conclusion, the wii will save civilization from destruction.

WiNG @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:35PM

so, how much of that was utter bullshit?

mr nimblewick (SegaDF - Jogurt Ring) @ Oct 23rd 2007 3:01PM

Given Granted's place on the troll-o-meter, I would say about 60%.

i_hate_mtv @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:36PM

Mega doesn't like Perrin because she's an idiot, and spews stupid shit almost every time she opens her mouth.

Gamers were bored before the Wii? Um, not really.

megaStryke @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:45PM

Well, yeah, but the way I said it is so much kinder than that....

B1gC72 @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:36PM

i would love to see the year spread out into multiple "big seasons" so my wallet wont take such a large hit all at once. there are like 6 $50-$60 games i want this holiday season. most of the time though i buy like half of them and then wait for the others to go on sale in the summer. but im cool with the delays on any console. you can only make the game better if you work on it longer.....unless your Lair's dev team that is lol.

religiousjedi @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:43PM

Once upon a time, religiousjedi decided that he would buy a 360. Upon browsing for one, a thought came to his head. "What are you doing?!? Buying this thing is a waste of money!!! You're only buying it for one game (Halo 3), which is another shooter among wave upon wave of shooters on this console!!! By next month, you'll see another shooter there!!! And besides, it would be like buying a PS3 for MGS4! Once you finish, what else will you buy?!? Stick with your Wii! You'll get your Brawl, Heroes 2, Galaxy (yes, now that I played it, I am really thinking of buying it), No More Heroes, and countless other games on your little white box!"

/end thought.

So I saved my money to buy more variety of games on my Wii.

Sadly Konny, your (and the bunch of Ninty haters like Phattie and Shaggy) misconception of Wii owners is that we play only Mario.

Not all Wii owners are into Mario as you think... ;)

(P.S.: I don't hate the other two consoles. Also, that thought wasn't the only thing that convinced me...)

gonk @ Oct 23rd 2007 7:30PM

but halo 3 is fun :) so is cod4. and rainbow6-vegas, and gears, and bioshock, and skate, and mass effect should be great too, etc

Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 23rd 2007 10:15PM

Whoa, look how versatile Gonk's tastes are.

gonk @ Oct 24th 2007 12:09AM

damn yeah bitch, i'm versatile as a rainbow

wait, that doesn't sound right

i've got a bunch of other 360 games too, but my list was already gettin kinda long

Bigfoot @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:43PM

A December 3rd release would have been the best Winter vacation ever though, but oh well.

Feb will probably be the worst Valentine's day in history because everyone will be too busy playing Brawl.

ssuk @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:46PM

Is it me, or is Nintendo themselves trying to find a reason to convince themselves why this delay was neccesary? Consumers have already accepted it and moved on, however Nintendo seems to think this is still a big deal. That or someone's head may roll for disapointing sales from said delay... What I'd give to read some internal Nintendo memos...

Neon Jebus @ Oct 23rd 2007 2:47PM

For some reason I think the big three would be more of a fan of Jan/Feb releases than 3rd party firms.

Think about it, you have a holiday period where people toss out huge amounts of cash on big ticket items. If a kid or a gamer knows 'Title X' is due out in Feb., it gives them time to request the system to play it on during the Holiday. Third parties would miss out on that much needed Q4 cash flow if people only buy the systems and not the games to go with it.

I know Retail Sales Quarters are a bit different than a regular calendar but it makes a bit of sense to delay those new titles until early Q1 (read Feb) of the year. Start things out with a bang and make your shareholders happy!

Dale @ Oct 23rd 2007 3:21PM

Once upon a time, Dale's wife offered to buy him a Wii for Christmas. Not being insane enough to camp out at stores, missing out on the blink-and-you'll-miss-them pre-orders and refusing to buy an overpriced bundle, she was unsuccessful.

Several months later and still unable to find one, Dale decided to invest in an Xbox 360 so he had something to play games on... and was amazed to discover a very healthy line-up of titles that weren't boring shooters and annual sport sim updates.

After a few months of enjoying his 360, he found a way to buy a Wii and bought one, only to discover that while the new control scheme was interesting, like the DS before it, developers were going to take a while to make compelling games that made good use of it... and so, the long-sought-after Wii gathered dust while Dale played lots of Bioshock, Eternal Sonata, Crackdown... and looked forward to the gorgeous Mass Effect.

Dale is glad ReligiousJedi is enjoying the Wii, but is personally still waiting for something that truly sucks him in.

NATO_Duke @ Oct 23rd 2007 3:33PM

Dale - thats your story too eh? Right there with you on that.

Mr Khan @ Oct 23rd 2007 4:13PM

Brawl's delay gave me room to get Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn,

But Brawl's delay puts it right in the neighborhood of No More Heroes

sigh...

Konchu @ Oct 23rd 2007 4:17PM

Yeah not releasing some games during the glut of holiiday titles may reduce the number of Beyond good and Evil quality games getting over looked. But there are so many pushing back I hope we dont just have the same issue another month or have games perpetually delayed.

Kye (NDF - Earth Ring) @ Oct 23rd 2007 4:45PM

Fernando's been banned?

Since when? For what? WTF!!!???

NDF ASSEMBLE!

Reshuffle:
Nintendo Fanbot! Your acting field-leader!

Meeting over!

GRANTED @ Oct 23rd 2007 5:23PM

fo realz?

Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 23rd 2007 10:18PM

Somebody asked "Is the PS3 really this bad?" and Fernando said "Yes, yes it is." Ludwig figured that was the last straw. I don't get it either. In Fernando's worst trollings he was never half as bad as phattie or Shaggi.

Jerk Face @ Oct 23rd 2007 11:43PM

Yeah, that kind of bothers me too. I miss that little guy. Fanboys are necessary, in their own way.

Plus, he had such pretty hair.

Boo on Joystiq for that, says I.

busydoingnothing @ Oct 23rd 2007 10:58PM

Honestly, the delay helps more than it hurts Nintendo. There are far too many top name titles coming out this holiday season, so pushing it back gives it a lot more breathing room and makes it a bit more likely for those who were sitting on the fence over this title to pick actually pick it up.