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Reggie Speaks

Gamecube, DS, Wii

In a recent Harris Nesbitt Analysts conference, the Regginator himself (aka Reginald Fils-Aime) spoke about Nintendo's philosophy with the DS and the Revolution. He compared the games industry to the movie industry, saying that big budget special effects movies have been made for last the 20 years. Hollywood didn't, however, forget that there needed to be movies that appealed to other types of people, and so The Godfather triology, Schindlers List, Napoleon Dynamite, The Lion King and Sideways were made. He likens Sony and Microsoft to the special-effects heavy movies, and Nintendo to the movies that catered to other viewers.

He quoted figuers about game sales as proof that the industry needs a shake up. In the US there was a 16% decline in revenues last September, and a 24% drop in game sales. In 15 years, the penetration of game-owning households hasn't increased. A recent Piper Jaffray survey revealed that 75% of respondents say their interest in gaming is falling - up 16% from last year. Reggie said that people would find excuses for the data, but that it was time to change. While "Sony and Microsoft are racing toward the sale goal: shiny new versions of the same old games", Nintendo will be walking a less travelled path.

Nintendo's strategy is already working, said Fils-Aime. Since Nintendogs' launch in the U.S., along with a $20 price drop, DS hardware sales rates have held firm at more than twice what they were previously. In Japan, the increase was even higher. And in Europe, the arrival of Nintendogs boosted hardware units by a factor of four. Sales of the DS Brain Training games now stand at over one and a quarter million in Japan, which had a similar effect on DS sales.

He reinforced some old news too, and said that the Revolution would be affordable, and less that competing consoles. He also repeated that porting games would be seamless, thanks to the Revolution's controller cradle. Finally, here's two important quotes:

"We intend for Revolution, just like every other Nintendo system, to actually make money."

"For Nintendo, we're not leaving the old market behind. We're just out to expand it. To show the world what a bigger, more robust more profitable market looks like."

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