Iwata Asks- Further Insight into the Wii

[bignds]

Recently, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata sat down with some of the big names behind the Wii to discuss, clarify and bring to the attention, some unknown facts about the console everyone's talking about.

Joining Mr. Iwata were Takashi Aoyama (Integrated Research & Development), Mr. Tomoaki Kuroume of the Entertainment Analysis & Development division, and Shinichiro Tamaki of the Integrated Research & Development division.

They discussed some cool and previously unknown features of the Wii's interface as well as other new details. Below are the highlights of the conference.

Iwata: Let's discuss the Wii Message Board. Tamaki-san, you are the most familiar with the presentations on this topic, so could you please explain what the Wii Message Board allow you to do?

Tamaki: At the risk of oversimplifying, it is a system that allows messages and memos to be posted on the calendar. It can therefore be used without even being connected to the network. At its most basic, it is a place you can write memos. For instance, a mother might simply stick a message like "The snacks are over there!" onto the Wii Message Board. It's basically like sticking a message on the door of the fridge. You enter these messages in the calendar on whatever day you want. Messages from the game you're playing can also be put on the Message Board. For example, if you're playing "Animal Crossing", a message like "Concert next Saturday in town" will automatically be posted on the Message Board. The user doesn't even have to be playing the game. Or take a game like "Brain Training." You could post your results on the Message Board: "Today, your brain age is 50!", or something like that. I envision the Message Board helping everyone in the family communicate with each other. These days, because everyone is so busy, it is becoming more and more difficult for people to take the time to sit around the table and chat. That's where the Wii Message Board comes in. Even when families can't spend time together because everyone is always coming and going, a quick look at the Wii Message Board will allow the family members to feel the presence of the others, even if only slightly. You know, the father has maybe gone out after work, but when he gets home he can see that his wife has been keeping up the "Brain Training". I really hope Wii will prove useful in providing chances for this type of interaction between family members.

Iwata: It can be fun to be connected to the network, but it can be stressful or frightening if you are interacting with people you don't know.

Tamaki: Exactly. Basically, we've designed it so that you can exchange information with your registered friends. I'll give an example of the kind of information that could be exchanged. Let's say someone buys a new game. When they switch on their console, a question could appear on the screen: "Do you want to let your friends know you have bought this game?" If you select "Yes", the message "X has bought the game Y!" will pop up on your friends' Message Boards. You can send messages like that from within the game, or you can make your own message to send to your friends. Actually, the example I just gave is still under discussion and has not been finalised yet. But I think it gives you an idea of the kinds of things that would be possible.

Aoyama: It's not a system like e-mail, designed for constantly exchanging messages. However, we hope it will allow a relaxed style of interaction, allowing the user to feel that there are other people out there, connected to the net.

Tamaki: On top of that, with the Wii Message Board, users can exchange game data or screenshots. E-mail messages can also be exchanged between mobile phones and Wii. Sorry to keep using families for all the examples...! (laughs) But imagine the father is working late at the office. His family can send him messages via Wii from the living room. Then he could reply by sending a photo. We'd like people to think of Wii as allowing them to feel they are connected, in a loose, relaxed way, with their friends and family.

Iwata: In a way, I feel that the Wii Message Board is the most complex aspect of the console, and which has the most unexplored possibilities. I have a feeling there are a huge number of applications which we just haven't come up with yet.

They went on to discuss the 'Play History' feature


Iwata: Listening to the discussion reminded me of another function which was discussed in a similar manner, and about which similar conclusions were reached: the "Play History". People tend to be very surprised when shown this function. Kuroume-san, can you tell us more about this?

Kuroume: Sure, it's really quite simple. Wii automatically records details of what game was played, when and for how long. This is called the Play History. There's nothing controversial about that, but what did cause discussion was the fact that the Play History cannot be deleted. It's not that we couldn't change it if we wanted to, but at the moment it is not possible to delete it.

Kuroume: What finally came out of those discussions was the idea for a Play History, which recorded the total time a particular game had been played. Rather than the console turning itself off automatically to ensure it is not played for more than an hour a day, it seemed much better to allow parents to use the Play History to discuss with their children how much they are using the console. The decision to make it impossible to delete this data was a separate subject for debate.

Aoyama: Even if a kid wakes up in the middle of the night and sneaks down to play games, that will show up on the Play History! (laughs)

Tamaki: Ultimately, the Play History fulfils the function of telling parents how long their kids have been playing, as well as being an interesting talking point. It's just really fun for users to be able to see the record of how long they played. That's why we decided to make the Play History impossible to reset. You can imagine users saying: "I didn't realise I'd been playing that game so much!"... Or, in the future, we could make it possible to plot on a graph how much you've played. Also, with users' cooperation, we could compile data on which game was the most played that year. I think all of these kinds of fun ideas show that it was better to make the Play History into a permanent record.

And before they finished, they addressed other miscellanea


Iwata: To wrap things up, if there is anything you find particularly appealing about the Channels that we haven't yet discussed, now's your chance.

Kuroume: Well, on the Wii Menu Screen where the Channels are listed, each Channel icon has its own unique and exciting animation. However, these animations do not necessarily stay the same. Some Channels will have a different animation depending on the circumstances. For example, the icon of the Forecast Channel might show that it is going to be sunny and 28 degrees today, so if you just want to know about today's weather, you can easily tell by looking at the icon. These things, I think, are a part of Wii's unique appeal.

Tamaki: This is a bit technical, but by using the + and - Buttons on the Wii Remote, the user can scroll through the Channels without having to return to the main Menu Screen every time. Each Channel actually has its own particular chime which sounds when you switch to that Channel. This means that simply flicking through the Channels becomes fun! (laughs) It's as if the Channels are welcoming you! We've put a lot of Channels on Wii and I think we surprised even ourselves by how much we were able to accomplish. I think just flicking between the Channels looking for something interesting is great fun, and I want as many people as possible to get their hands on Wii and just give it a go!

Aoyama: This is getting away slightly from the discussion of Wii itself, but just as Kuroume-san said earlier, I'd love to design my own Channel for the console. There's a lot of people in the company who have the same ambition! (laughs) Even people who aren't involved in software development are talking about Channels they'd like to see. I think that demonstrates perfectly the appeal that Wii has. I doubt any previous game console has inspired that sort of response. The Channel system, and the network infrastructure of WiiConnect24 behind it, have got people thinking. I have a feeling that even those who are not involved in the making of games will come up with unique ideas for Wii. I really think that Wii is a device offering a vast range of possibilities.

Iwata: Summing up my feelings, I would say that in all honesty I did not expect to see the hopes that I had for Wii in the beginning so fully realised in the finished product. While developing Wii, I felt that if the ideas I had could be made reality, then this could really change the relationship between people and games. I felt that this would add a new dimension to families' everyday experience of using the internet and playing games. I thought it might change people's lifestyles, as families gather around the TV to enjoy a new type of entertainment. Now I can hardly wait to see how people respond to the console. I don't mean whether they like it or not; I mean it in the sense of wondering what uses people are going to find for Wii. I think we've really come up with something pretty special.

This is just one part in a multi-volume series called "Iwata Asks". You can read all of the discussions at wii.nintendo.com

[Autocon]

Hmmm.... So far it seems good, except for one thing - the Play History. It would be better to allow users to delete the data. It shouldn't be locked, it should use a password or somethign similar to protect it from children deleting it when parents don't want them too. Its my console, so why can't I have control of it?

[bignds]

Im sure they'll sort that out.

[ShadowMarth]

Bullet points for us lazy folk?

[Wraith]

Originally Posted by Autocon

Hmmm.... So far it seems good, except for one thing - the Play History. It would be better to allow users to delete the data. It shouldn't be locked, it should use a password or somethign similar to protect it from children deleting it when parents don't want them too. Its my console, so why can't I have control of it?

If its your Wii then why would you care about anyone going through the 'play histroy' to see if you have played it at 3:00am.

[Pilot_51]

Some parents are more strict than others, probably to the point of grounding their kid for not sleeping when they should.