Iwata on Microsoft's rumored Wiimote rival: 'Pft.'

by Chris Greenhough { May 2nd 2008 at 2:15PM }

Speculation that Microsoft may be about to launch a rival to the Wii Remote started early last month, yet Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's thoughts on the matter have only publicly emerged now. His verdict? A resounding, distinctly unimpressed "Meh."

Well, we're paraphrasing a bit there, but it's more or less what he meant. "We are not concerned about what other companies may do," Iwata told an audience of investors. "[We're] rather more concerned with presenting [...] new ideas to our customers based on the prospect that our existing customers will surely get tired of [gameplay] enabled by the Wii Remote if we do not try to improve the experience."

Rather than fret over what Microsoft and Sony get up to, Iwata says he'd prefer that Nintendo concentrated on producing more "new surprises" for consumers. Or, to put it another way, keep one step ahead of the competition, and they'll never catch you.

[Via Develop]

Tags: iwata, microsoft, ripoff, wii-remote, wiimote, xbox-360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

CJLopez @ May 2nd 2008 2:50PM

That's Nintendo, ladies and gentleman

Co @ May 3rd 2008 12:57AM

Wii is freakin' dominating.

*unpauses Okami...

Scott Fuentes @ May 2nd 2008 2:54PM

Yup, Microsoft nor Sony will catch Nintendo..Ps3 sucks no good games...the only way i would buy a Ps3 is to watch movies on and Microsoft is just for online and wow copy nintendo with the wemote..pathetic..get your own ideas..thats why hd dvd is going down..

Kokomadeta @ May 2nd 2008 3:02PM

You have no idea what you're talking about, especially when it comes to HD optical formats. HD DVD has nothing to do with this discussion, and if you look, Blu-ray is sinking fast - but that's not the point. Also, keep in mind that this Wiimote knockoff is in heavy rumor status right now, so there's nothing to comment on. Besides, I didn't hear too many people complain when Sony ripped of Sega's DreamEye camera and came out with EyeToy. Nobody complained when Nintendo followed Sega by allowing a handheld to connect to their system (Dreamcast and NGPC/Gamecube and GBA). So don't put down a company if they decide to use another's ideas, it's been happening for a while and no one has said a word.

Just_a_guy @ May 2nd 2008 3:54PM

If another company such as Microsoft comes out with a similar product then Nintendo has succeeded in their goal: changing the mass market in the way they choose.

andy @ May 2nd 2008 4:52PM

I hope this does have an effect on nintendo, because I want them to start being more innovative with the already innovative wiimote and less cautious when it comes to what market research tells them. They need innovation because were sick of stale gimmicky uses for the wiimote and nothing sparks innovation quite like a little competition.

mian @ May 2nd 2008 5:26PM

Agreed. I'd like to see Nintendo pay more than lip service to it's core gamers, and the stragglers still hanging on are thinking of the potential the system has. Maybe if MS with their impressive game library and strong advocacy for core gamers threatened to take them away, Nintendo would give us some of what we want.