Iwata: Microsoft 'Wiimote' is no threat to Nintendo

News

Michael French May 1 2008, 5:28pm

Nintendo President dismisses impact rival's rumoured motion-sensing controller could have on his business

After recently announcing his company had seen record full year revenues, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said Microsoft’s rumoured plan to launch its own Wiimote-style controller is no "big threat" to Nintendo's current position in the market.

In the wide-ranging interview, Iwata discussed major issues on the publishing and hardware side of Nintendo’s business – as well as giving in-depth answers to development related questions.

You can find a full list of the latter topic at MCV sister site Develop, in which Iwata discusses topics including WiiWare and the effect Apple could have on the games industry.

He said: "I am also aware of the [Microsoft Wiimote] rumour and have seen a fake image made by a fan on the web which looks like a Wii Remote with the rumour that such a controller may be launched, However there is no way for us to comment on such speculations.

“All I can say today is, it is not that easy to develop software which leverages the characteristics of the Wii Remote. We are not concerned about what other companies may do but rather more concerned with presenting them with new ideas to our customers based on the prospect that our existing customers will surely get tired of the plays enabled by Wii Remote if we do not try to improve the experience.

“In other words, what matters to us is whether or not we can continue to constantly create and offer new surprises one after another.”

You can read the full story on Develop here.