Update: Added in the full quote provided in comments due to misinterpretation.
WiI Sports did an amazing job back in 2006 to help sell Nintendo’s new console at the time, the revolutionary Wii system. However, former Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aime, has stated in his new book which is titled, Disrupting the Game, that Wii Sports almost wasn’t a Wii pack-in title. He says Mr. Miyamoto told him and the executive vice president at Nintendo at the time, Mike Fukuda, that the motion controlled sports game shouldn’t be a pack-in game, telling them “Neither of you understands the challenges of creating software that people love to play. This is something we constantly push ourselves to do. We do not give away our software.” Thankfully as we all know, they managed to push Nintendo’s legendary game maker to change his mind.
“I advocated packing Wii Sports with Wii so that every consumer would get access to this great content. After I made this suggestion, Mr. Iwata paused long enough for me to notice the faint buzz of the incandescent lighting in his office, and get uncomfortable. ‘Reggie,’ Mr. Iwata said. ‘Nintendo does not give away precious content for free. We work hard to create special experiences. It is unique software that motivates consumers to buy our hardware, and we expect to sell these games over extended periods of time. No, we should not pack in Wii Sports.’ ‘Mr. Iwata, I understand the value of our software. I know unique software has always differentiated Nintendo. But we know that Wii is a very different concept in the history of video games. Wii focuses on unique gameplay. The goal of Wii is to expand gaming from its current niche to a mass market medium. Wii Sports has the power to do this. Wii Sports can be a unifying element for all players of the system, and be a key motivation for people to buy the system and have fun immediately. Plus Mr. Iwata, I know Nintendo has history using packed-in software to drive a system.’ I knew this from personal experience as I had bought my Super Nintendo Entertainment System with a bundle that included Super Mario World.”
Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime in his new book Disrupting the Game.
