14 DAY TRIAL // Online features and services are some of the biggest deciding factors when customers are faced with buying a current generation console. Whether they choose the very popular and solid Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network and the new Home, or Nintendo's WiiWare with all of the classic games, players have some pretty tough choices to make.
Lately, we've heard a lot about Sony's Home and about Microsoft's Live service, but now Nintendo of America's President, Reggie Fils-Aime, talked with GameTrailers about the importance of the online services for any console, especially for the Wii, where the WiiWare is striving to bring a lot of classic but also fresh content in order for gamers to be completely entertained by the small white console.
He went on to say that, when asked about the competition, his company held Microsoft's Xbox Live service as a benchmark, always trying to surpass it and deliver the best experience out there. “We've always looked at what they've been able to do from an Xbox Live standpoint. We constantly want to say 'What can we do to be better than Xbox Live?' I think that's certainly the best element of what they've been able to bring to bear.”
He also talked about the lack of high-quality, first-party titles on the WiiWare, as not a lot of franchises from the company's portfolio were arriving in download format for the small console. He brought forth an example, with the corporation's flagship properties, Mario and Zelda, and revealed that, because of their scope and quality, they wouldn't arrive on WiiWare. “When we're gonna work on a Mario title, we're gonna bring it to Wii or DS. The point is, we want truly innovative content to be first launched on WiiWare. That's awfully tough to do with a Mario title.”
Nintendo has already revealed a brand new Zelda game for the DS, entitled The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, and, with the promise of games taking the main stage at its own presentation at E3, it is plausible to expect a new Mario game to be announced.