Iwata Teases Possible Wii Storage Solution

Is Nintendo finally going to provide a solution for the Wii's minuscule storage space?

Speaking to investors at a briefing following the release of its year-end financials, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata dropped what sounds very much like a hint at a future fix:

"Statistically speaking, it is true that there are a small number of customers who feel that the flash memory is too small, while many others find that they have plenty of memory," he said.

"However, because this small number of people are none other than the most avid players, we know we have to review the best possible solution to eliminate their inconvenience."

Emphasis mine. Sounds like they're working on something. I'm certainly glad they still see value in keeping their "most avid players" happy.

There are another five pages of answers from Iwata in the briefing; a must-read for anyone who's been following the Wii saga.

I'll post some more notable quotables, with my responses, below.

Fire Emblem's current producer has been consulting with me, so my job for the Fire Emblem development team is to be the consultant to the producer of the game. The role of an "executive producer" has been changing with the times, and I imagine my involvement must be slightly different from how Mr. Yamauchi used to be involved.

Slightly? Yes, I also imagine that Iwata's involvement is ever-so-slightly different, insofar as he knows how to use a game controller.

Of course, we are preparing for a variety of software for the latter half of this year. However, we are now feeling that the speed at which new information is consumed and made obsolete has become quicker than ever. When I think of today’s situation as a consumer, when I am exposed to new information too early on, I find that I am already tired of it when the product is launched. This is one of the reasons why we would like to keep news at bay until we really have to disclose them.

It's like he reads my mind.

As for Virtual Console, Nintendo manages the process to make third party software ready for the download sales at Nintendo’s own business risks. This is because when we started the service, the future prospect of download sales on Wii hardware was totally unknown. Since Nintendo is shouldering a large portion of the business risks, we are also receiving proportionally larger margins.

Isn't that always how it goes: MTV's Patrick Klepek does all this investigative work to find this out, and Iwata spills the beans a day later. As it turns out, third parties simply license their catalogs to Nintendo, who decides what goes on Virtual Console. Upset that Mega Man isn't available yet? Blame Nintendo, not Capcom. Speaking of blaming Nintendo:

As for Virtual Console, there is a limit in offering new titles as we only have a limited number of past software titles produced for past systems. So, eventually, the day may come when we cannot offer any more
Virtual Console software.

Not at the rate you're going, buddy!

All I can say today is, it is not that easy to develop software which leverages the characteristics of 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. If we can, then (other company’s attempt to launch Wii Remote-like controller) should not be a big threat.

Important to keep in mind -- if Nintendo is having trouble developing games that make full use of the Wiimote, surely it would be more difficult for companies that aren't 100% focused on it, no?

Financial Results Briefing Q&A [Nintendo.co.jp]