- Title: Nintendo pins future on Switch, Mario
- Date: 15th June 2017
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) REGGIE FILS-AIME, NINTENDO PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, SAYING: "You know, for us, we really focus on the things that we do well. We're a content creation company. We have all of this fantastic intellectual property. We create systems that are for the mainstream and mass audience. We spend a lot of time making sure price points are accessible. So for us, what others do is up to them. We want to make sure that we're making our products as accessible as possible. We're making them as fun as possible. And now with our activities that we're doing with license merchandise with Universal Studios and all of these different ways that the consumer can interact with our intellectual property, that really sets us apart from all the other players in this video game space." VARIOUS OF MARIO GAME FIGURES MAN DRESSED AS MARIO POSING FOR PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) REGGIE FILS-AIME, NINTENDO PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, SAYING: "You know what makes Mario games special is that our developers have a unique element always in every single Mario game. And this year, with Super Mario Odyssey, it's the hat. It's the ability for Mario to throw a hat to capture another item and to essentially turn into that item, whether it's a Bullet Bill or Tyrannosaurus Rex and that gameplay mechanic makes it really special. And right now the reaction to that has been tremendous here at E3." VARIOUS OF SWITCH SIGNAGE NINTENDO SECTION OF E3 FLOOR
- Embargoed: 29th June 2017 03:28
- Keywords: Nintendo Switch Super Mario Odyssey game E3 Reggie Fils-Aime
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION
- Country: USA
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Video Games
- Reuters ID: LVA0046LDZ8UL
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Nintendo is pinning its success on Switch - that was apparent at Los Angeles's E3 gaming convention on Wednesday (June 14), where the vast majority of the company's massive spread was devoted to the new console.
Launched on March 3rd, Nintendo sold 2.7 million units in the first month. That's on track to meet their 10 million unit goal this year, according to president and chief operating officer Reggie Fils-Aime.
"If anything, the demand continues to exceed all of our expectations. It's exceeding the amount of supply that we're putting out in the marketplace. As we announce new games, like Super Mario Odyssey, the excitement continues to grow," said Fils-Aime.
One reason behind the Switch's strong start is that unlike its predecessor Wii U, the console has a long list of game titles from independent studios because Nintendo made the Switch compatible with publicly available game development platforms from the start.
But despite its openness with third parties this time around, Nintendo is relying heavily on a familiar face - Mario, who's been a video game staple since the early 1980s. Fils-Aime said there are no signs of fans getting bored of the cartoon plumber.
"What makes Mario games special is that our developers have a unique element always in every single Mario game. And this year, with Super Mario Odyssey, it's the hat. It's the ability for Mario to throw a hat to capture another item and to essentially turn into that item, whether it's a Bullet Bill or Tyrannosaurus Rex and that gameplay mechanic makes it really special. And right now the reaction to that has been tremendous here at E3."
Fils-Aime said he wasn't worried about competitor's consoles, like Microsoft's newly released Xbox One X that boast 4k capabilities.
"For us, what others do is up to them. We want to make sure that we're making our products as accessible as possible." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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