Miyamoto: We underestimated cost of HD development
Software delays stem from Nintendo misjudging human resources needed for Wii U games
Last month, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata proclaimed that he doesn't much care what the competition is doing. The downside of such an approach might be that it's tougher to learn from competitors' mistakes. In a translated Q&A with investors published by Nintendo today, Nintendo senior managing director Shigeru Miyamoto explained that Wii U software delays have been aggravated by the demands of high-definition game development, a popular complaint among publishers after the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 launched in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
"When it comes to the scale of software development, Wii U with HD graphics requires about twice the human resources than before," Miyamoto said. "Please allow me to explain that we may have underestimated the scale of this change and as a result, the overall software development took more time than originally anticipated just as we tried to polish the software at the completion phase of development. However, we are almost out of this phase, and we are also trying to create something unique utilizing an easier development approach called 'Nintendo Web Framework.'"
In the same briefing, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also addressed reports that he would resign if Nintendo continued to post operating losses. Iwata said the reports came from people inferring meaning in his making a commitment to achieve 100 billion yen operating profits. Iwata denied that he said anything about resigning.
"I have put a lot of energy into thinking about how we can accomplish this performance goal, but comparatively I have not put much effort into considering what we should do if we fail to achieve it," Iwata said. "I also believe now is not the time to mention those things concretely. In that sense, I would like you to think that the word 'commitment,' which I used before, means we have the intention to put in our best effort and ensure that we achieve this goal."
This jump came many years back for other studios. Nintendo now has to go through the same growing pains of HD... that others have already resolved many years back!
I think part of this is because they are already maxed out at the location their development takes place at and they have a new building already under construction. But the construction of the new building didn't start until late last year.
So even if they wanted to expand to accommodate the increased volume of resources needed for for Wii U, they'd still have been very space limited. That would require a lot of outsourcing (which changes the way the development was initially conceived) or lease a lot of extra space (which is expensive in Kyoto due to already high occupancy rates).
Almost damned no matter what but better foresight would have still been advantageous.
Nintendo has some excellent software very near down the road for the Wii U, and the PS4's launch lineup includes very few exclusives. The big ones are Knack, Drive Club, and Killzone, which are hardly inspiring, even when compared to the Wii U's stumbling software release schedule. If I were a holiday shopper who had not bought any next gen console and I saw a PS4 with those 3 games (and a bunch of games I can play on my last gen systems) and a Wii U with NSMBU (and expansion), Nintendo Land, Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Sonic Lost World, Wind Waker HD, and almost all of the same multiplats, are you really going to make a value claim for $100 more on a PS4 with no packed in games (or $50 more if you get the Wii U with a pack in game)?
Next year, maybe, but this holiday? No, the Wii U still has better software than the PS4.
Unlike the "bale" we have seen at MS - Nintendo will "restructure" those too 'window-seats' responsible for the mess.
We need to consider the fact, that Nintendo may have been sold a bill of goods regarding the Wii-U - with certain US executives claiming the platform they proposed with Nintendo R&D would be suitable for the Gen-8 market.
While Japanese executives are not on the menu (according to a Iwata statement) I would not be surprised if the US management team will see some "restructuring"!
Nintendo is better doing its own thing that following in their footsteps.
Totally agree Nintendo is best as its own man - the company has that independent streak, reverting back to its toy and arcade days and is still profitable as it has not saddled itself with some of the 'Western' practices that see the vast debts that MS, and some of the publishers have encountered (including Sony).
Would not be surprised for Nintendo to pull back after the holidays and poor Wii-U take-up to re-evaluate their presence in the changed Gen-8 market (sit back and watch Sony and MS suffer), then come back 2015 with rumors of a new system.
A strong sign of that is when you hear someone from a company saying that they created something unique! (That you have seen in a number of other products already!) It is not always a marketing pitch. Many of them actually believe it!
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Yiannis Koumoutzelis on 7th July 2013 10:07pm
I think the WiiU has all the power and promise necessary for a great 'next gen' experience, Nintendo just need to make that a reality through investment in their software and strategy to match. There are hundreds of indie games coming to the system too, so a rework on policies in that area (and perhaps middle-ware too) really seems to have helped.
I don't think the console itself is a disaster, its just the way its been introduced to the market.
Would I be correct that you own a Wii-U or working on a game on that platform?
(analytically speaking, this sort of enthusiasm is something that most other companies can't get from me, the genuine feeling of wanting a game that badly)
Edited 2 times. Last edit by Tom Keresztes on 8th July 2013 2:52pm
If we were discussing MS Flight Simulator, granted, but we're not.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Andreia Quinta on 8th July 2013 2:24pm