Nintendo sales chief: ‘Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be an immediate reason game fans will want to buy (the) NX’
Reports from Nintendo’s booth at this year’s E3 games show in Los Angeles describe a space dominated by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a long-in-the-making open world action/adventure game set to launch next year on both Wii U and Nintendo’s next dedicated gaming system, still code-named NX.
It’s perhaps surprising that the Japanese video game giant brought such a narrow focus to the conference, especially given evident plans to grow and diversify its products and properties. In addition to teasing the NX over the last year, Nintendo is continuing to grow its share of the world of toys and trading cards via its Amiibo platform, it recently launched its first mobile app, Miitomo (which is set to be followed by more mobile software in the coming months), and it announced mere weeks ago plans to get into the video production business.
In other words, there was plenty Nintendo could have talked about at E3 this year that it simply chose not to.
We had a chance to chat by phone with Nintendo of America’s executive vice-president of sales, Scott Moffitt, who was still patrolling the conference’s show floor at the Los Angeles Convention Center when we reached him Thursday afternoon.
The sales chief explained why The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was chosen as Nintendo’s primary focus for this year’s show, outlined his company’s three-pillar strategy to expand its consumer base, and stated that we can expect to learn a lot more about the NX in coming months.
Post Arcade: Last year Nintendo’s E3 was focused on content. There were loads of games on the way, lots of new Amiibo announcements, and Splatoon had just been released. This year you seem to have focused especially on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and, to a lesser degree, two new Pokemon games. Is the reduced software showcase indicative of the looming transition to new hardware?
Scott Moffitt: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a game that deserves this level of focus. You’re right, it is our primary game we’re showing this year, and it’s just spectacular. For a game that immense and exciting we thought it deserved this sort of stage, and, frankly, this level of focus.
I wouldn’t characterize our 3DS lineup as weak or soft. We actually have a massive launch with Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, coming later this year. And we also have Yo-Kai Watch 2, Monster Hunter Generations, and Mario Party Star Rush. There’s a good range of content for a variety of styles of play. It’s a very strong lineup.
So we focused on Zelda, but it would be a mistake to let the other titles get lost in the shuffle. We are talking about them with our retail partners and other folks here at the show. But we wanted to give Zelda our focus because we thought it was a game that deserved it.
Looking back at the lifetime sales of Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, both of which have ebbed and flowed over the years, what are some of the lessons Nintendo has learned in this generation that it will apply to its strategy with future products?
First, it’s really important to have the right content. Software drives hardware. We’ve proven that multiple times. The right game can really lift a system. With The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild being among the titles we’re working on for NX, we’re very excited it will be an immediate reason game fans will want to buy the hardware.
Second, it’s important to have clear positioning for your proposition and be able to explain it to consumers in a simple and easy way. Those are among the things that we are working on for NX.
Third, we need to showcase all the things that make Nintendo great. When we bring out a title it has to be of exceptional quality, it has to be fun, it has to be an immersive experience, and put a smile on families’ faces. As long as we stay true to those things, we’ll deliver what we want.
And certainly there are other factors, like third-party content. Our mission is to create the largest install base possible so that third-party developers will want to bring their content to our systems.
Nintendo is transitioning from being a purely games company to one with a more diverse portfolio of products and services. As sales chief, where do you see the company’s primary revenue streams originating in the coming years?
The backbone of our company is our dedicated games and systems. That includes the hardware, which means 3DS, NX, and Wii U for the time being, and all of our IP. What you’re seeing happen with various announcements we’ve made is a slightly different stance on what we’ve always tried to do, which is expand the gaming population.
We’re trying to take advantage of other means for consumers to engage with our IP more broadly and more frequently. For example, the launch of Miitomo on mobile along with the upcoming mobile apps for Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing will allow gamers who haven’t had a dedicated Nintendo gaming device in the past to experience these franchises, see their charm and the quality, and then hopefully migrate down the road to play the immersive full-game experience on our dedicated game systems.
The expansion of our licensed goods business is a way for our existing fans to engage with our IP in a different way, in a more frequent way. And it’s the same with our entertainment pillar, the third direction we’ve been pushing, which is expanding into other forms of entertainment.
All three areas of expansion are intended to allow consumers to engage with our IP more broadly, more deeply, and more frequently, all with the intent of bringing them back to the business that matters most to us, which is our core games business.
Disney Infinity’s demise may have led some to worry about the health of the toys-to-life industry. Amiibo certainly began as a major success story for Nintendo, but are they still performing well?
Amiibo has been a very strong new platform for us. With the expansion into Amiibo cards last year it brought a new form to the toys to-life category. And Amiibo continue to perform well for us. So far this year Amiibo is actually leading the toys-to-life category in sales. We’re still focused on this category. We’re bringing out new Amiibo, enhancing the gameplay, and providing game fans tons of fun new ways to play. We will continue to be committed to growing that part of the business. We want to bring new ideas, and we have a strong slate of Amiibo coming this year. It’s become one of the most collectible collectibles in the gaming industry.
When families ask me for a console recommendation I often endorse Wii U, explaining that Nintendo has more exclusives and more family friendly content than pretty much any other platform. But it’s harder for me to make the case for older players looking to pick up a new console who want to play more than just the games Nintendo makes. What’s happening with Nintendo’s major third-party partners, both right now and in the future with NX?
That’s a great question, and one that we give a lot of thought to. There’s a tendency for people to focus on certain publishers or certain titles. But when you step back and take a look at it, we have great publisher relationships with companies like Ubisoft – which had some exciting announcements this week – Capcom, and Warner Bros. They have been strong and will continue to be strong partners in the future.
Having said that, what will attract even more partners to our platform — which, of course, is something we’d like to do — is having a piece of hardware that provides interesting ways for these companies to bring their game creations to life, one that’s easy to program and work on, and that has a large enough install base of game fans that are looking for a variety of content.
So, for an avid gamer a game like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of those that you can’t not play. It’s a new high point for the franchise that offers gamers incredible freedom. Your gaming arsenal will not be complete without a Nintendo system and this game in your house.
I’m looking at the Wii U’s calendar of upcoming games and I don’t see much other than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. How much longer will Nintendo support Wii U with new first-party software now that the NX is on the horizon?
We’ve announced that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be coming out on both Wii U and the NX. Released at the same time for both. But it’s not the only game we’re working on and have in development for Wii U. This week we’re showing Paper Mario: Color Splash, a fantastic new game in the Paper Mario series. We’re also showing Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, and we have content coming from Ubisoft and others.
And the library of games on Wii U for fans who haven’t played them all has never been more affordable thanks to the Nintendo Select line of games priced at $19.99, which continues to grow. There’s certainly plenty of content for existing Wii U owners, but there’s plenty of reasons for people who’ve never owned the console to grab one now while they last. We will be transitioning production to NX, so our message to fans is to grab a Wii U while you can, because they won’t be around forever.
I suspect I know the answer to this last question already, but I have to ask: When can we expect to learn more about the NX?
There will be more information coming out later this year. We certainly understand everyone’s desire and interest to learn more. We can’t wait to tell you all about it. But E3 was not the time. We wanted to focus our efforts on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of Fire, and also on Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, a fantastic new experience in that franchise. But later this year you can expect to get more information on NX.
