Wii Channels Part 1 - Fun For the Entire Family Part 2 - Redefining the Game-User Relationship Part 3 - Wii As A Shared Space For All The Family Part 4 - Aiming For Worldwide Mii Communication Part 5 - A Fresh Way To View Your Photos Part 6 - Sharing Ideas, Influencing Each Other # Satoru Iwata President and CEO, Nintendo Co., Ltd. # Takashi Aoyama Integrated Research and Development Division, Product Development Department Development Group No. 4 # Tomoaki Kuroume Entertainment Analysis and Development Division Software Development Department, Users Interface and Effects Group # Kenichiro Ashida Integrated Research and Development Division Product Development Department, Development Group No. 4 Part 1 - Fun For the Entire Family Iwata: Lying at the heart of Wii are the "Channels", a concept unexplored by any other console. I'd now like to discuss the background behind their development, but rather than start by discussing individual Channels, I've gathered three of the people who helped to lay the foundations of this project. Gentlemen, please introduce yourselves briefly. Starting with you, Aoyama-san. Aoyama: Thank you. I manage a development group within IRD. Although this division is normally responsible for the development of hardware, my particular group is in charge of developing the equivalent of what would be called the OS on a PC. Iwata: Here at Nintendo, this is what we call the IPL, or Initial Program Loader, isn't it? Aoyama: That's right. I was in charge of the team that decided what IPL features and system functions would be contained within Wii. Iwata: I'll ask about your team in a little more detail shortly. In the meantime, Kuroume-san, please introduce yourself Kuroume: Certainly. I oversee the user interfaces of all software in EAD. In short, I'm responsible for the software menus and user interface design. Iwata: In other words, if someone is creating some kind of menu, they'll come and talk to you. You've also handled the startup screens of a number of consoles, haven't you? Kuroume: Yes. Wii is the third one I've worked on after the GameCube and Nintendo DS. Iwata: So, your job is to deal with the first screen that is displayed when you start up the console. Finally, Tamaki-san. Tamaki: I was in charge of the direction of the Wii menus and the "WiiConnect24" project. I also helped manage projects concerning system functions. Iwata: You were conceptualising Nintendo's next console release well before the Wii project officially started, right? It might be fair to say that you've experienced more Wii presentations, both internal and external, than anyone else! Tamaki: You're probably right! (laughs) Iwata: Broadly speaking, you three are the core members of the IPL project, which determined what kind of functions would be contained in the console. First, however, it might be somewhat confusing for readers accustomed to existing game consoles to understand what we mean by a "system function", so Aoyama-san, could you please give us a brief explanation? Aoyama: Certainly. When talking about the IPL, it might help to imagine the screen displayed by the Nintendo DS immediately after it starts up. Software inserted in a Nintendo DS won't load right away. Instead, the user will be taken to a menu where they can choose to load a Nintendo DS title, a Game Boy Advance title, or the pre-installed PictoChat program. This kind of system software, used to start other programs, is known to us as an IPL, or Initial Program Loader. As I said earlier, it's equivalent to a computer's OS, containing system settings such as the clock etc. For all systems up to and including the GameCube, IPLs worked in the background, and were simply used to start up software or configure the system. With the DS, however, because it included the "PictoChat" software, the user became more aware of the IPL's existence. So, it might benefit the reader to think of the Wii IPL as a greatly expanded version of the DS's Iwata: In other words, the Wii console itself has a variety of built-in functions. We created a cross-departmental team to determine each and every one of these functions, didn't we? Aoyama: Yes, Wii's system functions could not be clearly defined as strictly "software" or "hardware", so we assembled as many as 25 experts from a whole host of divisions, and... well, we had meeting after meeting. Iwata: I also did my best to attend the meetings. When was it they started Aoyama: It must have been around October of last year. The development of Wi-Fi Connection was coming to an end, and until then, the system function issue had been discussed independently by each division. We thought of bringing order to this discussion by making it into an official company project. That's how the meetings started. Iwata: Aoyama-san, you were appointed leader of this project. How did you feel when you were given this responsibility? Aoyama: Well, I remember thinking to myself, "this is going to be tough!" All: (laughter) Aoyama: Not only was it without precedent, we were faced with the formidable prospect of discussing the very framework behind this concept from the ground up. Later, when it was decided that Wii would "never sleep", then we had to discuss what such a console should be able to do, and immediately came across the problem of providing tangible services, and establishing a network infrastructure and servers. Iwata: What specific task were you assigned when the project started? Aoyama: Umm... what was it now? (laughs) Er, well, I always had a hundred different things on my mind, so umm... I can't really say anymore! (laughs) Iwata: Oh, really? (laughs) Tamaki-san, Kuroume-san, how about you? Tamaki: My first task? Let's see... There was a heck of a lot going on back then, wasn't there? All: (laughter) Tamaki: I mean, I remember us all talking about what we wanted to do, but my very first task...? Iwata: (laughs) Kuroume-san, how about you? Kuroume: I haven't a clue anymore All: (laughter) Iwata: Well, let's just say that you finally settled upon the current features after a lot of hard thought. (laughs) Kuroume-san, you've worked on a number of IPLs. What is it that sets Wii's system functions, now called "Channels", apart from previous consoles? Kuroume: Needless to say, when I started working on the Channels I had absolutely no idea what form they would eventually take. With the Nintendo DS, I clearly remember struggling to identify strictly what must be and can be included and to cut out all the other features. For Wii, however, I had to organize the features without knowing where any of this would lead. The only thing I really understood was how big a responsibility this was! All: (laughter) Kuroume: Going back to the initial days of development, I remember receiving a variety of proposals from Tamaki-san. He'd be saying, "make it something like this", or "perhaps you should do that"... He was always so passionate in his advice! (laughs) Iwata: So, Tamaki, you're very "passionate"? (laughs) Tamaki: Man, this is so embarrassing! (laughs) Iwata: Nonsense! I think your passion contributed greatly to the Wii project. Share with us some of your initial suggestions. Tamaki: Well, this is going back a bit, but when I first entered the company I often said that I wanted to make the sort of games you could play with your grandmother. I had an image of games not feeling out of place in the living room. Of course, this could have been around the fireplace, at the dining table, the coffee table, or anywhere. I just wanted to make a game that would be fun for the entire family. Recently, I've found myself sitting all alone, starting up a game and feeling a bit cut off from the world. I wanted to change this. That is, I wanted to make gaming a little less lonely. In my mind, the Wii Remote belongs on the coffee table. I spent a long time discussing with a whole range of people about what we could do to achieve this. For the system function project, we were discussing a similar vision Iwata: In the meetings to determine the system functions, where did your discussions actually begin? Kuroume: We started by talking about everything! (laughs) One of the things we had to sort out was deciding what kind of style was best for character input. So we tried out the system used in Animal Crossing, we tried displaying an entire keyboard on-screen, and we even tried a mobile phone-style keyboard... Tamaki: We also talked endlessly about technological issues, such as the simple question of whether we could get the IPL to start up faster, didn't we? Like, how many seconds could we save on a certain screen, that kind of talk. Aoyama: As we talked, the concept of "fun for the entire family" gradually took form in our minds. We didn't want any member of the family to feel left out, either through not understanding the Wii or feeling it had nothing to do with them. An all-too-common trend in gaming is for the user to play a game they like for hours and hours until they complete it, and then never touch it again. This was something we wanted to avoid. Tamaki: A game won't be accessible to all the family if it's only one family member playing it all the time. At the end of the day, the other members of the family who aren't playing never get a chance to be drawn into the action. Aoyama: Therefore, our working concepts were "fun for the entire family", and "a console that will be used every day". We tried to make sure that our discussions never strayed far from these concepts Iwata: Can you remember which of the current features was the first to take shape? Kuroume: I can't be absolutely sure that this was the first feature to take shape, but I remember that the Forecast Channel was finished in order to clearly show that Wii would be on 24/7. You wake up in the morning, switch on Wii and the weather forecast will be updated. This was an invaluable resource in explaining Wii to people unfamiliar with the concept. Iwata: The News and Forecast Channels certainly convey our "entire family" and "something new every day" messages in an understandable way. So, next I'd like to ask how the individual Channels came into being. Part 2 - Redefining the Game-User Relationship Iwata: Development started on Wii's Channels even before their ultimate form had been fully conceived. How did they come to take their present shape? Kuroume: The more system function meetings that we held, the more ideas that were raised. Of course, a lot of ideas were discussed in those meetings, but we'd also bring a lot of them back to our respective departments and brainstorm further, thereby coming up with even better ideas. Looking at these ideas in relation to the "fun for the entire family" concept we mentioned earlier, we realised that it would be difficult to cater to an entire family with a single piece of software, or with a single approach. That's when we decided to incorporate a large variety of features. Iwata: In retrospect, that seems very obvious, doesn't it? If you want more people to use your console, then you've got to provide them with more features. The drawback, however, is that it's harder to present everything in an understandable manner, isn't it? Kuroume: Exactly. What we wanted to avoid when we incorporated more features was making things harder to understand. One thing that really clicked in our minds when we were talking over how to make things more understandable was the image of rows of TVs in an electronics shop. Lots of screens, lots of channels, all lined up. This is easy to understand and exciting on a really simple level. This gave rise to our Menu Screen, which consists of rows of panes. Iwata: Is that when you decided to use the term "Channel"? Kuroume: We decided to use the term "Channel" at about the same time we decided upon the panes. We were having some difficulty in pulling together all the different ideas suggested to us by each department. In fact, we were more or less at a dead end. And then someone proposed that we try lining them all up. Right then, someone casually said, neither as a complement nor as a criticism, "That's a TV channel," and that's when it clicked. I mean, at that moment, the atmosphere was electric. When I first heard the word "channel", it enveloped the whole idea, even though I wasn't fully aware of its appeal. Looking back, I think this is when I first realised that these "panes" would play a leading role in our interface. Iwata: That's always how it happens when a decision is made, isn't it? Someone makes an offhand comment, and it instantly takes root, especially when you're having trouble coming up with an idea. Kuroume: Yes, that's exactly how the decision was made. Iwata: Looking at the panes used for the Wii Channels, developed with such difficulty, the creators' attitude can be clearly seen in the way that the three rows of four Channels are treated equally. Normally with a console, you would want to make the "Disc Drive" Channel for a game inserted in the drive larger than all the other Channels, wouldn't you? Kuroume: Absolutely. Given that Nintendo's core-business has traditionally been making games, some might consider it strange that the "Forecast", "News" and "Game" Channels are given equal weight. Our team, however, had few doubts about this. The main reason I can give for our conviction was the "fun for the entire family" concept. Another big factor was that the Nintendo DS had been well received by so many people. Iwata: The release of the Nintendo DS was based on our own beliefs concerning what people wanted, and the DS clearly resonated well with consumers. This success spurred us on to form our next set of beliefs about the market for Wii. Kuroume: Yes, the Nintendo DS proved that it's okay to have a variety of software, rather than just conventional games. This proved to be a major consideration when creating Wii's Menu screen. We felt that people who want to play games should be able to do so, while people who are interested in other features should be able to enjoy those Channels. Aoyama: This vision was pursued with absolute conviction, at least by the people that attended those system function meetings. It's true, however, that there was initially a divergence of opinion with some members of the company who hadn't yet had access to all this information. Whenever that happened, Tamaki-san would scramble into action to shed some light on our vision using that "passion" of his! (laughs) All: (laughter) Tamaki: Well, of course, it was difficult for them to tell just how interesting the individual Forecast or News Channels would be by simply looking at the completed Menu screen. I guess this reaction was only natural. I mean, looking at just the news or weather on their own, you will question how interesting they'll be, won't you? Iwata: In actual fact, the Forecast and News Channels include ideas unique to the Wii. We'll explain these another time though. One obvious argument against these Channels was that the news and weather can be checked using a computer. Some people said that Wii was becoming more like a PC than a games console. What conclusions did you draw from this? Tamaki: This kind of overlaps with what Kuroume-san said earlier, but I was very aware of the fact that people obviously have a wide variety of interests. Looking at Nintendo DS software sales alone, you can see that while non-conventional games such as "Brain Age" are flying off the shelves, more conventional games like RPGs are also selling well. To be honest, we did contemplate making the Disc Channel button stand out more when we first started planning the Wii Menu screen, but in the end, we felt that this kind of thinking was too orthodox. It's no different from the logic stating that if you release a top-class game, everyone will play it. However, we hoped that by equipping Wii with a variety of features catering to a host of people, then Wii could be the point where all these overlapping interests would converge. I think we ended up with the broad principle that the Menu should be full of variety, since the age and interests of each family member also vary. That said, I'm not sure that everyone would agree with me, but when deciding upon the features, however, we were completely confident in our conclusions. Aoyama: Rather than us being uniquely far-sighted, I think we were simply fortunate enough to have had the chance to develop this concept before anyone else. Speaking personally, Wii has changed my preconceptions of what a console can do, and I am convinced it will change other people's preconceptions, too. Being a collection of experiments, Wii may initially bewilder people, even make them feel uneasy. But when these people actually try it out for themselves, it will soon seem natural. Perhaps Wii is more about "experiencing", rather than "understanding"? Iwata: Perhaps some people will take longer to get used to Wii than others. Kuroume-san, when were you convinced that you had come to the right conclusion? Kuroume: When was I convinced...? I'm not sure if this will answer your question, but at some point in the future, I'd like to try designing a completely new Channel for Wii myself. When I first felt this urge, well, I think that's when I first felt confident about Wii's Channels. Iwata: Because you've got such a wonderful box, you want to make something to put in it. Kuroume: Exactly, that's the kind of process we're talking about. Wii's Channels won't end with the first 12. Up to 48 channels can be added at the moment, meaning that the user will be able to download more Channels. Iwata: We could have gone on creating Channels forever, so we eventually had to draw the line somewhere. But we've actually got a number of great Channel ideas in the pipeline already, don't we? Kuroume: Yes, we're still holding planning meetings and still talking about what we can do. I think this is only possible because of our confidence in Wii's Channels. Iwata: So, with that, I'd like to ask a question to you all. Which of the existing Channels appeals to you the most? Starting with you, Tamaki-san. Tamaki: Hmm... Well, it's not yet the official name, but I personally like the so-called Shopping Channel. Put simply, this Channel allows the user to purchase a variety of software via their Wii, starting with Virtual Console titles. In other words, they'll be able to purchase titles that they may have played on past Nintendo systems, like the NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64. It's conceivable that Wii-dedicated software will eventually be available, too, and I personally feel that this Channel will pave the way for a new kind of game development. In fact, there's a phrase that Iwata-san mentioned before that caught my attention; it was the issue of "price variety." Iwata: Ah... software prices Tamaki: Yes, your idea of having various software prices. Iwata: Well, allow me to explain, since this is something I started. Basically, I want to expand the range of prices at which games are sold. For example, Nintendo's approach until about 5 years ago, was to generally sell software at prices around MSRP of 4800 yen for handheld games and about a MSRP of 6800 yen for home console games. Now I think that this approach might have been wrong. Frankly speaking, if all home console titles are sold at a MSRP of 6800 yen, then a simple game like Tetris would never see the light of day on this format. I mean, I don't think our customers would shell out up to 6800 yen just for Tetris. So, can we justify selling Tetris at this price by adding thirty new game modes, or by adding some fancy movies? In short, we can't, and that's a problem. Another issue was, development costs naturally vary depending on the size of the team and time period needed to develop a game, and money people are willing to pay for a game varies depending on the total play time and difficulty level, but the game price points were more or less the same all the time. Of course, some people think that the price of software should decrease over time. However, long-term price cuts aside, if you lower the price of your software in too short of a cycle, people who have already purchased that software will feel cheated. This is something I want to avoid. In that sense, I feel it would be better for softwares to be released at a range of prices that's appropriate for the software right from the start. Nevertheless, you'll never be able to set a price lower than the standard if you try to sell a game using existing means of distribution. That is, as long as this is a business in which you have the added cost of making ROMs and discs to sell. Shops won't make a profit if you make your title too cheap, meaning that they won't stock it, and at the very least, the maker can't set the price lower than the cost of the media format. There are little games which are great fun but don't take long to complete. As things stand, it's impossible to, for example, sell these for 1000 yen. These ideas just die on the vine, and I've always wondered if there might be some way to save them. Although we're currently trying to introduce a variety of MSRP prices into the Nintendo DS line-up, this is really something that I've been talking about within the company for a while, isn't it? Tamaki: Yes. To be honest, I only came to understand this way of thought when I started working on Wii's system functions. But like we've said, when you think of the variety of individuals that make up a family, and their range of interests, you understand that variations in price are only natural. There are people who won't hesitate to purchase expensive products because they like them, and there are people who will scour flyers and coupons everyday for a good deal. Just as it's only natural for people to frequent different kinds of restaurants, it's only natural for products to be sold at a range of prices. The Shopping Channel is full of potential in the sense that it will allow us to sell software and expand our user-base, outside the bounds of the traditional software pricing framework. Needless to say, products distributed by conventional channels of distribution are still important. However, if the Shopping Channel makes it possible for simple ideas and small experimental titles to be sold at a lower price, I think this would greatly expand the possibilities of what developers can Iwata: It's even conceivable that we'll take titles that have been popular on the Shopping Channel and further polish them up to be sold as a packaged software with the MSRP accepted in the existing distribution channels. Talking of potential, we may even be able to create an opportunity for amateur developers where they can release games that they have made, although this will be hard to do in the immediate future. The mechanics of the games industry at the moment doesn't allow games to be sold unless they're widely advertised by major publishers to earn greater profit. This seals off gateways into the game industry for new talents. Tamaki: That's right. Maybe the Shopping Channel will open up some doors Iwata: I see. Kuroume-san, tell us what Channel appeals to you. Kuroume: I'm quite intrigued by the Internet Channel. This Channel allows you to view the internet using a browser called Opera. I feel that being able to browse the internet via your TV is quite a big deal. While you might still read blogs using a computer, the fact that you can quickly look up something that catches your attention while watching TV is very convenient. Iwata: Certainly. I think the convenience that stems from being able to use the internet while watching TV is something which depends on the environment of the user. For example, for someone living alone, they might very well say that they're already doing this, since it's quite common for their TVs and computers to be located close to each other. Even someone living with their family can use the internet while watching TV if they have a laptop connected to a wireless network in their living room. Bearing all this in mind, the potential I see in the Internet Channel lies in the fact that the internet, which has until now been viewed alone, can now be viewed by everyone. With a computer, even if you have people peering over your shoulder to see the screen, the limit is pretty much two, with four or more people looking at the same screen being totally out of the question. With the Wii, which is connected to the living room TV, families will be able to enjoy the internet together. I don't know what lies ahead, but I think this has the potential to change the way we live. Kuroume: In the end, all of the proposals we made for Wii were related to lifestyle choices, redefining the relationship between people and their consoles. I believe that all the thought and effort we've put into developing the system functions is ultimately related to this. Iwata: I agree. And finally, Aoyama-san, what Channel are you keeping your eyes on? Aoyama: I also think that Opera's browser is shaping up nicely. That and the Wii Message Board, although this is, strictly speaking, not a Channel. Iwata: Ah, we must talk about that as well! Part 3 - Wii As A Shared Space For All The Family Iwata: Let's discuss the Wii Message Board. Tamaki-san, you are the most familiar with the presentations on this topic, so could you please explain what the Wii Message Board allows you to do? Tamaki: At the risk of oversimplifying, it is a system that allows messages and memos to be posted on the calendar. It can therefore be used without even being connected to the network. At its most basic, it is a place you can write memos. For instance, a mother might simply stick a message like "The snacks are over there!" onto the Wii Message Board. It's basically like sticking a message on the door of the fridge. You enter these messages in the calendar on whatever day you want. Messages from the game you're playing can also be put on the Message Board. For example, if you're playing "Animal Crossing", a message like "Concert next Saturday in town" will automatically be posted on the Message Board. The user doesn't even have to be playing the game. Or take a game like "Brain Age". You could post your results on the Message Board: "Today, your brain age is 50!", or something like that. I envision the Message Board helping everyone in the family communicate with each other. These days, because everyone is so busy, it is becoming more and more difficult for people to take the time to sit around the table and chat. That's where the Wii Message Board comes in. Even when families can't spend time together because everyone is always coming and going, a quick look at the Wii Message Board will allow the family members to feel the presence of the others, even if only slightly. You know, the father has maybe gone out after work, but when he gets home he can see that his wife has been keeping up the "Brain Age". I really hope Wii will prove useful in providing chances for this type of interaction between family members. Iwata: We wanted to make it collect memories over time, recording what different family members have done. Tamaki: That's right. We really wanted it to be a console that would store your personal memories, something that people could grow attached to. At first, we thought of having the Message Board and the Calendar as separate functions, but we realized that the end result would be closer to what we originally had in mind if the messages were recorded on the Message Board. That's how we came up with the concept of having memos and messages stored according to date, which is how it is now. As its design is very simple, you can even use it like a diary by just filling in the day's events, and your game records are entered automatically too. It is a tool for preserving memories as well as linking family members together in an inconspicuous way. And it's not all one-way: the console is also capable of interacting with the user. That's the concept we had when creating the Wii Message Board, but what we've spoken about up to now is just its offline functionality, when Wii is not connected to the network. Once the console is online, it can also be used to share all sorts of information with friends. That isn't to say, however, that all of your information is available to other people. I should just stress the point, in case anyone gets the wrong idea, that this network basically works in the same way as the one for "Animal Crossing" on DS. That is, connection is not possible unless both users register each other. That means there won't be any unwanted communication from strangers, like harassment or suspicious spam messages. Iwata: It can be fun to be connected to the network, but it can be stressful or frightening if you are interacting with people you don't know. Tamaki: Exactly. Basically, we've designed it so that you can exchange information with your registered friends. I'll give an example of the kind of information that could be exchanged. Let's say someone buys a new game. When they switch on their console, a question could appear on the screen: "Do you want to let your friends know you have bought this game?" If you select "Yes", the message "X has bought the game Y!" will pop up on your friends' Message Boards. You can send messages like that from within the game, or you can make your own message to send to your friends. Actually, the example I just gave is still under discussion and has not been finalized yet. But I think it gives you an idea of the kinds of things that would be possible. Aoyama: It's not a system like email, designed for constantly exchanging messages. However, we hope it will allow a relaxed style of interaction, allowing the user to feel that there are other people out there, connected to the net. Tamaki: On top of that, with the Wii Message Board, users can exchange game data or screenshots. Emails can also be exchanged between mobile phones and Wii. Sorry to keep using families for all the examples...! (laughs) But imagine the father is working late at the office. His family can send him messages via Wii from the living room. Then he could reply by sending a photo. We'd like people to think of Wii as allowing them to feel they are connected, in a loose, relaxed way, with their friends and family. Kuroume: With the Wii Message Board, people can see that there are other people out there. It allows friends who might be far apart to be aware of what the other is doing. Tamaki: That's it. We thought that this kind of loose, relaxed connection was ideal. Since the Wii Message Board uses WiiConnect24, that loose connection can be maintained round the clock. I'd love it if users turned on their Wii, just like they turn on the TV, thinking "I wonder if there's anything good on..." Iwata: I see. I think you have explained the Message Board's features pretty thoroughly! Anything else to add? Tamaki: No! (laughs) Iwata: In a way, I feel that the Wii Message Board is the most complex aspect of the console, and which has the most unexplored possibilities. I have a feeling there are a huge number of applications which we just haven't come up with yet. Tamaki: I would agree with that. Iwata: Precisely because of those unexplored possibilities and its vast potential, the Wii Message Board has not been limited to being just one of the Wii Channels. We decided to keep it separate from the Menu Screen, didn't we? Kuroume: That's right. Initially, we included the Wii Message Board along with the other Channels in the Menu Screen panes. However, the Message Board has so many applications, and it can be used along with all the other Channels, so we thought it would be slightly misleading to line it up alongside the other Channels. In the end, to represent the way that the Message Board is working behind the scenes of the other Channels, we designed it so it would appear by sliding the entire screen. This means that when you turn on Wii, it's very quick and simple to see the Message Board. Iwata: Thinking about this function, it might have seemed more obvious to make it an e-mail option rather than a Message Board. So why did you decide to go for the Message Board? Kuroume: We spoke about it earlier, but the reason lies with the kind of communication we were aiming at. Rather than individual users directly exchanging email-style messages, we thought it much better to have a message board which lets users notify others of their presence. Something Tamaki-san spoke about from the start was the idea of a noticeboard in a university campus. When I heard him say that, I got it right away. That's why at the start we experimented with using a wood-grain design for the Message Board, or having the messages attached with a pin. In the end, though, we decided to make the Message Board match the overall design scheme. Tamaki: Something which people often ask when they first see the Message Board is whether we couldn't have made it so that you can specify which member of the family the message is for. In other words, wouldn't it be better if each family member could have their own Message Board? However, the fundamental concept was to make the Wii Message Board more like a mailbox with several postcards in it than the inbox on a personal mobile phone. When you look in the mailbox you can see how many postcards have arrived, and you can see, for example, that "This one's for Dad!" All: (laughter) Tamaki: That becomes another opportunity for communication. The son or daughter goes to the mailbox and brings the postcards into the living room. On the way there, they casually glance at it and see that it is an invitation to a school reunion addressed to their father. Maybe they'll think, "Wow, Dad was young once too!" Of course, we had a fair number of discussions internally about, for instance, whether the whole family should be able to read messages from friends. But what we were aiming for was not an e-mail function. The idea of users having their own private space on Wii clashed with the overall concept of the console. That's why we did away with using the word "mail" altogether and decided to stick to the Message Board. Kuroume: If we chose to, we could allow each family member to have their own account. But that just isn't what Wii is about. To give a very straightforward example, we're aiming at a console for everyone to use, but if we allowed everyone to have their own account, you would need to enter a password to use the console. To switch on Wii and be presented with a screen asking for your user name and password...well for me, that would have been unacceptable. In discussions, pretty much everyone agreed on this point. Iwata: I think that's right. Everyone felt it would go against what Wii stands for. After all, the whole company was straining to get the console up and running as fast as possible after the power is switched on. If we had put in a screen asking for user names and passwords...well, that would have been out of the question... Aoyama: Besides, everyone would see you entering your password on the TV anyway! All: (laughter) Iwata: That's why the more we thought about it, the more clear it was: Wii is a shared space for all the family. I think that some really fun stuff will come out of it precisely because it is shared by everyone, family and friends alike. Tamaki: Just as we want the Wii Remote to sit on the coffee table for everyone to share, and just like your favorite Channel and your mother's favorite Channel are found on the same menu, we want the Wii Message Board to be somewhere where the family can easily share and exchange ideas. Everyone's entries in the calendar will go from being future plans, to becoming everyone's memories. With a device like that in the living room, I hope people will say "Wii is just like a member of the family!" All: (laughter) Iwata: Listening to the discussion reminded me of another function which was discussed in a similar manner, and about which similar conclusions were reached: the "Play History". People tend to be very surprised when shown this function. Kuroume-san, can you tell us more about this? Kuroume: Sure, it's really quite simple. Wii automatically records details of what game was played, when and for how long. This is called the Play History. There's nothing controversial about that, but what did cause discussion was the fact that the Play History cannot be deleted. It's not that we couldn't change it if we wanted to, but at the moment it is not possible to delete it. Iwata: I think it's best if I give a little background for this one. I've said this countless times already, but when developing Wii, I thought constantly about what we could do to stop games being regarded with hostility in the family. So I came up with a suggestion, perhaps a rather outlandish one! (laughs) What I thought was that if a parent said that their child was only allowed to play games for one hour a day, how about making it so the console actually turns itself off after an hour? I realize the head of a games company shouldn't think things like that! (laughs) All: (laughter) Iwata: Of course, the console would save the game data before it switched itself off! Even so, it's a pretty extreme solution...but I was actually serious! (laughs) I knew it sounded awful! But it's only by throwing out wild suggestions that real debate is sparked, and new ideas are born. At least I think there's value in being aware of that during discussions. Those discussions were, predictably enough, rather heated! (laughs) Some people were adamantly opposed to the idea, while others thought that without such an extreme solution, mothers would always hate computer games. Aoyama: It was a nightmare! I don't just mean the discussions, but also the technical difficulties involved... Iwata: Yes, it must have been. Especially since it was an order from the president! (laughs) I asked them to carry out research on whether it was possible for the console to save all the data after an hour, and what would happen when the console was turned on the next day. They explained to me in great detail how many difficulties the whole enterprise would present. They also told me that there were better ways to achieve the same goal than making the console switch itself off. That's why I eventually gave up on the idea! All: (laughter) Kuroume: What finally came out of those discussions was the idea for a Play History, which recorded the total time a particular game had been played. Rather than the console turning itself off automatically to ensure it is not played for more than an hour a day, it seemed much better to allow parents to use the Play History to discuss with their children how much they are using the console. The decision to make it impossible to delete this data was a separate subject for debate. Aoyama: Even if a kid wakes up in the middle of the night and sneaks down to play games, that will show up on the Play History! (laughs) Tamaki: Ultimately, the Play History fulfils the function of telling parents how long their kids have been playing, as well as being an interesting talking point. It's just really fun for users to be able to see the record of how long they played. That's why we decided to make the Play History impossible to reset. You can imagine users saying: "I didn't realize I'd been playing that game so much!"... Or, in the future, we could make it possible to plot on a graph how much you've played. Also, with users' cooperation, we could compile data on which game was the most played that year. I think all of these kinds of fun ideas show that it was better to make the Play History into a permanent record. Iwata: It all started from my rather outlandish suggestion, but we ended up with a lot of worthwhile ideas. Although I'm sure the idea got up some people's noses... All: (laughter) Iwata: To wrap things up, if there is anything you find particularly appealing about the Channels that we haven't yet discussed, now's your chance. Kuroume: Well, on the Wii Menu Screen where the Channels are listed, each Channel icon has its own unique and exciting animation. However, these animations do not necessarily stay the same. Some Channels will have a different animation depending on the circumstances. For example, the icon of the Forecast Channel might show that it is going to be sunny and 28 degrees today, so if you just want to know about today's weather, you can easily tell by looking at the icon. These things, I think, are a part of Wii's unique appeal. Tamaki: This is a bit technical, but by using the + and - Buttons on the Wii Remote, the user can scroll through the Channels without having to return to the main Menu Screen every time. Each Channel actually has its own particular chime which sounds when you switch to that Channel. This means that simply flicking through the Channels becomes fun! (laughs) It's as if the Channels are welcoming you! We've put a lot of Channels on Wii and I think we surprised even ourselves by how much we were able to accomplish. I think just flicking between the Channels looking for something interesting is great fun, and I want as many people as possible to get their hands on Wii and just give it a go! Aoyama: This is getting away slightly from the discussion of Wii itself, but just as Kuroume-san said earlier, I'd love to design my own Channel for the console. There are a lot of people in the company who have the same ambition! (laughs) Even people who aren't involved in software development are talking about Channels they'd like to see. I think that demonstrates perfectly the appeal that Wii has. I doubt any previous game console has inspired that sort of response. The Channel system, and the network infrastructure of WiiConnect24 behind it, have got people thinking. I have a feeling that even those who are not involved in the making of games will come up with unique ideas for Wii. I really think that Wii is a device offering a vast range of possibilities. Iwata: Summing up my feelings, I would say that in all honesty I did not expect to see the hopes that I had for Wii in the beginning so fully realized in the finished product. While developing Wii, I felt that if the ideas I had could be made reality, then this could really change the relationship between people and games. I felt that this would add a new dimension to families' everyday experience of using the internet and playing games. I thought it might change people's lifestyles, as families gather around the TV to enjoy a new type of entertainment. Now I can hardly wait to see how people respond to the console. I don't mean whether they like it or not; I mean it in the sense of wondering what uses people are going to find for Wii. I think we've really come up with something pretty special. Tamaki: Can I just add something? Iwata: Be my guest! (laughs) Tamaki: I want to see families fighting over the Channels! All: (laughter) # Satoru Iwata President and CEO, Nintendo Co., Ltd. # Tomoaki Kuruome Entertainment Analysis and Development Division Software Development Department, Users Interface and Effects Group # Kouichi Kawamoto Planning and Development Division, Software Development and Design Department, Software Development Group # Hisashi Nogami Entertainment Analysis and Development Division EAD Software Development Department, Software Development Group No. 2 Part 4 - Aiming For Worldwide Mii Communication Iwata: This time we're going to discuss each Channel in turn. We have a couple of new faces, so Kawamoto-san and Nogami-san, could you tell us what aspects of Wii you were responsible for and what you worked on before that? Kawamoto: I was the director of the Photo Channel, the Forecast Channel and the News Channel. Before working on the Wii project, I directed Brain Age and Brain Age 2 for the DS. Nogami: I was one of two directors of the Mii Channel on Wii. Before that, I worked as the director of Animal Crossing for the DS. Iwata: Kuroume-san, as the overall coordinator of the Wii menus, will be joining the discussion again. Kuroume: Thank you. Iwata: Let's begin by discussing the Mii Channel. Can you tell us where the idea for the Mii Channel came from, and how it came to be included as one of the Wii Channels? Nogami: For some of the Wii software I was working on, there were plans to enable the player to design their own character who would then appear in-game. Independently of those plans, there was a project to develop software for the DS that, in the same way, would allow you to design your character's face. You could then have fun exchanging these faces with others. One day, Iwata-san told me about this DS software and as I was so impressed by it, and it was so close to what I had been imagining myself, it ended up being adopted for use in Wii software. As we were working on making it into an independent game title for Wii, out of the blue it was decided that it would become one of the Wii system functions...and I'm still getting over that surprise! (laughs) Iwata: This is the feature for the original Wii software that Mr (Shigeru) Miyamoto referred to as "kokeshi" (traditional Japanese dolls with a cylindrically shaped body and a round head), isn't it? Nogami: That's right. It's an idea that Miyamoto-san had wanted to realize for some time. The original plan was to develop three games in which the same characters designed by the player would appear. The Mii Channel is that concept taken beyond those three games, and broadened to encompass the entire Wii. Iwata: The decision to include the Mii Channel among the system functions was one which was taken, if not recently, then at an advanced stage of Wii's development. Kuroume-san, you were involved with all of the system functions. When the Channel features were nearly finalized and you learned that an entirely new channel for creating caricatures would be included, did you not feel that suddenly an uninvited guest had arrived at your front door? Kuroume: That's exactly how I felt! All: (laughter) Kuroume: At first, I was completely unable to grasp how it would fit in. Since it had initially been developed for a different purpose, I never would have imagined that it would become one of the Channels. In truth, I was fairly convinced that even when the decision to include it was made, that it wouldn't actually happen in the end. Iwata: But we were actually serious about it! Kuroume: I remember thinking: "They really are serious!" (laughs) Both you and Miyamoto-san were completely committed to the idea. Iwata: Miyamoto-san was always talking to me about making something like the Mii Channel. At that time, I found out about some prototype software for the DS that allowed the user to edit character faces. I thought that this might be just what Miyamoto-san was after. When I showed him the prototype software, his reaction was positive so I thought that we should try developing it further. The project began when I sent the staff responsible for that DS software to work with Nogami-san. Nogami: That's right. We were basically ordered to get the project into shape in 2 months, so there was no time to lose! All: (laughter) Nogami: With the timetable for development to stick to, along with everything else, we were working around the clock. Luckily the original idea on the DS had been a sound one, so we were able to complete it successfully. Iwata: What sort of challenges did you face? Nogami: Up to that point, I had been used to working on projects which had involved expanding on ideas which I had originally conceived. This time around, however, I had to pick up something which had not been my idea to start with, and then run with it. I found that difficult at first. Working on a project where I have had the original idea, I can be decisive about how things should be done. With this project, on the other hand, I found myself unable to make these decisions myself and went to other people for advice. But this led to a situation where there were too many ideas floating around. Drawing these together took some time. Iwata: Did you feel like you were perhaps borrowing someone else's idea, one that was originally developed for the DS? Nogami: To some extent it did feel like I was borrowing someone else's idea. But as development progressed, that feeling went away and I was able to see what was necessary for the Wii project. Now I feel that I was able to retain the best parts of the original, while also improving those aspects that required improvement. Another challenge was incorporating the faces of non-Japanese people! (laughs) Iwata: Ah yes, of course! (laughs) When the Japanese developers made the prototype software for the DS, they only programmed in facial components for Japanese people. But of course once it became a Wii Channel, it needed faces of people from all over the world. Nogami: Yes, we needed to be able to create caricatures of people from around the world. That turned out to be much more difficult than I had foreseen. We were unable to get the facial features right for non-Japanese people. To begin with, we were unable to design satisfactory non-Japanese caricatures. Apparently, Miyamoto-san saw a program on TV about this. When people judge whether a picture resembles the real face, they have an idea of what a "standard face" looks like in their minds. They then judge whether a picture resembles a face, basing their judgement on how different they both are from this "standard face". If that is the case, then there is no way I can possibly make an adequate look-alike of a non-Japanese face. After all, I have no built-in image of a "standard" non-Japanese face. Therefore, I am unable to make an accurate judgement of what facial parts are necessary to create non-Japanese caricatures. For this reason, I asked lots of non-Japanese people for their opinions... Iwata: You also collected lots of pictures of non-Japanese people, didn't you? Nogami: I studied a lot of faces. I remember seeing noses that were completely different from those of any Japanese person! All: (laughter) Nogami: In all seriousness, there are facial features which Japanese people aren't really able to imagine. Studying those pictures, I realized this. We also removed a lot of facial parts as we were trying to be careful not to put in too many options. We had to decide which to remove and which to retain. Iwata: Making up a face just by selecting different parts is an easy way to do it, but actually if there are hundreds of different options to choose from, you can be at a total loss over which one to pick. Nogami: Right. That's why we made sure we didn't make too many options for the facial components, although we ensured there was still plenty of scope for variation. Once we had it completed, we had various people test it, and fortunately the feedback we got was positive. Iwata: How about feedback from non-Japanese people? Kuroume: That seemed positive too! (laughs) I heard that at our European subsidiary, the staff were playing around making a face that looked like their boss. He caught them and got really angry at them! It seems it was too close to his real face for his liking! Iwata: I've seen caricatures of myself popping up in quite a few places too! (laughs) Nogami: The caricatures of you are getting better all the time! Everyone is trying out various facial components to find the best ones to use for Iwata-san's face. The look-alikes of Iwata-san are really coming along! All: (laughter) Nogami: But we were never trying to create completely realistic faces. We were careful not to put too much emphasis on achieving realism. During testing I realized that, while people might do their best to get the caricature of a celebrity as close to the real thing as possible, it's different when it comes to themselves or people they know. They aren't so concerned about achieving absolute accuracy; rather, they are satisfied with capturing some of the character of that person. That's why we narrowed down the number of options, without completely losing the variety of available facial components. Iwata: And of course, making these characters is not the end. These Mii characters can then appear in games, for instance Wii Sports. Nogami: That's right. As I mentioned earlier, from the very start of this software's development, we wanted to allow the characters created by users to appear in the games. In fact, as long as the third party developers make the games compatible with the Mii system, these characters will also be able to appear in the games they produce. One more interesting thing is that the Mii characters do not always feature as the main characters in the games. You can also find them popping up as faces in the crowd. For instance, in Wii Sports, a Mii you made a while ago and had forgotten about might turn up one day in the spectators' seats. Also, since you can store Mii on your Wii Remote, you can bring your Mii to use on your friend's Wii! Iwata: There is also the "Mii Parade" to look forward to. Could you please explain that? Nogami: To put it simply, Mii Parade is a system that uses the network to allow Mii characters created by many people to mix and mingle. You can line up Mii characters in the "Mii Plaza", but at the start the only Mii characters you will find are those you have created yourself. Over time, however, using the WiiConnect24 system, other users' Mii characters can come and visit. In the same way, your Mii can make an appearance on someone else's Wii, although this won't happen unless the user has authorised it. The user can choose whether or not to allow their Mii to come and go on the network, so the only Mii characters that will appear on someone else's Wii are those where the user has permitted it. Iwata: You could have a Mii which has come from the other side of the world. Nogami: You could. Your Mii can pop up anywhere. I should point out, though, that your Mii will never go missing from your own Wii. Iwata: This is a very ambitious experiment. What made you decide to attempt it? Nogami: We always had the intention of allowing the characters created for one game to appear as guests in other games. However, the decision to allow the interaction of Mii characters across the world was inspired by WiiConnect24. Personally, I am a really big fan of that kind of feature. I came up with this particular idea while I was thinking how WiiConnect24 might be used with the Mii concept. The most basic motivation was the belief that, however fun it may be to make your own characters, there is a limit to how enjoyable it can be when just one player is involved. I thought it would be a shame if people stopped using the Mii Channel once they had created, let's say, 10 look-alike characters of their friends and family. However, if more and more Mii characters from users they had played games with, or from anywhere else around the world appear on Wii, I think this will make people want to create new Mii characters. They might get ideas from other people and think: "Wow, you can make a Mii like that!" Then they will try to improve their own Mii. I think people will be continuously motivated through this interaction with other users. How can I put it...? I think there is a limit to the amount of this kind of motivation and inspiration which can be put within actual games from the start. But if, for instance, a user finds a new way to play a game, they can then let other users know about it. In this way, there will be an endless supply of ideas being generated from all over the world, and I hope that this energy will build on itself. That's exactly the reason why we made so much effort to create a system which allowed data to be transferred between Wii consoles. Iwata: So far, we have had an encouraging response. I for one am really excited to see how this will grow and develop. Nogami: Me too. I'm hoping that more and more Mii-compatible software will be developed. My ambition is to get all the Mii characters across the world interacting! (laughs) I also think that there will be people who find they have a particular talent for creating look-alikes. At school, if you wanted a particular picture drawn, you would go to your friend in class who was good at drawing. It would be great if there was the same kind of communication through Wii, where you ask another user to create a look-alike of a certain person. Iwata: Kuroume-san, has that initial feeling of Mii as an uninvited guest disappeared? Kuroume: Yes, well...I should just make it clear that I didn't really feel that the Mii Channel was an uninvited guest. It was just a little sudden, that's all! All: (laughter) Kuroume: No, I really do understand and appreciate the significance of the Mii Channel. Part 5 - A Fresh Way To View Your Photos Iwata: Kawamoto-san, how did you feel when you were asked to create a Wii Channel, after having produced two Brain Age titles which proved to be exceedingly popular? Did you wonder why you hadn't been asked to develop a regular game? Kawamoto: I'd be lying if I said that thought hadn't crossed my mind! (laughs) But as someone with a small son and daughter, I naturally take a lot of pictures of them which I then sort and view on my laptop. I know how troublesome that can be, so I was very interested in the opportunity to develop the Photo Channel. If you show photos to children on a laptop, they're more interested in playing with the keyboard. That's why when Iwata-san gave me the concept of watching digital camera pictures on the TV screen, I knew exactly what we should be aiming for. In a sense, I was happy when you asked me to develop this Channel, as this was something I had wanted myself. Iwata: That might be the reason why the time between me asking you to work on the project and the completion of the prototype version was so short! I was genuinely surprised that you were able to produce it that quickly. Kawamoto: I think the reason for that was that I use my digital camera all the time and often wonder why things couldn't be more like this, or that. That's why I had a clear idea of how to approach the project. Iwata: What's more, the fundamental structure and style of the finished Channel were already present from the prototype stage. Of course, there was a little fine-tuning to be done... Kawamoto: The basic set-up for viewing photos, zooming in and out, the pixelating and even the Slide show features were all in place from the earliest stages of development. Iwata: Of all the Channels, this is the one which was the most fully-formed at the earliest stages of the project. When people were shown the Photo Channel, they realized what Wii is actually capable of, and in this sense it spurred on the development of all the other Channels. This is similar to what happened when Kawamoto-san and I began developing Brain Age. Kawamoto: Yes, there are similarities. At that time, looking at the available DS software, I was always wondering why there were no titles where all you have to do is write on the screen. Then Iwata-san asked me to develop arithmetic software, which would later become Brain Age's Calculations x 20 mode. Iwata: When they were asked to adapt Dr Kawashima's ideas for the DS, the first thing Kawamoto-san and his team came up with was Calculations x 20. The prototype at that stage was also very close to the finished product. Kawamoto: There was a lot of fine-tuning remaining to be done, but the basic structure was in place, and the enjoyment felt when you gave it a try was there from the start. Iwata: Kawamoto-san, you're a software director, but you have your roots in programming. This ability to program is a great strength. In other words, if you have an idea, you can actually put it into action yourself without having to draw up a specification document plan, or anything like that. This makes things a lot faster. Since I also have a background in programming, I can really understand where you're coming from. Kawamoto: That's the first time I've heard that! (laughs) That's one way of looking at it. Iwata: What did you pay particular attention to when developing the Photo Channel? Kawamoto: For me, it was important that someone with no technical knowledge would be able to pick it up and use it. I think the experience of working on Brain Age influenced me here. This is getting a bit detailed but, on Brain Age, the game was conceived from the start to be mainly controlled using the Touch Screen. We therefore had a number of buttons on the screen which clearly indicated to the user what would happen if they touched them. If Brain Age had used conventional controls, in other words, the +Control Pad and a number of buttons, then anyone who used it would first need to understand what each button does. Using Touch Screen controls on the other hand means that the user can simply press the button they want directly. The most vital thing is to ensure the user knows exactly what is going to happen when they push a particular button. That ease of use which we had been seeking for Brain Age was something we were able to bring to Wii. Specifically, I insisted that we did everything we could to eliminate anything confusing from the screen. This enabled people to use the scrolling and zooming in and out controls intuitively, even if it was their first time. As I worked on this project, I always had the image of a family of four or so sitting around the TV, laughing and having a good time. This meant that I made absolutely sure that, for instance, there were no difficult words on-screen. This was the same as Brain Age. Iwata: What really impressed me about the Photo Channel was the incredibly light feel it had. I was surprised at how easy it was to view pictures on Wii. There is a lot of software for the PC that allow you to view and edit photos, and although they come with a vast number of features, none of them compare to Wii in that real feeling of lightness in the controls. When I experienced this on the Photo Channel, I realized that this was something fundamentally different from the way things work on the PC. Kawamoto: It's a real pain having to wait for the computer to load your photos. That's why I got my team to make every effort to reduce the time required to load the photos as much as possible. Iwata: This is something that is very well hidden in the Channel, thanks to the programming. Another thing to mention is that you can also watch videos on the finished version of the Photo Channel. That was something which wasn't on the list of features originally requested. What prompted you to include this feature? Kawamoto: I thought from the outset that we would have to make it possible to watch videos. Almost all digital cameras now can record videos, so we needed to accommodate that. Another major motivation was that I wanted to watch clips of my own children babbling on Wii! (laughs) At present, we plan to make the Channel compatible with the MotionJPEG format. The other feature I planned to include from the start was a pixelating function for video clips. I was responsible for artistic effects on Mario Artist: Talent Studio for the Nintendo 64DD. I remembered the pixelating effect (similar to the effect used on TV to hide people's identities) we used on that, and were able to implement it into the Photo Channel quickly. I find that people respond well when I show it to them. Iwata: It provokes a great reaction during Wii presentations. Kawamoto: I usually use this effect on your face when giving presentations! (laughs) Iwata: That always gets a laugh, whether it's people inside or outside the company! All: (laughter) Kawamoto: Something else we added towards the end of the project is the function enabling the user to draw on the photographs. As the Wii Remote allows you to simply point where you want on the screen, you naturally want to try to draw pictures. We gave that a try, but as expected it turned out to be difficult to draw proper pictures on-screen. But it is possible to do graffiti and scribbling, such as drawing eyebrows onto people's faces, or making simple photo montages. Iwata: In the company, what feature provoked the biggest reaction? Kawamoto: It wasn't so much a particular feature, but everyone really liked just simply watching digital camera pictures up on a big screen. While it's possible to hook up most digital cameras to a TV, I don't think many people do it. Iwata: Yes, I've never actually seen anyone who had connected their digital camera to their TV. Kawamoto: I've given it a go a few times, but every time I want to show some pictures to my children, they always wander off somewhere while I'm fiddling around with the cables! (laughs) Iwata: I'm sure that for many people, just being able to see their digital camera pictures on the big screen will feel really fresh. Pictures they've only ever seen either scrolling through them on a 2 or 3 inch screen or on their computer, they'll be able to easily view them on their living room TV. People will get into the habit of sticking their SD Card into the Wii as soon as they get home after they've taken pictures. I think that will change the way people view digital camera photographs. Kawamoto: Another thing which people have really enjoyed is the Slide show function. This allows you to play music as the console automatically displays your pictures in turn. If you put MP3 files in your SD Card, you can have your favourite songs as background music to your Slide show. Iwata: We were all quite impressed when you gave us a demonstration of the Slide show. You applied a sepia effect to all the photos and accompanied them with "Chijyou no Hoshi" by Miyuki Nakajima, the theme song to "Project X" (a popular TV documentary about Japanese inventors. It was so popular, the theme song alone brought tears to its fans). (laughs) Kawamoto: Well, all the pictures I used were of developers working on Wii, so when I added the soundtrack, it looked just like an episode from "Project X!" All: (laughter) Kawamoto: A photo's mood will change simply by switching the music. I was careful, however, not to allow the photos to be upstaged. I mean, it would have been easy to make a flashy, stylish Slide show, but a lot of people felt that this would distract the viewer from the photos, which are after all the most important part of the show. Iwata: Kawamoto-san, as well as the Photo Channel, you were responsible for the Forecast and News Channels. Tell us a little about the production of these Channels. Kawamoto: Certainly. Like the Photo Channel, the concepts behind the Forecast and News Channels emerged out of our discussions concerning what kind of Channels would be used by people who don't normally play games. And again, out of the blue you ordered us to make a prototype! (laughs) Iwata: Sorry, I keep doing that, don't I? (laughs) Kawamoto: No, no. I appreciate it! Iwata: To be honest, I think you really enjoy making those prototypes. Kawamoto: I do, but I'd love to be able to spend a bit more time on them All: (laughter) Iwata: So, what ideas did you come up with for the News and Forecast Channels? Kawamoto: Well, I was quite particular about the responsive control method you talked about earlier. I mean, I wanted the user to be able to navigate through these Channels very smoothly. I also realized that it wouldn't be interesting to simply display the weather. After all, Wii is an entertainment system. Iwata: You can view weather information at the touch of a button if you have digital cable TV, can't you? Kawamoto: Exactly. I wanted to do something that TV can't do. So, I tried displaying the entire planet on-screen, thereby allowing the user to see the weather all around the world by spinning it with the Wii Remote. Iwata: Needless to say, this feature was not in the specs when I first asked you to create the Forecast Channel, right? Kawamoto: No, not at all. Iwata: But you just wanted to play around, spinning a globe, didn't you? (laughs) Kawamoto: Basically, yes! (laughs) Iwata: The globe feature may seem a bit pointless, but everyone really enjoys it when you let them have a go. Kuroume-san, what did you think when you first saw it? Kuroume: It had quite an impact. As a fellow developer, I couldn't help but grudgingly admire it!. Nogami: It's wonderful to see all those weather icons spreading out across the world when you zoom out. You know at a glance what the weather's doing anywhere. You can see, for example, whether it's particularly hot in a certain part of the world. Iwata: And what ideas did you have for the News Channel? Kawamoto: Well, there was the smooth enlarging and reduction of text size, and the pointing out of places that appear in the news. Iwata: Using that globe again! (laughs) Kawamoto: Yes, it's quite good fun really. That aside, we plan for this news and weather data to be updated regularly(laughs) Iwata: This was also cause for discussion. Some people felt that it would be sufficient for the user to go to the relevant page after turning on the power, but I really felt that it was important for the news to be displayed as soon as Wii is started up. A few seconds can make a big difference when you want to know something right away. Kawamoto: Yes. Hardcore gamers might not be overly excited when they hear about the News and Forecast Channels, but I think we've come up with some really useful features. Part 6 - Sharing Ideas, Influencing Each Other Iwata: Kuroume-san, you've overseen the entire Wii Channel project. What does it feel like to see Channel after Channel come to fruition and operate within Wii? Kuroume: Well, given that we started development without a clear image of the final product, there's a real sense of satisfaction, realising that we made the right decisions. I mean, all we had at the start were a few sample screens. Once we'd decided on what we wanted, it felt like we had set off with only the courage of our convictions to show us the way. Iwata: How did your colleagues react when you showed them the near-complete Channels? Kuroume: I often heard them questioning whether there were too many features. Iwata: Ah, I heard that a lot too. Some people even suggested that it's not Nintendo's policy to bundle software with our hardware. As I've said many times before, Wii is the way it is simply because we want it to appeal to as broad a range of people as possible. Kuroume: That said, a lot of people were taken aback at first, and asked whether we needed so many Channels, or if we couldn't introduce them more gradually. I'd then explain the concept just outlined by Mr Iwata, and they would gradually come to see the bigger picture. Interestingly enough, it was the same people who had initially asked whether there was any need for so many Channels who, after trying them out, would be asking for more Channels to be added! The very same people! All: (laughter) Kuroume: It was fascinating to see this change with my own eyes. Iwata: Regarding the Channel panes, there was also some talk of organizing them in a multi-layered way at first, wasn't there? At present, old titles that you purchase via Virtual Console will be displayed as separate Channels, but in the initial days of development we thought about organizing them in folders. There would be a folder for NES games, a folder for SNES games and so on. Looking back, what do think of that idea now? Kuroume: Of course, I think we were correct to choose the current front-end. The first one we came up with had the Virtual Console as a single Channel, containing folders for each console, as you said. The user would have to then go through the layers of folders to select a game. But since our concept was for Wii to start quickly, and for the user to be able to start playing as soon as possible, it didn't really seem to make sense to go to the trouble of placing games within such a deep folder structure. In our simulations of how the front-end would actually be used, a number of people felt that it would be more satisfying to have all the purchased games lined up on the first screen. If games like Mario or Zelda were placed alongside the News and Forecast Channels, then people with no interest in games might be more likely to give them a try. We therefore settled on the current front-end, and this decision allowed us to stay true to our concept for Wii. Iwata: The exciting Channel experience we have at the moment, with all the features lined up together, would have been lost if we had gone ahead and created that multi-layered structure. So, looking back at the development of the Wii Channels, it wasn't a matter of asking what could be added. Rather, when deciding the final specs, I think we were asking what could be discarded, and what to avoid. Our Channels appear full to the brim with ideas, but we actually cut out a huge number of them. It was vitally important that someone made a clear-cut decision about what to retain and what to get rid off. I think the right decisions were made. Kuroume: Yes, I think so. And while this is only my personal opinion, I really enjoy seeing the 48 panes, many of which are initially empty, gradually fill up with Virtual Console and other software, creating my own kind of screen. Kawamoto: I feel the same. I want to fill them all up at once! It really bothers me if there's a gap! (laughs) All: (laughter) Iwata: What really strikes me when I listen to you all talking is that, whatever the feature, it's never easy to reach a final decision. Rather, you have to lay out all your ideas on the table and judge which ones to use and which ones to drop, don't you? Kuroume: In that sense, the fact that we had a cross-departmental team determining Wii's system functions really helped. A host of departments were able to share a variety of ideas right from the start, ideas that would be put to good use solving a number of different problems. For example, when the rather amusing Mii Channel scroll function was completed, one person who saw this asked about it and right away incorporated it into his own Channel. So we were able to exchange ideas with each other, absorb the good ones and proceed in the most efficient way possible, both in terms of time and getting the best features we could. Iwata: There have been cross-departmental teams in the past, but the System Function team may have been the broadest team ever put together in the history of our company, covering the widest range of departments. Kuroume: Yes, it certainly was. People who had never been connected in the past worked together, and were able to influence and play off one another. The overall response was excellent. Nogami: It really was. If only one team is developing something, they'll only ever pay attention to the same old issues, sometimes discussing them all day amongst themselves to find a solution. But this time, thanks to the System Function team, I was able to go and talk with Kawamoto-san or have a look at Kuroume-san's designs. Both physically and mentally, I found this to be a less stressing, more laid-back way to do things. Iwata: The System Function team continued to get together at least once a week, and this of course took up a lot of our time. And it's not like something was decided every week, especially at the beginning. Normally if you spend a lot of time on something and don't get any results, you'd regard that in negative terms. However, even if these meetings didn't all produce tangible results, I still firmly believe that this was not time wasted. Nogami: I agree, and I also think the fact we did something like this will prove invaluable for Nintendo in the future. Iwata: Nogami-san, your direct superior is Miyamoto-san, isn't that right? Since I wanted him to concentrate his efforts on developing software, I didn't get him involved directly in the System Function team. What kind of things did you discuss with him concerning the Wii Channels? Nogami: Well, we discussed a whole variety of issues, and he gave a lot of suggestions with regard to the Mii Channel in particular! (laughs) It was Miyamoto-san who first pointed out that we'd have to make faces for foreigners too. Say, for example, that there are two different opinions about a given feature. You can count on Miyamoto-san's being the more extreme of the two! All: (laughter) Nogami: That really exerts a lot of influence, doesn't it? Kuroume: It certainly does. He strolls in, plays around with our stuff, says a few things and then leaves, making a big impact! (laughs) All: (laughter) Nogami: That really exerts a lot of influence, doesn't it? Kuroume: It certainly does. He strolls in, plays around with our stuff, says a few things and then leaves, making a big impact! (laughs) All: (laughter) Kuroume: I've been working with him for more than ten years, so I pretty much know how to take what he's saying. But some of the younger team members sometimes take what he says completely at face value, so I had to jump in and give them advice. Nogami: Miyamoto-san will make some kind of offhand remark, and the younger members of the team might take it deadly seriously: "But Miyamoto-san said it!" (laughs) One of our jobs is to keep his ideas grounded in reality. Kuroume: He'll just have a quick go on something and, wouldn't you know, right away he'll pick out flaws we've overlooked. He did that on quite a few occasions. The very same thing happened with the Channels. Iwata: He does it quite unconsciously, but he can really upset you when he points these things out! (laughs) All: (laughter) Kuroume: I get pretty upset myself, so I'll always try to argue back: "Hold on a minute...". But his words tend to hit home... Nogami: He can really kick you into action, can't he? Kuroume: Well, to sum it up, he always gives us great advice! All: (laughter) Iwata: And with that, let's bring this session to a close. To finish off, would you all say a few words about what you think makes your individual Channels so good? Let's start with you, Kawamoto-san. Kawamoto: Certainly. I'd love for families like mine that take a lot of photos of their young children to sit around the TV and enjoy viewing them. I also hope that people use it to look back on holiday photos, and that teenagers use it to enjoy looking at each other's photos together. Even on your own, you can have fun with the program, playing around with people's faces. When you add pixelating effects to a person's face in a video clip, it also changes the pitch of their voice. There are lots of the sort of ideas only Nintendo could come up with in the Channels. I hope people enjoy them all. With regard to the Forecast and News Channels, I hope people get into the habit of switching on Wii every morning to check these. Iwata: And you, Nogami-san? Nogami: Hmm...if I had to say something unflattering about the sort of Channels we've spoken about today, I'd say that certain features on them are pretty silly. But for people who have never used a console before, I think those silly things are actually necessary. Only Nintendo could have ever considered actively pursuing such frivolous ideas for a new console... Iwata: ...you are complimenting Nintendo, aren't you? Nogami: Yes! All: (laughter) Nogami: I'd like everyone to know that only Wii can deliver quick and frivolous entertainment, as well as something in-depth and serious. Iwata: Yes, Kuroume-san. Kuroume: Almost everything I want to say has already been said. As my work on the system functions has touched on every aspect of Wii, it has been totally different from creating an individual title. I've done this for the GameCube and DS, so Wii is now my third system. This job is different from software design: there are no staff credits. I know this can't be helped but for the first time, with Wii, I can't help but feel slightly sad about that. Iwata: You're that enthusiastic about it, that confident! Iwata: So, what ideas did you come up with for the News and Forecast Channels? Kuroume: Yes...maybe I'll stick the staff credits in there somewhere! Iwata: ...I'll pretend I didn't hear that! Kawamoto: He's serious! (laughs) Kuroume: No, I just want to do things like spinning that globe... Iwata: I'm expecting that playful spirit of yours to show itself in new Channels and software! (laughs) Hopefully people will soon feel that 48 Channels just aren't enough. Thank you all for coming today.