ign.comUK, November 16, 2006 – Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s general manager of entertainment, analysis and development, has revealed that the Wii was originally planned as a sub-$100 console but spiraling costs of new technology prevented the company from achieving its goal. Speaking in an interview with BusinessWeek.com, Miyamoto said: „My idea was to spend nothing on the console technology so all the money could be spent on improving the interface and software. If we hadn’t used NAND flash memory [to store data such as games and photos] and other pricey parts, we might have succeeded.“
The interview also reveals that Miyamoto drew inspiration for a new controller interface from a variety of difference sources, as veteran designer Ken’ichiro Ashida explained: „Miyamoto brought in cell phones and car navigation remote controllers and tried them. We made one that resembled a cell phone. Another one had an analog stick on top and digital interface on bottom.“
Even when Nintendo had settled on the wireless Wii-mote and nunchuck it still took over a year to perfect the controller’s motion-sensitive technology, as Miyamoto revealed: „It worked just fine in the ideal environment, but bright lights and sunlight interfered with its accuracy. And we had to test it in rooms of all sizes. The final version wasn’t finished until this summer.“ Miyamoto also wanted to keep the system as simple as possible and had reservations about relying on a sensor bar that sat on top of the television, but admitted it was necessary to ensure the accuracy of the pointer.
Sie hätten ihn einfach machen lassen sollen.
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