The Big Ideas Behind Nintendo's Wii

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Rather than just picking new technology, we thought seriously about what a game console should be. [CEO Satoru] Iwata wanted a console that would play every Nintendo game ever made. Moms would hate it if they had to have several consoles lying around.

Ashida: We didn't want wires all over the place, which might anger moms because of the mess.

Did you ever worry about the Wii's inability to match the realistic graphics and high-speed processing power of rivals' machines?

Miyamoto: We had to compromise on graphics and give up on a powerful chip. Many of our employees initially wanted high-definition graphics. But they agreed with us that graphics wouldn't matter if the games weren't fun to play. That said, the Wii is much faster than the GameCube.

As new chip technology becomes available, we'll consider less power-hungry varieties that don't cost too much. And once high-definition TVs take off, we'll consider the merits of better graphics and more power.

Were there any nongame controllers that you looked to for inspiration?

Ashida: Miyamoto brought in cell phones and car navigation remote controllers and tried them, too. We made one that resembled a cell phone. Another one had an analog stick on top and digital interface on bottom.

The DS handheld gaming console, released in 2004, is now the hottest-selling portable video game machine. Did the success of the DS influence your design decisions?

Ashida: The DS had a huge impact on the Wii's design. We had the DS on our minds as we worked on the Wii. We thought about copying the DS's touch-panel interface and even came up with a prototype. But then we rejected the idea, since the portable console and the living-room console would have been exactly the same.

Miyamoto: The DS prepared the way for the Wii. The DS's unique interface had traction with nongamers. That made us think we had a shot at reaching a broader audience. But if the DS had flopped, we might have taken the Wii back to the drawing board.

Game controllers haven't changed radically for more than two decades. How has that affected the industry?

Miyamoto: The classic controller was something we had become fond of and gamers had become comfortable with. It had many important elements. But it also had come to dictate a lot of what went into games—the way graphics were made, the way battles were fought in role-playing games, the arc of in-game stories. They were all being made to fit one standard. Creativity was being stifled, and the range of games was narrowing.

There are examples of controllers that were made for specific games such as Konami's Dance Revolution. And for a long time, we thought that changing the interface would broaden game design and loosen creative constraints on programmers. We found that to be true when we released the DS. Around that time, we were also agreeing that we would start from the drawing board with something entirely unlike anything we had made before.

What were the biggest technical challenges in the controller redesign?

Ashida: The controller's wireless technology. It took two years.

Miyamoto: Getting the infrared pointer to work took more than a year. 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.

We also had reservations about adding a sensor bar to boost the pointer's precision, since we wanted to make the setup as simple as possible. Combining the different technologies to mimic 3D space recognition took time. By the end of 2005, it was ready for mass production. But we were making adjustments up to the last minute.

Did you ask consumer focus groups to try out the Wii?

Miyamoto: We don't use consumer focus groups. We got a lot of feedback from developers in the industry, and we invited family members of employees to test the prototypes. We took lots of precautions to prevent leaks.

Ashida: My family was among those that tested the Wii. My son is a second grader. He loved it. After playing, he was completely drenched in sweat.