Harrison: Iwata "wrong" on casual games

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 15 March, 2011

Social networks "here to stay".

Former president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Phil Harrison reckons Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata's anti social game stance "is wrong".

Iwata's thinly veiled Game Developers Conference attack on Apple blamed the sheer quantity of cheap and often free titles on app stores on the lowering value of games.

Harrison, who is co-founder of London Venture Partners and one of the primary forces behind Finnish made browser based co-op role-playing game Gunshine, disagrees.

"Iwata-san has done an incredible job rebuilding Nintendo over the last few years," Harrison told IndustryGamers. "He is a great leader of that company, but in this particular case he is wrong.

"He is mistaken if [he thinks] this is some kind of fad that will go away. Social networks, as a way of powering our game and entertainment choices, is here to stay."

Iwata's unusually strong keynote turned heads at GDC. Nintendo, a famously conservative and secretive company, has in the past done its best not to criticise competitors in public.

It seemed fitting that, an hour after Iwata's presentation began, Apple announced the iPad 2 with its own press conference.

"I thought it was fascinating that pretty much simultaneously with Iwata-san talking about Nintendo, in a hall across the street Steve Jobs is talking about the iPad 2, which got massive pickup and global coverage," Harrison continued.

"Some people are talking about 50 to 80 million 'smartpads' being sold a year for the foreseeable future. It's going to create an enormous market, dwarfing every other market."

Yesterday Angry Birds maker Rovio hit the headlines for claiming consoles games are "dying".

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (18) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • leafmulch #1 1 year ago

    w/o quality content the social networks and ipads aren't even in the same market. Yet again there's some confusion suggesting that gamers would be satisfied playing angry birds over the latest AAA title...

  • menage #2 1 year ago

    Well, Nintendo has machines which have tons of shovelware so they wil see a decrease in sales when people get that for free somewhere else. It will hardly threaten Mario Galxay 3 imo

  • raduciu #3 1 year ago

    At some point all this social gaming will just collapse because the money everyone sees is from growth not actual sales. It will come as a surprise to see that after the novelty passes the customers won't pay for shovelware.

  • Ultrasoundwave #4 1 year ago

    Until these "social networks" can run games like FIFA, COD, Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted, etc they will not take over from traditional console / PC gaming.

    FACT.

  • originaljohn #5 1 year ago

    I dont think I listened to the same talk. Iwata highlighted how moblie and social games have drawn massive numbers users who are all connected and then he went on to say Nintendo haven't been up to standard with online games hell he even praise MS for Live. Then he told the CROWD OF DEVELOPERS games on consoles have had multiplayer options for years, going all the way back to the NES.

  • Arwin #6 1 year ago

    Soaps didn't mean the end of big-budget movies either ...

  • Flabio #7 1 year ago

    There's definitely room for both markets to co-exist, there really isn't any actual evidence that people are switching from buying console games to buying mobile games is there? There's definitely overlap, for sure, but to suggest that the millions of people that pick up Call of Duty every year are going to suddenly only be buying things for their iPad is a little far fetched.

  • braydee89 #8 1 year ago

    I still don't see the allure of tablets. My 4inch smartphone does everything I need that my Laptop doesn't do. The gaming experiences that the iPad offers just don't interest me.

  • Kami #9 1 year ago

    Another person who totally (and probably purposefully) misunderstood Iwata's speech. Again, don't let the truth get in the way of a good kicking, right?

  • TonyHarrison #10 1 year ago

    This is so far removed from anything Iwata actually said that I don't even know where to begin.

  • sega #11 1 year ago

    "Soaps didn't mean the end of big-budget movies either ... "

    They bloody well did in my house. Sigh...kill me.

  • PixelPirate #12 1 year ago

    Iwata got out "casual'ed" by Apple.

    Tough break.

    //sarcasm.

    Seriously though, this constant comparing Apple to Nintendo doesnt make alot of sense, they are separate markets with very little overlap.

  • BonzoBanana #13 1 year ago

    There are a lot of fairly limited DS puzzle games and mini games that Nintendo want to charge £25 for but which will look dire value compared to the offerings on an android tablet, ipad etc. Often you can get very similar titles even possibly the same titles on rare occasions on other formats. I think Nintendo's market share will erode because both its hardware and software is uncompetitively priced. At least Apple only has uncompetitive hardware prices.

  • Gloin #14 1 year ago

    But Phil, Iwata never said that social gaming was going away. He just warned developers to remember that Apple/Facebook etc aren't games companies and therefore they don't care if you make money or not.

  • man.the.king #15 1 year ago

    @PixelPirate

    "they are separate markets with very little overlap. "

    Except for the shovelware market, where Apple beats Nintendo price-wise, which is what Nintendo/Reggie was miffed about.

    Nintendo was worried that people might opt to buy cheap casual games for under a dollar with Apple rather than pay up to 40 dollars for Nintendo DS casual games.

  • rotmm #16 1 year ago

    @Arwin, "Soaps didn't mean the end of big-budget movies either ..."

    No, but they are a primary cause of brain death. ;)

  • scouserfuller9 #17 1 year ago

    ... as the sales of the Wii and DS over their years have shown.

  • louyfitz #18 1 year ago

    Theres a market for all sorts of games, clearly. People saying "You're wrong and I'm right" is just bull.

    If people buy it, then there's a market.

    I don't think everything in the world needs to tell your Facebook how great you are, but then some people love that.

    Personally I think that social integration would be an interesting prospect for more core gaming experiences.

    I'd rather have a great match ending killcam on my Wall, than a little pet or something.

    Hardcore is not dying just evolving, like the casual market, but meh it's all opinion anyway, only time will tell.