Analyzing Nintendo's Storage Plans
Yesterday Nintendo President Satoru Iwata answered a couple of questions regarding the Wii. In particular he talked about the Wii's memory and the gamers who want a hard drive. Even though I think his answer was pretty clear, a lot of gamers seem to be getting the wrong idea - thinking that he confirmed a HD for them. Because of this I'd like to analyze his comment and break it down so you can better understand.
Statistically speaking, it is true that there are a small number of customers who feel that the flash memory is too small, while many others find that they have plenty of memory. However, because this small number of people are none other than the most avid players, we know we have to review the best possible solution to eliminate their inconvenience.
Above is Iwata's comment with three key areas bolded. Notice how he refers to the people complaining about a lack of storage space as a small number of people or customers. It's important because he purposely refers to them as small not once but twice in his comment. This goes directly to how much of a priority this issue is for Nintendo. It should be obvious that by saying that those complaining are a small number the issue is not very high on Nintendo's list of priorities.
The second thing I'd like you to notice is how Iwata categorizes these people's issue. Gamers on internet forums will tell you that the lack of a hard drive is a major problem. A problem so big that it will definitely hurt digital sales and can't be ignored. However, that's not how Nintendo sees things. To Iwata and Nintendo the storage issue is nothing but an inconvenience - Something trivial that these people should be able to deal with.
In spite of Iwata's view of the situation he does throw these gamers a bone and says that they will look into their complaints and try to do something for them. They just need to realize that their issue is not big and is not a priority. Basically he's telling them that they'll try to do something for their whiny asses.
The truth is that Nintendo's storage solution while not the fastest or most convenient works. If you don't want to delete or backup a game that you haven't played in months you have no right to complain about a lack of storage space. Yes, copying to SD cards should be faster but understanding that's it's slow because of an anti-piracy measure and seeing how you only need to do it once it's not that bad. It certainly isn't the major problem some say it is.
