Nintendo Abandonment Issues

If ever there was a sign that Nintendo just doesn't seem to understand why gamers are constantly saying they've been abandoned, here it is. An interview with Nintendo of America's president, Reggie Fils-Aime by Venture Beat. I'll provide a brief excerpt to show some of the most ridiculous parts.

VB: Used games are coming up as a big issue again. Why?
RFA: More and more retailers are experimenting with the used game model. We don’t believe used games are in the best interest of the consumer. We have products that consumers want to hold onto. They want to play all of the levels of a Zelda game and unlock all of the levels. A game like Personal Trainer Cooking has a long life. We believe used games aren’t in the consumer’s best interest.
VB: Because?
RFA: Describe another form of entertainment that has a vibrant used goods market. Used books have never taken off. You don’t see businesses selling used music CDs or used DVDs. Why? The consumer likes having a brand-new experience and reliving it over and over again. If you create the right type of experience, that also happens in video games.
VB: Could this be rectified if the retailers share some of that used game revenue with the publishers?
RFA: That could make it more palatable. But we just think it’s a bad idea. The one retailer that has a substantial business in this has figured out a way that is effective for the consumer. That’s tough for other retailers experimenting with this, in part because their employees don’t have the expertise in this market.

What? So much of that made no sense. They make games that consumers want to hold onto? I've been sick of Wii Sports since 2 days after I bought my Wii. Almost everything put out since then has been some sort of minigame collection or party game. Granted, a couple of them make for a good time when guests are over, but thats all that my Wii ever gets used. They haven't put out a Zelda for me to "play all the levels of and unlock all of the levels" (I won't even attempt to mock that line, it's too easy) since launch.

Still, I can get past Nintendo's new commitment to casual and party games. As I said they can be entertaining when people are over, despite the fact that thats hardly worth $250 when it gets played 3 times a year tops. What I can't get past is his comments on used games. Thats because Nintendo doesn't ever lower their game prices. Mario Kart has been $50 since it came out over almost a year ago. It's not worth it to me to pay that much for it when I'll only play it 3 or 4 times a year, and since they'll never lower MSRP then that leaves me with used games.

Don't shit on your consumers Nintendo. Its a recession! If you want to say that you don't think the used game market will hurt you because people hold onto their Wii games for family occassions and such, then fine, but don't try to say Zelda is something that people want to play still, and don't try to say that saving money isn't in your customers best interest. If you cared about your customers best interests then you would lower the prices of your games as new ones came out. You wouldn't put out 10 games and then expect those to keep people happy for 5 years or more.

I've come to a conclusion in this. This is how Nintendo sees their Wii lineup.

Zelda Twilight Princess
Mario Kart
Smash Bros.
Metroid Prime 3
Wii Fit
Wii Play
Big Brain Academy

Thats it. Look! We've got something for everyone! There's no need to ever put out another hardcore adventure game because we put out Zelda and our consumers like to unlock all of those levels.

They think they can ride off of the success of a game for years, and the sad part is they probably can.