Nintendo is running a very nicely done series of interviews between Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, and the developers of the Wii. Each piece is long enough to cover information you probably didn’t already know and gives a nice look at the thought behind designing the device. So far they’ve covered the Wii hardware, the controller, and the software web channels.
The sense I get reading it is how proud the developers are of what they came up with. Wii is a huge risk for Nintendo, in departing so much from the status quo of console design. At one point in the interview they’re discussing what it was like when people actually started being able to demo the thing:
Ikeda: […] I was very moved by Nintendo’s Media Briefing. It started with Mr Miyamoto getting up on stage and using the controller to conduct a virtual orchestra, and it finished with Mr Iwata playing Tennis from Wii Sports. By the time it finished I was close to tears. (laughs) I’m a little embarassed to say this in front of you guys, but I was overflowing with emotion. And even after that, I thought I was going to cry again when I saw how much everyone enjoyed using the controller. (laughs)
Ashida: I spent all of E3 at Nintendo’s exhibition corner, and I’ve never witnessed at previous E3s anything like the excitement I saw there at the Nintendo booth.
Iwata: We had that glass case with lots of controllers lined up, didn’t we? The people crowding around there, it was a truly unforgettable sight.
Ashida: There were so many of them! Sure, there have been displays like that in the past, but the atmosphere… it was the first time I’d ever experienced anything like that.
Iwata: There was a great air of excitement, wasn’t there? Their eyes were glued to the case!
Ashida: It was absolutely incredible. Everyone looked so thrilled, including the staff from Nintendo of America. And the smiles on the faces of everyone who got to play the games.
Iwata: That’s what I remember the most. I actually found myself wondering “why are they smiling so much?” as if I didn’t know what they were doing. I wondered what was happening.
Go read: Iwata Asks.