Icons (2022 TV series)/Episode 4 transcript

Prologue
Narrator: "It started with a man."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "He turns out to be the Steve Jobs of video games, and was the right person to revive Nintendo."

Narrator: "Who wanted to make gaming more immersive."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "Instead of sitting down with two hands on a controller, you could actually stand up and hold a TV remote-like controller and feel like you were a golfer, a bowler, a race-car driver..."

Narrator: "He met with his share of disappointment."

Sarah Natochenny: "It was a cool idea, great thought, not a good console at the end of the day."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "Iwata was at the doghouse at this point, the successor to the Wii had bombed..."

Narrator: "And created something that revolutionized the gaming industry."

Toby Fox: "The Wii is perhaps the best-selling console in Nintendo's history."

Narrator: "This is the story of the top-selling home video game console in the world, and the man behind it. It's the story of Nintendo Wii."

Part I
Narrator: "The year is 2001. Game giant Nintendo releases its latest video game system, the GameCube. It's the company's lowest-selling product, and is also the lowest-selling console of its generation."

Abdallah "AbdallahSmash026" Elayan - YouTube Personality: "Nintendo had a lot of success with the NES, SNES, Game Boy, and N64, but they were beginning to lose ground to Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox, which were getting a much bigger teenage and college audience."

Sarah Natochenny - Voice Actor: "They were losing ground for sure. Of course, their franchises were well known, but that wasn't enough. And although Pokémon still saw success with the Ruby and Sapphire games for the Game Boy Advance, that wasn't enough to catch up with such consoles as PlayStation and Xbox."

Narrator: "But all that changes two years later, when a man by the name of Saturu Iwata is appointed as company president in the hopes that he'll be able to turn things around."

Johnny Yong Bosch - Voice Actor: "Satoru Iwata was a programmer at HAL Laboratories, which is the game studio behind the Kirby games as well as the first two Super Smash Bros. titles."

AbdallahSmash026: "The Kirby games were pretty successful for Nintendo, making their debut on Game Boy and later getting games for Nintendo's home consoles. The Kirby series also got an anime adaptation in Japan."

Narrator: "The success of the Kirby franchise makes it a key property in the Nintendo portfolio, joining the pantheon of franchises such as Super Mario, Pokémon, and The Legend of Zelda."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "HAL Laboratories definitely played an important part in Nintendo history thanks to Iwata, and it definitely wasn't a surprise that they found someone special in him. He was a true visionary. Another thing that was really remarkable about Iwata, he was a shrewd businessman as well. He turns out to be the Steve Jobs of video games, and was the right person to revive Nintendo."

Narrator: "In March 2004, Satoru Iwata unveils a 'Blue Ocean' strategy for Nintendo, designed to help them successfully compete against the other console manufacturers. Instead of competing on technical specifications, Iwata drew on his previous experience as a game developer to produce novel and entertaining hardware and games. The first of which being the Nintendo DS."

Judner "UrAvgConsumer" Aura - YouTube Personality: "The DS was a great console. It had a touchscreen on the bottom controller, something that had never been done before on a home console. And what especially made it great were really the games. There was Brain Age, Nintendogs, and you obviously can't forget the New Super Mario Bros. series."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "The DS definitely made its mark on the gaming world, for sure."

Narrator: "On November 21, 2004, Nintendo releases the DS in the United States. It arrives in Japan just a month later. The new handheld is a smash hit in both countries, and would go on to sell more than 154 million units worldwide. Satoru Iwata later turns his attention to make gaming at home more immersive."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "Satoru Iwata came up with the idea for the Wii. As far as development goes, this was part of his 'Blue Ocean' strategy."

Narrator: Codenamed the Revolution when it's first revealed, Nintendo soon gets to work on getting the new console in stores."

UrAvgConsumer: "The Wii was definitely unlike any other home gaming console. It made you get off the couch and feel as if you were actually in the game."

Narrator: "What Iwata doesn't realize, is how the Wii will have a massive impact on gaming history."

Part II
Narrator: "By 2005, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata unveils its next generation game console. Codenamed 'Revolution', this new system would later be known as the Wii."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "The Wii is an incredible system. Unlike the usual game controllers which require you to use both hands, the Wii was different. Instead of sitting down with two hands on a controller, you could actually stand up and hold a TV remote-like controller and feel like you were a golfer, a bowler, a race-car driver, there was literally nothing else like it."

Narrator: "The Wii launches in North America on November 19, 2006 for $250, with a Japanese release just one month later."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "Wii had a worldwide launch as most other Nintendo systems had in the past. And the launch was tremendous. The world was in love with Nintendo again thanks to the popularity of the Wii. It came out, people bought it, and it immediately expanded."

Narrator: "And the Wii has an unstoppable ally, a game called Wii Sports."

AbdallahSmash026: "The main reason the Wii was so successful was because of Wii Sports. It was a brilliant decision for Nintendo to bundle the game with the system."

UrAvgConsumer: "Wii Sports was definitely instrumental to the success of the Wii. Simply because it was on the Wii at the right time. I wouldn't say the Wii would've been a flop had it not been for Wii Sports."

Alfred R. Kahn - CEO, CraneKahn Entertainment: "The main reason why Wii Sports was so successful was it actually had kids get off the couch and not be couch potatoes."

Narrator: "Nintendo also develops a virtual console, where gamers can buy classic games from Nintendo's past."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "Motion controls set the Wii apart... for sure. Not only did it make Wii Sports more immersive, but they also made some interesting elements for other games as well. For example, the New Super Mario Bros. series was brought to the system, and had motion controls added to it. You played your Wii remote like a regular controller, but you could also shake it - for example - in order to make it more immersive."

Narrator: "But it doesn't take long for the competition to take notice."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "Microsoft, for Xbox, came up with Kinect a few years after the Wii came out. They had to be thanking their lucky stars over at Microsoft. Because, you know, here comes Nintendo, with their very small Wii which some older teens looked too much like a toy and the remote was too childish... And they laughed really hard because they thought the Wii was so pathetic. What they didn't realize was if you want immersive gaming, they want it built into the console, and they want it built into their controllers."

UrAvgConsumer: "One of the advantages of the Wii was it was the controller itself that made it more immersive. Sure, Kinect made some Xbox 360 games immersive, but it was very much a gimmick. And for a brand aimed at teens and young adults like Xbox, it just wasn't feasible."

Narrator: Although Kinect saw moderate success, the Wii still came out on top. Throughout the timespan of 2008 and 2010 spinoffs of Wii Sports focused on resort sports and fitness are released, and continue that success."

UrAvgConsumer: "Wii Fit was a spinoff of Wii Sports targeted to adults that want to be fit and healthy. It was almost like your own virtual gym, almost. You could learn yoga with the game, and it really challenged you in terms of workouts."

Johnny Yong Bosch: "There were a lot of games that took advatage of the Wii's technology. Not only that, but you could also connect your Wii to the internet - and by the 2010s - watch TV on it too. For example, Netflix - which is now the largest streaming service in the world - launched an app on the console.

Narrator: "Thanks to a great library of games, and many other capabilities, the Wii comes out on top, selling 80 million units by 2011. Meanwhile, Kinect for Xbox and PlayStation Move become things of the past. But how long will the revolutionary Wii stay on top?"