efore we get Wiis to call our very own, we still have some lingering questions to clear up. When we want some good info, we ask the lady at the top, Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan. Read up on the cold, hard facts on the just about everything from component cable availability to third-party launch plans to the rumors of the Wii exceeding production schedules. After all, it sure beats freezing yourself for the next two weeks.

Game Informer: Welcome to this time of the year.

Perrin Kaplan: Welcome to the most fantastic launch since the N64, plus a whole bunch.

GI: That’s interesting that you said that. Do you really think it is the best launch since the N64?

Kaplan: When we’re still away from the launch and we have people calling here to make sure they can get it, you know, P. Diddy, Uma Thurman, people that just have got to get their hands on it, the momentum is just great. Today alone, Business Week, News Week, The Wallstreet Journal, Yahoo and South Park last night. There’s just so much going on, it’s awesome.

GI: So you’re excited to get it out the door? Get it rolling?

Kaplan: Totally. Yeah out the door. I mean, I think consumers will decide ultimately in the end. On the DS, we have players that were uninitiated that are starting to play now and the interest level virally from people who didn’t play in the past is getting pretty high in addition to those that are already gamers.

GI: How many units do you guys expect at launch?

Kaplan: One.

GI: One unit? “Everyone’s going to beat the crap out of us!” Oh, Sony’s way ahead then.

Kaplan: We are going to move four million globally by the end of the year.

GI: There is word that you guys are ahead of schedule.

Kaplan: There’s some rumor about nine to 11 million coming out?

GI: Yeah, that there is potential for more than the four million. Is there any truth to that?

Kaplan: With the supply-demand that we kind of project may occur, I think people would be very happy if we had more than four million. I think we’re going to sell every last unit we get. It’s purely a rumor.

GI: It was interesting that you said this is the best launch since the N64.

Kaplan: Just the excitement around it. The different things we’re doing, I’m excited about that.

GI: But the amount of first-party titles… You have Zelda and Excite Truck at launch. You’ve got Wii Sports which is packed in. So you launch with the same amount of titles as you did with the N64.

Kaplan: I didn’t say this was going to be like the N64. It’s a very different target audience. There are a lot of things going on that weren’t really happening in that particular era. It’s a different day in the gaming industry. I really think the Wii is going to change the direction of the game industry for good. We have purposely chosen some of our franchises to be fence-posted throughout the next 12 to 18 months. We have a lot of third-party games and a large chunk of Virtual Console games at launch.

GI: Now as far as the launch, you guys released an announcement on Halloween that I was a little confused with. First party titles would be available on launch day and third party titles would become available throughout the year. That’s how it read.

Kaplan: Well, we’re just not saying when the third-party titles are coming out. That’s up to them.

GI: So there will be third-party titles on day one? Do you know how many?

Kaplan: We’re really leaving that up to them, it’s their business and a lot can still happen before a launch day. And also, I really think that it’s avid gamers and the media that are really focused on day one. That doesn’t really mean much. It’s the launch window that counts. It’s really between the day the units go one sale all the way to December 24th.

GI: But your hardcore fan base definitely wants to know what’s going to happen on day one.

Kaplan: I know they want to know.

GI: Also on Halloween, you revealed the Virtual Console launch list. The amount of games on the list just seems a little weak and I was just wondering why it was decided.

Kaplan: It’s a fantastic meal served in different courses. If I gave you the whole thing at launch, it would be way too much to eat. I think 61 of everything for people to pick from is pretty healthy.

GI: So those are all of the titles we are going to see until the end of 2006. How many are you planning on releasing on a monthly basis?

Kaplan: Well for Virtual Console, we are looking at around 10 per month. As far as the rest of the titles, we are ready to announce the Q1 soon. I know it’s never as soon as y’all want. We’re pretty pragmatic business people and you want something really early and the rest of the consumers actually don’t need it until then, so we try to do something that’s more in between. There will be plenty of games in 2007. Super Smash is coming in 2007. Galaxy is coming in 2007. Metroid Prime. There are lots.

GI: Will we be able to download Virtual Console titles from other regions?

Kaplan: No one’s ever asked me that. I don’t believe so, because you’d be downloading something in Japanese.