Nintendo's new online community, dubbed Miiverse, will allow players to communicate on Nintendo's upcoming console like never before. Naturally, this comes with its fair share of concerns, as opening up the opportunity for players to post their thoughts on particular games could result in some nasty side effects (see Metacritic).
CEO Satoru Iwata addressed these concerns head-on in an interview with CVG, saying that there's a real danger that could potentially stem from "negative campaigns on the internet in which false opinions are deliberately posted to ruin the reputation of a product.” That said, Iwata also brought to light the importance of free speech and his confidence in the community to minimize this issue.
“It is very difficult to tell consumers' real complaints from those that are posted as part of a negative campaign. If we were to delete anything negative about our games, it could constitute a suppression of free speech and you would not able to believe in even a good reputation," he said. “We cannot afford to always act on 'the ethical doctrine that human nature is fundamentally good.' At the same time, however, we would like to believe in the possibility of 'the wisdom of crowds,' which could create a very interesting and fascinating world, and make efforts for the services to realize it in one way or another.”
Nintendo fans, remember this: with great power comes great responsibility. Sorry, just saw The Amazing Spider-Man the other night and couldn't resist. But seriously, you don't want to disappoint Iwata.
