After the Press breakfast with Nintendo, the main people from Nintendo were available to chat with. Peter MacDougall was chatting with Perrin “Jedi” Kaplan, and I got a few minutes to talk to him about his new position in NOA, what he thought about Spaceworld, and what games he likes to play...

Billy: It’s very nice meeting you Peter! Congratulations on your promotion!

Peter: Thank you! It’s been lots of fun, and we have a lot of momentum going right now.

Billy: Are there any changes you plan on implementing when you take over for Peter Main?

Peter: No, not at all. There’s going to be a different orchestra leader, but the same music. Nintendo in general remains very consistent. Nothing’s going to really change.

Billy: Peter Main is from Canada, and now you’re moving from Nintendo of Canada to Nintendo of America. Is there some sort of Canadian conspiracy going on here?

Peter: (laughs) Not at all! I’ve been with Nintendo for 12 years, and it’s really neat following in Peter Main’s footsteps.

Billy: Since I always ask everyone this question... what are your favorite Nintendo games?

Peter: It’s rather ironic, but I don’t really have enough time to play games. I do like puzzle games like Wario’s Woods, and Dr. Mario. I also liked the Zelda titles. It’s really hard to say. I mean, when we released Super Mario Bros. 3 I thought that that game was fantastic, and didn’t know how we would top that... and then we released Super Mario 64.

Billy: What GameCube games are you most looking forward to?

Peter: Eternal Darkness.

Billy: That’s more of the Canadian conspiracy!

Peter: (laughs) That’s not what I like it. I mean all of the games look excellent. Luigi’s great. Wave Race is a lot of fun. Smash Brothers... hrm... I wish I had 16-year-old’s reflexes.

Billy: We were told that during Spaceworld there would be an announcement about Nintendo’s online plans. So far we haven’t heard anything. What’s Nintendo’s stance now?

Peter: Nintendo is still evaluating online gaming. At E3 2 years ago, online gaming was supposed to take over the world, and it hasn’t happened yet.

Billy: Well, Sega announced it will have Phantasy Star Online playable online on GameCube in March of 2002. Will we hear more about Nintendo’s online plans before that?

Peter: Phantasy Star Online is Sega’s game, not Nintendo’s. Sega is still struggling a little bit.

Billy: Define the Nintendo Difference. I mean, what does it mean to you?

Peter: I think simply put, it’s how Nintendo does things different. Take the new look of Zelda for example, it’s not just part of a formula. It’s new gameplay value. Or even Pokemon, it took a lot of courage to bring that forward.

Billy: Thanks for your time Peter!

Peter: You’re very welcome.