Howard Lincoln: Defends the Nintendo 64 & Virtual Boy (w/ Jeremy Lamont)

Welcome to Interview Reenactment, where we recreate some of the greatest video game interviews of all time. Today's episode reenacts a surprisingly confrontational interview between Nintendo chairman Howard Lincoln and Next Generation magazine. This interview takes place in the mid-1990s, when Nintendo's luck was beginning to run out. In a defensive position, Howard Lincoln explains their strategy to once again become the biggest player in the video game industry. Does Nintendo have a clue? Find out when you listen to this brand new episode of Interview Reenactment.



WHO IS HOWARD LINCOLN: Although he originally joined Nintendo in the early 1980s, Howard Lincoln will always be remembered as the man who led the video game giant through the 16- and 64-bit eras. He will also be thought of as a strong defender of the video games medium, pushing back at the politicians who used fear-mongering tactics to smear the interactive entertainment industry. He stepped down as Nintendo's chairman in 2000, only to continue his as the CEO of the Seattle Mariner's baseball team.

By 1997, Howard Lincoln's luck was starting to run out. After a closer-than-expected battle with Sega in the 16-bit era, Nintendo's next move was to release the Virtual Boy, a faux-virtual reality headset that used red lines to give off the impression of 3D. Unfortunately, it was too expensive and gave people headaches, leading Nintendo to eventually discontinue the system. They followed that up with the Nintendo 64, a cartridge-based console with a limited selection of games. All this led to a surprisingly confrontational interview between the game publishing giant and Next Generation magazine.

SPECIAL THANKS: We would like to thank Next Generation magazine for not only running this interview, but also asking challenging questions. This episode would not have been possible without the editors at Next Generation, as well as Howard Lincoln. I would also like to thank Jeremy LaMont, who did a wonderful job in the role of the former Nintendo chairman. It's even more impressive because he has absolutely nothing to promote.

Next Generation Interviews
Tom Kalinske
Sega Mark McAvoy 17:13
Next Generation Interviews
Tom Zito
Sega Jed Pressgrove 17:09
Next Generation Interviews
Sam Tramiel
Atari Aaron B. 8:10
Next Generation Interviews
Howard Lincoln
Nintendo Jeremy LaMont 12:02
Next Generation Interviews
David Perry
Shiny Steve Jaworski 8:54
Next Generation Interviews
Sen. Joe Lieberman
Politics Daniel Santos 16:07
Next Generation Interviews
Steve Race
Sony Brad Gallaway 24:49
Next Generation Interviews
Jeremy Smith
Core Justin Celani 20:10
Next Generation Interviews
Eugene Jarvis
Retro Kevin Bailey 15:01
Next Generation Interviews
Sam Tramiel (Part 2)
Atari Aaron B. 26:58