Tag Archives: Iwata
Iwata Talks New Genres for 3DS, Demos, eShop on Smartphones, Wii U, and More
This year isn’t turning out to be a great one for Nintendo. After a weak launch for the 3DS that forced Nintendo to drop its price after only a few months on store shelves, Nintendo is now forecasting a loss for the year ending March 31, 2012 — the first time this will have happened since the company started reporting its consolidated earnings reports 30 years ago.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata feels responsible for much of this (as evidenced by the salary cut he and other executives took over the summer), although he’s not about to sit around and mope. He and Nintendo have a plan.
Iwata on Ditching 3D, Supporting Social Networks, and Wii U Price Cut Concerns
3D might be the most distinct feature of the 3DS, but it’s not the only thing that sets it apart. It is, however, something that could be entirely ignored in future game releases — even those from Nintendo.
An English translation of Nintendo’s recent financial results Q&A has gone live, giving us more insight into the company’s decision to drop the price of the 3DS so early in its life cycle, among other things. CEO Satoru Iwata addressed a number of questions about the system’s 3D capabilities, prompting him to outline the difficulties of conveying 3D through traditional advertising. He also admitted that 3D isn’t a necessary feature for every 3DS game.
“I think there could be a Nintendo 3DS software title which does not use the 3D feature at all, and I believe Nintendo will develop such software,” he said. “Instead, other features of the Nintendo 3DS should be focused on. It might be a communication feature, or other functions (such as the gyro sensor or the motion sensor). The important thing is that each respective software title has its own characteristics, and appeals to the consumers in a way that fits the software. So I am not worried in a way like, ‘The value of the Nintendo 3DS will decrease when the novelty of 3D wears off.’”
Wii U Could Have Been Better Explained, Iwata Admits
Following the announcement of the Wii U at E3 earlier this week, confusion began to spread among some. Was this a new console? Was it a new controller for Wii? Was it a standalone tablet device? This largely stemmed from the fact that Nintendo never showed the console itself (pictured above) during its media briefing, only releasing pictures of it on the Internet afterwards. While Nintendo doesn’t consider it a “blunder,” president Satoru Iwata does realize it would have been wise to show a picture of the system prior to demonstrating the controller.
“Because we put so much emphasis on the controller, there appeared to be some misunderstandings,” he told the London Evening Standard. “We should have made more effort to explain how it works.”
“We haven’t made any kind of blunder, but I should have shown a single picture of the new console, then started talking about the controller,” he said. “The console is not drastically different, and Wii U is about the controller. The console itself will be almost invisible.”
Satoru Iwata GDC Keynote Liveblog
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata will be delivering a keynote at this year’s Game Developers Conference entitled “Videogames Turn 25: A Historical Perspective and Vision for the Future.”
1UP will be liveblogging the entire keynote this Wednesday, March 2, at 9:00am Pacific, so join us then to see what he has to say about the evolution and future of the games industry.
Iwata Says 3DS Warning is to Fend Off Lawsuits
Last week, a number of leading eye doctors expressed their confusion over Nintendo’s warning that kids under six years of age shouldn’t play the Nintendo 3DS with the 3D effects turned on. Now Nintendo president Satoru Iwata seems to have admitted what was already pretty obvious — that the warning is more about protecting Nintendo from any potential lawsuits, however legitimate, than about any real dangers to child eyesight.
Speaking to the Japanese edition of the Wall Street Journal (via Andriasang), Iwata stressed that just because Nintendo issued the warning doesn’t mean they actually think the 3DS is dangerous. Rather, he said it’s only to give customers “adequate information” and to “protect against lawsuits.”
Nintendo has been serious about the warning, though, even keeping children under six from playin the 3DS with the 3D effect on at the Nintendo World event in Japan over the weekend (kids were given a Toad sticker to indicate they were too young to play with the effect on). Iwata also went on to defend the warning to the WSJ, mentioning that “some specialists” believe extended 3D viewing could be harmful to eye development in kids — although he didn’t mention which specialists, or any specific studies showing that could be the case.
