Tagged with: Satoru Iwata

The 3DS XL launches at the end of next month and Satoru Iwata has made it clear that “there are no plans in the near future for new models” of the system. Of course, we’ve heard similar things before, and we didn’t expect to see a 3DS XL so soon. But he said that “the 3DS XL was the result of there being great need for a large screen”, implying that there’s no other sort of tweak that would be classified as a “great need”.

Satoru Iwata shared the above chart in an investor meeting, also mentioning that:

…at the end of last year which reported that the total unit sales of the Nintendo 3DS reached four million faster than the Nintendo DS or the Wii. However, at that time, this pace was not the fastest in Japan’s video game history, since it was slower than that of the Game Boy Advance. But, the Nintendo 3DS did not lose its momentum even after the new year, and two weeks ago it broke the record of the fastest sales pace.

And I’m assuming we can stop saying the 3DS is doomed. It seems to be doing quite well.

Satoru Iwata revealed more details about Nintendo Network at a recent investor’s briefing in Japan, sharing that this new system (and yes, it is a new system, rather than a re-branding) will be implemented in the 3DS and the Wii U. The new services under this new system include downloadable content (which we were already aware was coming to the 3DS). There is also the possibility of full retail game download though. But Iwata did note that Nintendo has not decided when it will roll out this feature.

Satoru Iwata has shared the following announcement in a recent investor meeting:

Although there is no logo here, we are planning to release a totally new side-scrolling action Super Mario in 2D as a key title for the Nintendo 3DS in the next fiscal year.

This means it will launch on the 3DS between the end of March 2012 and the end of March 2013.

Satoru Iwata has confirmed that StreetPass Quest 2 is on its way and will be released with the new firmware in November. In addition to that, the Mii Plaza will be updated to provide you with a rough geographic location of every newly met Mii after the update hits. There will also be fresh puzzles to be completed via StreetPass.

Satoru Iwata has announced that Nintendo will be hosting another major conference for the 3DS this Friday on October 21st. It will be live streamed via UStream and will apparently deliver news that wasn’t mentioned at the previous conference. You can click here to find the official website for the conference. What do you think will be announced or shown off?

Update: This is what andriasang has said:

As an example of what to expect from the event, Nintendo mentioned details on the 3DS system’s November firmware update and Mario Kart 7′s wireless play support.

The stream kicks off at 8pm on October 21st. That’s in Japanese time.

Masamitsu Ohki, a fund manager at Tokyo-based Stats Investment Management Co. has said that:

Smartphones are the new battlefield for the gaming industry. Nintendo should try to either buy its way into this platform or develop something totally new.

And I always find this interesting debate. I realise there is plenty of contention about where the iPhone and other smartphones are “real” gaming platforms, but at the end of the day, they can play games, so they are gaming platforms. At the same time though, I don’t see how touch screens could provide the same level of accuracy as analog sticks and buttons, which seems to limit the depth that any of these games can provide.

I think it’d be fascinating if Nintendo developed an iPhone title. Even if it was a small one, like a reworking of the augmented reality games included with the 3DS. The iPhone can handle augmented reality just fine, so it’d be interesting to see how that sort of experience, in addition to Nintendo’s branding would sell.

But, Satoru Iwata has said that “Nintendo will only make titles for its own products as long as he’s in charge,” so I wouldn’t expect any deviation from Nintendo’s current way of doing things anytime soon.