Kimishima on Miitomo, major update on the way
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, News | 7 Comments
This information comes from Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima…
We released Miitomo in March this year, and it will soon reach 15 million unique users. This title has not been impactful from a profit perspective, but the trends have been largely according to our expectations.
As our initial foray into the smart device business, Miitomo has focused on bringing Nintendo’s entertainment to as many people as possible across the world. Another main goal of Miitomo has been to let consumers connect with their friends. We are making preparations to allow friend relationships from Miitomo to be carried over to Super Mario Run. Since Super Mario Run has a mode where you can compete with other players, this means that active communication with your family and friends in Miitomo will lead to even more fun moments in Super Mario Run.
In order to enjoy Miitomo with your family and friends,we are planning a major update soon that will completely transform Miitomo by making communication with your friends even more fun. This update will introduce a unique message feature that lets you use your Mii character’s facial expressions and voice to send any message you want in expressive one-on-one communication. We are also planning additional features.
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Super Mario Run releasing in approximately 150 countries for iOS in December, approach to pricing
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, News | 1 Comment
This information comes from Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima…
In September this year, we announced Super Mario Run, a new action game featuring Mario optimized for
smart devices and playable with one hand. This game is set to launch globally in December.The Super Mario action games have been well-loved by fans all over the world, and we hope to reach even more fans across the world through Super Mario Run. We have been informed that over 20 million people have already signed up to receive notifications for the release of this title.
Previously, we announced that we would be releasing Super Mario Run in more than 100 countries, but we can now say that we plan to release this title in approximately 150 countries for iPhone and iPad in December. Although we have not announced the release timing yet, we are also developing an Android version. Downloading Super Mario Run will be free, as will some of the play elements. All of the game content will be enjoyable after paying a set purchase price. With our current plan, once a set purchase price is paid, consumers can repeatedly play the game without worrying about additional fees required. So, children can also play it with peace of mind. We will announce further details, including pricing, at a later date.
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Kimishima reiterates Nintendo’s goals with smart devices
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News | 0 comments
This information comes from Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima…
As we have explained in the past, Nintendo has three main goals when it comes to our smart device business. We would like to utilize smart devices as a platform to reach the maximum number of consumers with our IP. Of course, we also expect the smart device business to be profitable on its own, while generating synergy with our dedicated video game systems to maximize the potential of Nintendo’s overall business strategies. In addition to already-released Miitomo, we expect to have released the three titles listed above in series by the end of March 2017.
Kimishima on Nintendo’s 3DS lineup, Miitopia still coming to Japan this year
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 9 Comments
This information comes from Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima…
In addition to Pokémon, we have several other titles for Nintendo 3DS this year that are sure to appeal to a wide range of consumers. First, we have a title that is perfect for gatherings of family and friends over the holiday season. The well loved Mario Party series is back with less waiting time and more fun in the latest entry, Mario Party Star Rush, just released this month in Japan and Europe. This title will also expand your play options with new amiibo characters in the Mario series, launched on the same day. Mario Party Star Rush will be released in the U.S. on November 4.
Next, Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo, out this November, adds amiibo functionality to Animal Crossing: New Leaf for new ways to play. Consumers who already own Animal Crossing: New Leaf can update to Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo for free, so we hope that existing fans will also take this chance to visit their villages once
again. We are also releasing a new set of amiibo cards for Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo.
Pokemon Sun/Moon demo downloaded over 3.5 million times, fastest start for any 3DS demo
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 1 Comment
This information comes from Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima…
We released the Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon Special Demo Version starting on October 18th. Although the demo version only released last week, it has already passed 3.5 million downloads, the fastest start for any demo in the history of the Nintendo 3DS system. This point also shows the breadth of the audience for these games.
More: demo, Pokemon Moon, Pokemon Sun, top
Kimishima on Pokemon Sun/Moon pre-orders, trending higher than past titles
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News | 1 Comment
Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are also showing favorable trends for pre-orders. These graphs compare pre-orders for these titles in Japan, U.S., and Europe against the last entries in the series, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire. As you can see, pre-orders for Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are much higher, particularly in the U.S. and European regions. The pre-order periods for Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire are different, so a straight comparison is not possible, but it is clear that the newest titles are trending at a higher level than the previous games. We will begin airing television commercials this weekend, so we expect pre-orders to continue to accelerate.
Kimishima discusses amiibo and download sales
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News | 3 Comments
This graph shows sell-in numbers (sales from Nintendo to retailers) for figure-type amiibo in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, compared with the previous period. In the previous period, we sold many amiibo, particularly in the Splatoon series, reaching total sell-in of approximately 10.6 million units. Sell-in for this period was approximately 3.8 million units.
This graph shows the download sales of digital content for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U during the second quarter over the past three years. As a result of our continuing efforts, the ratio of consumers who purchased software digitally when a packaged version is also available has increased year-on-year. However, since Wii U software sales are down this period, and the previous period saw the release of more downloadable content, including content for Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, sales for this period were limited to 14.7 billion yen, falling short of the previous period.
Kimishima on how Pokemon GO has boosted Pokemon 3DS, working to remedy Pokemon GO Plus shortages
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News | 2 Comments
Over the summer, the smart device application Pokémon GO became a major hit and a social phenomenon.
This has sparked increased interest in Pokémon related software. Previous entries in the Pokémon series playable on the
Nintendo 3DS system were Pokémon X and Pokémon Y in 2013 and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire in 2014. We also released the original games in this series, Pokémon Red, Pokémon Green, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Pikachu, as downloadable Virtual Console titles in February this year. These Pokémon series titles have seen an increase in sales despite having been on the market for some time already.
This graph shows the month-on-month sales of titles in the Pokémon series in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, as mentioned earlier in the presentation. As you can see, the release of Pokémon GO in July led to a major upsurge in sales, particularly for the U.S. and European markets. We can clearly see that the release of Pokémon GO has raised interest in Pokémon and contributed to a resurgence of sales for previously released Pokémon titles.
Similarly, this graph shows the month-on-month sales for Nintendo 3DS family systems. You can see that there is a peak in July for hardware as well, following the release of Pokémon GO.
We launched the Pokémon GO Plus accessory on September 16th to provide a more comfortable play experience for Pokémon GO. Demand far exceeded our expectations and production has not caught up, leading to product shortages. We apologize to the consumers and distributors affected by this. We are planning to expand production as needed, and will
continue to produce and ship additional units.
Kimishima on 3DS hardware / software sales, Pokemon GO effect
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News | 0 comments
This graph shows Nintendo 3DS system hardware sellthrough in Japan from April 2016 through the second week of October compared with sell-through for the previous period. The Nintendo 3DS family had already reached an installed base of over 21 million units in Japan by the end of March this year, and sell-through for this period has continued at a comparable pace. We also introduced Nintendo 2DS to the Nintendo 3DS family hardware lineup in Japan last month, aiming to further expand the base for this platform. Nintendo 2DS is offered at an even more affordable price and children can easily enjoy playing with it as their first game system. The previously-released New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL systems have also continued to sell without any major slowdown and have brought in new customers. Nintendo 3DS hardware overall continues to show strong sales trends.
Note 1: Nintendo 3DS hardware includes the New Nintendo 3DS, the New Nintendo 3DS XL, the Nintendo 3DS, the Nintendo 3DS XL and the Nintendo 2DS.
Note 2: FW: Week number in the fiscal year (the first week of April is FW1)
Kimishima on the state of Wii U sales
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
We have significantly decreased the shipping volume for Wii U for the fiscal year ending March 2017 compared to the fiscal year ended March 2016, and we are expecting to sell 800,000 units.
These graphs show the sell-through (sales from retailers to consumers) of Wii U hardware and first party packaged software in our major markets: Japan, the U.S. and Europe. Sales from April 2016 through the second week of October are compared against sales in the same period for the last two years. Hardware sellthrough for this period is down significantly compared to the previous two years, but this is in alignment with our expectations. The sell-through for software is not as high as that for the previous period, which saw the release of major hits such as Splatoon and Super Mario Maker, but due to the increased sell-through overseas of popular titles at a special low price point under the
Nintendo Selects banner, total sales are on par with those for the fiscal year ended March 2015.Note: FY = Fiscal year (April through March of the following year)
