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3DS

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata addressed the topic of third-party support – for both 3DS and Wii U – during the company’s investor briefing last week.

Regarding 3DS, Iwata says the platform has become “the number one dedicated video game system that Japanese third-party publishers are focusing on” due to its “overwhelmingly strong presence in the hardware as well as software markets”. Nintendo will continue to distribute and publish some Japanese titles “this year and the next.”

The situation is different in the west, as publishers tend to focus more on consoles as opposed to handhelds. However, Iwata noted: “the fact that Nintendo 3DS has now sold over 10 million units in both the U.S. and Europe seems to be news for third-party publishers, and we have recently been receiving more proposals from third-party publishers.”

When it comes to Wii U, “opinions significantly differ among third-party publishers.” There are still some publishers – particular those “that has great affinity with audiences that Nintendo has historically been strong with” – who continue to support the console and even look to assist Nintendo in getting people to upgrade from Wii to Wii U. “On the other hand, software publishers are not necessarily keen on making games in genres that have weaker affinity with audiences that Nintendo has not been as strong with, where making a huge investment does not guarantee a sufficient return,” Iwata explained. Ultimately, Iwata believes Nintendo must “create a strong foundation in areas Nintendo excels at and achieve a sufficient sales volume,” which is the first step for the company.

Satoru Iwata

Momentum is something that we often hear Nintendo discussing. The 3DS, for example, saw a tough start, but Nintendo turned things around with a price drop and steady stream of software. This provided a momentum boost for the system.

Unfortunately, Wii U has yet to see any sort of momentum. This is something that Nintendo president Satoru Iwata reaffirmed to investors last week.

In spite of the Wii U’s struggles though, Iwata says he “never thought of resignation as an option, and I believe that my job is to do whatever I can do to deliver results, and I am as passionate about this responsibility as ever.”

Read Iwata’s full comments on momentum below.

Thanks to the 3DS’ install base, Nintendo now feels that it can turn a profit with the system’s software. President Satoru Iwata mentioned to investors last week that the company has “many key titles to be released in this calendar year and we will strive to drive profits from these titles.” 3DS overall is expected to be “the key profit-driver for the next fiscal year”.

With Wii U, on the other hand, Iwata admitted that “it is not easy to make a significant profit with the current units sold.” But with Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. acting “as our main drivers”, Nintendo “would like to make sure that the markets will thoroughly acknowledge the value of Wii U, including the titles that we have released to date.”

This week’s expanded Japanese software sales are as follows:

01./00. [PS3] Sengoku Basara 4 # (Capcom) {2014.01.23} (¥6.990) – 176.313 / NEW <67,91%>
02./01. [3DS] Kirby Triple Deluxe
(Nintendo) {2014.01.11} (¥4.800) – 58.015 / 353.291 (-28%)
03./02. [3DS] PazuDora Z: Puzzle & Dragons Z (GungHo Online Entertainment) {2013.12.12} (¥4.400) – 35.568 / 1.300.778 (-27%)
04./00. [PS3] Saints Row IV (Spike Chunsoft) {2014.01.23} (¥5.980) – 34.486 / NEW
05./00. [PS3] Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (Bandai Namco Games) {2014.01.23} (¥7.480) – 30.192 / NEW
06./00. [PSV] Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z
(Bandai Namco Games) {2014.01.23} (¥6.480) – 22.901 / NEW
07./04. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch (Level 5) {2013.07.11} (¥4.800) – 17.544 / 345.529 (-8%)
08./49. [3DS] Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind (Spike Chunsoft) {2013.12.05} (¥6.090) – 17.282 / 221.249 (+792%)
09./03. [3DS] Pokemon X / Y # (Pokemon Co.) {2013.10.12} (¥4.800) – 16.933 / 3.910.658 (-28%)
10./05. [3DS] The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds # (Nintendo) {2013.12.26} (¥4.800) – 15.095 / 356.494 (-16%)
11./07. [PS3] Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (Square Enix) {2013.12.26} (¥7.140) – 10.412 / 266.171 (-26%)
12./00. [PSP] La Corda d’Oro 3: Another Sky feat. Jinnan # (Koei Tecmo) {2014.01.23} (¥6.090) – 10.295 / NEW
13./00. [PSV] Uta Kumi 575 # (Sega) {2014.01.23} (¥7.350) – 9.701 / NEW
14./06. [3DS] Battle For Money Sentouchuu: Densetsu no Shinobi no Survival Battle!
(Bandai Namco Games) {2013.10.17} (¥4.980) – 9.271 / 251.197 (-46%)
15./08. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 #
(Capcom) {2013.09.14} (¥5.990) – 8.285 / 3.201.132 (-38%)
16./10. [WIU] Super Mario 3D World
(Nintendo) {2013.11.21} (¥5.985) – 7.667 / 470.687 (-27%)
17./12. [PS3] Grand Theft Auto V
(Take-Two Interactive Japan) {2013.10.10} (¥7.770) – 7.199 / 689.415 (-2%)
18./09. [PSV] Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster: Twin Pack # (Square Enix) {2013.12.26} (¥7.140) – 7.033 / 214.245 (-45%)
19./11. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf # (Nintendo) {2012.11.08} (¥4.800) – 6.437 / 3.656.250 (-24%)
20./00. [360] Saints Row IV (Spike Chunsoft) {2014.01.23} (¥5.980) – 5.393 / NEW

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