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Satoru Iwata is currently hosting an investors briefing for Nintendo’s latest financial results. As usual, analyst David Gibson has been live-tweeting from the event.

Read on below for a summary of items discussed during the meeting:

– Iwata says he feels great responsibility for not achieving forecast target
– 3DS is, in Japan, on good track with 3/5 top games from Nintendo
– Animal Crossing: New Leaf has exceeded plans
– US market has been worse with only 2 out of the top 20 titles from 3DS and no console in the territory
– US sales down 27%, compared to Japan while previously 2.5x
– “also blaming competitors were aggressively bundling titles in usa and eu”
– Germany and France 3DS sales up year-over-year
– These are the best markets for Europe
– In the US, Nintendo had 5 titles in the top 20
– France: 11/20; Germany: 10/20; Spain: 11/20
– UK was lower
– “still saying 3ds volumes accum exceeding ds ramp”
– Overseas 3DS software is not there yet to drive hardware sales, but has become leading platform in Japan
– Wii U value proposition not delivered enough to consumers
– Nintendo is selling below cost and not planning to discount further
– “set minimum 100bn op for next fy,committment from mgmt, want to eliminate loss per unit aggressively”
– To achieve this target in Japan, 3DS will gain Monster Hunter 4, Dragon Quest VII, Pokemon X/Y, and has Animal Crossing
– Overseas, Nintendo will release Fire Emblem, Brain Age, LEGO City, Animal Crossing by mid-year
– 10 more titles coming from Nintendo
– All of these games will be available digitally on 3DS
– More Japanese 3DS games for third-parties will be released overseas like Professor Layton
– Digital space has proven important for sales
– Animal Crossing: New Leaf sales account for 1/4 of sales
– Nintendo wants to do more third-party collaborations
– Not just licencing; Nintendo wants to collaborate with developers
– Wii U connectivity rate is 74%
– Nintendo wants to enhance pad usage
– Google Street View delayed to mid-February for Japan
– Iwata says it’s an example of what they want to do with the GamePad in living room
– Called “WiiStreetU”
– Can tour places from living room
– Adjusts to orientation of GamePad as you pan around
– Handheld and console R&D is now together
– Plan is that software can work across each other with potential for mid-long term
– Wii U will have more software to come out from mid-year onwards in particular
– Miyamoto: changing my gaming style with Wii U
– Miyamoto – saying developers have not put much uniqueness in games as yet
– Iwata: Wii U is part of my life
– Iwata says not every single game can become cloud offered and believes hardware won’t become obsolete
– Need to think of something new and unexpected in games
– Miyamoto: smartphone games are now so functional, users become satisfied
– Nintendo’s mission is to offer more and hence users buy their systems
– Miyamoto: for consoles, he thinks the TV can be more useful in people’s lives; this is Wii U’s mission
– Animal Crossing: New Leaf has been more successful with more women/girls compared to the DS game; 2/3 women buyers
– 3DS female mix was 25% in week 1, but that hit 50% when Animal Crossing launched and continues at high levels since the game released
– Iwata: need to think of better way to communicate asymetrical gameplay
– Miyamoto: don’t think all games should incorporate asymetrical gameplay
– Miyamoto: Miyamoto thinks besides HD there is no better way to play with 2 screens
– Iwata: said up until middle of last year was difficult to develop for Wii U for Nintendo and 3rd party, improve over time, we have overcome it
– “processor is memory optimised,cpu/gpu becoming less important, competitors doing the same”
– Iwata: digital sales key for growth, but won’t replace packaged releases
– Achieved 11bn sales in 9 months
– Wii U NFC “can be used for games with figures/cards working with game, making preparations in that direction ,say by end of yr”
– ” nfc is similar to felica in jp so studying to use nfc for e-money, no change to dividend policy or return to shareholders”
– Iwata: it is my mission to improve and make our platforms solid and hence achieve 100bn op, wiiu after summer will have more games to drive

Source


Remember Tomodachi Collection 3DS? It was announced in August of last year, but dropped off the radar following the initial reveal. The game is still in development, according to an updated release schedule from Nintendo, and it’s still on track to launch this spring.

There are other interesting inclusions in the schedule. Nintendo lists the new Monolith Wii U game for Japan, but not North America and Europe. That’s rather strange. I have a feeling that Nintendo won’t be stingy with its localization like it was with Xenoblade, but the non-inclusion is peculiar.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf is coming to North America “early” this year. Europe is getting the game between April and June. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD is reconfirmed for release in all three major territories (North America, Europe, and Japan) this fall.

Take a look at the full release schedule above.



Included in Nintendo’s latest financial report is an updated listing of its million seller titles. New entries include Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

The full listing is as follows (worldwide numbers):

DS

Pokemon Black/White 2 – 7.63 million
New Super Mario Bros. – 30.18 million

3DS

New Super Mario Bros. 2 – 5.96 million
Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 2.73 million
Mario Kart 7 – 7.73 million
Super Mario 3D Land – 8.0 million
Paper Mario: Sticker Star – 1.83 million
Mario Tennis Open – 1.07 million

Wii

Wii Sports – 81.64 million
Mario Party 9 – 2.73 million
Mario Kart Wii – 34.01 million
Wii Sports Resort – 31.54 million
New Super Mario Bros. Wii – 27.61 million

Wii U

Nintendo Land – 2.23 million
New Super Mario Bros. U – 2.01 million


This week’s Japanese software sales are as follows:

01./02. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf # (Nintendo) {2012.11.08} (¥4.800) – 82.370 / 2.366.126 (-15%)
02./01. [PS3] DmC: Devil May Cry (Capcom) {2013.01.17} (¥6.990) – 31.627 / 142.056 (-71%)
03./00. [PSP] Gintama no Sugoroku (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.01.24} (¥6.280) – 27.011 / NEW
04./00. [PSV] Demon Gaze (Kadokawa Games) {2013.01.24} (¥6.090) – 25.316 / NEW
05./00. [3DS] Fantasy Life (Level 5) {2012.12.27} (¥5.800) – 25.042 / 187.772
06./00. [PSV] Genkai Totsuki Monster Monpiece # (Compile Heart) {2013.01.24} (¥7.140) – 24.978 / NEW
07./00. [PS3] Kamisama to Unmei Kakumei no Paradox # (Nippon Ichi Software) {2013.01.24} (¥7.140) – 23.417 / NEW
08./00. [PS3] Hitman: Absolution (Square Enix) {2013.01.24} (¥7.980) – 22.233 / NEW
09./03. [PSP] Digimon Adventure (Bandai Namco Games) {2013.01.17} (¥6.280) – 13.991 / 61.798 (-71%)
10./04. [3DS] New Super Mario Bros. 2 # (Nintendo) {2012.07.28} (¥4.800) – 12.834 / 1.886.476 (-28%)
11./05. [3DS] Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Best Price!) (Capcom) {2012.11.15} (¥3.800) – 12.105 / 196.243 (-12%)
12./06. [3DS] Inazuma Eleven Go 2: Chrono Stone – Neppuu / Raimei (Level 5) {2012.12.13} (¥5.500) – 8.942 / 400.331 (-26%)
13./08. [3DS] Paper Mario: Sticker Star (Nintendo) {2012.12.06} (¥4.800) – 8.185 / 504.107 (-26%)
14./12. [3DS] Taiko no Tatsujin: Chibi Dragon to Fushigi na Orb (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.07.12} (¥5.040) – 7.640 / 401.125 (-9%)
15./09. [WIU] New Super Mario Bros. U (Nintendo) {2012.12.08} (¥5.985) – 6.883 / 448.591 (-28%)
16./19. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Super Deluxe Edition # (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.11.29} (¥5.040) – 6.852 / 367.165 (+17%)
17./07. [3DS] Tousouchuu: Shijou Saikyou no Hunter-Tachi Kara Nigekire! (Bandai Namco Games) {2012.07.05} (¥5.040) – 6.761 / 406.143 (-42%)
18./15. [PS3] Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Dubbed Edition (Square Enix) {2012.12.20} (¥7.980) – 6.111 / 112.964 (-17%)
19./10. [PS3] Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 # (Koei Tecmo) {2012.12.20} (¥8.190) – 5.983 / 222.794 (-36%)
20./11. [WIU] Nintendo Land (Nintendo) {2012.12.08} (¥4.935) – 5.914 / 276.831 (-32%)

Source


The latest Japanese hardware sales from Media Create are as follows:

3DS LL – 48,226
3DS – 26,898
PS3 – 18,322
Wii U – 13,746
PSP – 12,897
Vita – 9,748
Wii – 2,093
Xbox 360 – 611

For comparison’s sake, here are the hardware numbers from last week:

3DS LL – 51,015
3DS – 30,840
PS3 – 19,697
Wii U – 16,654
PSP – 15,343
Vita – 9,036
Wii – 2,199
Xbox 360 – 706


A few new Shin Megami Tensei IV tidbits have been translated from this week’s Famitsu. In its latest issue, the publication provided information regarding the game’s battles.

Shin Megami Tensei IV will employ a press turn system. If players exploit an enemy’s weakness in battle, their party will gain additional actions.

When defeated, players will come across the ferryman from the Sanzu River. Give him a Macca and you’ll be back in action. This is unlike Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne – you simply head back to the main menu when defeated in the PS2 title.

Is Shin Megami Tensei IV proving too difficult for you? Then simply change the game’s difficulty to “easy”, which will allow defeated players to continue after losing a certain number of times.

Source


Nintendo is offering a new incentive for players to collect one million coins in New Super Mario Bros. 2.

Australian players will join a special million coins club upon reaching the goal. Additionally, Nintendo will be handing out a unique certificate.

You can see all of the Australian millionaires here. Gamers have until March 31 to reach the total.


Nintendo has published the English translation of Brain Age: Concentration Training (known in Europe as Dr Kawashima’s Devilish Brain Training). Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Dr. Kawashima talk about the new 3DS game and more in a six page discussion. Access the discussion here.



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