Iwata talks all about the 3DS (full quotes on price, date, auto updates and more), opinion on piracy, social games, 3G
Iwata on the launch date/price of the 3DS…
“First about the launch timing, when we made the original financial forecasts for this fiscal year, we thought that it would be desirable to launch Nintendo 3DS by the end of this calendar year and, with that as the premise, we made the financial forecasts and the plans. The developments are making progress, and we have been proceeding ahead in order to start mass production. By now, however, we have come to understand that, if we launched it this calendar year, it would be difficult to produce a sufficient amount. Also, in terms of the completion level of the product, we believe that it will reach the most satisfactory level by our standards if we will launch it on the date we just announced.
For platform businesses, rather than focusing on the current fiscal year’s performance alone, the most important thing is to provide a healthy launch for a new platform because, as part of Nintendo’s core business, such platform will need to be able to support Nintendo’s business performance for the years to come. As it is desirable to prepare a sufficient amount for a sound launch and, at the same time, as we will also be able to further raise the product’s completion level, we have come to the launch date that we just announced. On the other hand, I recognize that it has generated a negative effect upon this year’s annual financial forecasts.
About your second question of the price point, you indicated your concern that it is more expensive than Wii. Portable video game machines integrate both a gaming device and a screen. You do not need any other hardware devices to be connected in order for you to play with it. We do not think, “the price relationship between portable devices and home consoles must stay intact simply because it used to be that way.” While it is always better for the price to be as accessible as possible, in terms of its cost, and in order to make a healthy and sustainable business for both the hardware and the software, and given the positive reactions since E3, which give us the indication on how the public are likely to appreciate the value of Nintendo 3DS if they can have hands-on experiences and, above all, by taking other factors into careful consideration, we have concluded that we should propose this price point to our consumers.”
Iwata on whether or not there are plans to expand Nintendo’s collaboration with other TV broadcasters or with movie producers (besides Nippon Television and Fuji Television)…
“Let me first explain how we came to agree to the collaborations that we just announced. After Nintendo exhibited Nintendo 3DS at E3 this year, Nintendo had opportunities to show some of the Nintendo 3DS demos we had shown at E3 to these two TV broadcasters, and they responded to our demos so positively that we held some types of study meetings for several months to discuss any video distribution business possibilities. During the meetings, we started to see new potential in our ability to provide our consumers with short 3D content everyday through SpotPass communications, and we realized that each of us has unique resources to bring together for this unique opportunity. This is how we were able to make the announcement today. As for the detailed plan for the future, I have nothing more that I can announce now.
As for movies, some of the Hollywood movie production companies showcased their movie trailers at E3 this year when we made the relevant announcements. Because movie producers appear to be interested in Nintendo 3DS, we may be able to construct some relationship between 3D movies and Nintendo 3DS but, again, I cannot make any announcements today.
When we launch Nintendo 3DS, it will probably be the first 3D device to be sold in a significant volume in the mass market. An increasing number of people will see business opportunities by looking at Nintendo 3DS from that perspective. Nintendo does not have any intention to exclude such possibilities if they come to us with their proposals.”
Iwata on how willing Nintendo is to expand access points for the 3DS/how large a budget the company is willing to invest in/how many access points they want to establish in the end…
“This is something we have bitterly experienced but, however hard we may try to tell people how much more interesting Wii and Nintendo DS will become when they are connected with the Internet, and even when our proposals required no or minimal additional cost burdens to them, such as the use of free software, those who are willing to get connected could not constitute the majority of our consumers. As soon as they realize that they need to do something extra to get connected, a number of people appear to think, “It’s not for me.” For example, we made offers such as, “Download from the Internet the free-of-charge Wii Channel that we have just created for you, and the enjoyment which Wii can offer you will be expanded.” We made such proposals several times, but for consumers to actually download and enjoy these services, we first need to make them aware of our proposals, to encourage them to connect Nintendo hardware with the Internet, activate Wii Shop Channel, search for the specific screen where the subject software is available and ask them to actually download it. If they already have an Internet connection at home, there will virtually be no additional costs. However, in reality, those who actually go through these processes have not been able to form the majority of our hardware’s users. So, when we were designing Nintendo 3DS, we asked to ourselves how we could possibly deliver our proposals to our consumers without asking them to do anything special in order to be able to receive such new proposals.
Should the purchasers of Nintendo 3DS be willing to pay monthly fees, we could integrate a function similar to the ones embedded within mobile phones so that the machine would always be connected with the Internet. However, people who are willing to pay monthly fees for entertainment products will not become the majority. Because of this background, we wanted to create a situation where Nintendo 3DS could connect to the Internet from time to time just as long as their owners carry it around wherever they go in their daily lives, so that they could receive new messages, offers or even new software, from Nintendo. This is why we have incorporated the function called, “SpotPass.”
For more and more people to use SpotPass, we have to increase the number of access points where they can get connected to the Internet without the need of any special setting procedures. Of course, those who already have an Internet environment at home can connect by going through a simple (manual) setting process but, still, only a small percentage of our consumers have actually gone through this process. We have learned this truth through our own bitter experiences. Contrary to our expected scenario, not so many Wii and Nintendo DSi owners have actually used our services.
Specifically, as to how much investment needs to be made for the access points, I don’t have any figures at the moment. However, as I said today, we will add a Nintendo Zone function to the DS Stations that we’ve been installing at retail outlets, the Nintendo Zone services currently being deployed by McDonald’s Japan at their restaurants will support Nintendo 3DS as well and, through the collaboration with NTT-East and NTT-West, Wi-Fine service locations of NTT BP will be used as the access points for SpotPass. I mentioned these three examples today during my presentation, but we have no intention to stop here. Wherever there are wireless Internet access points where a number of people come and go, and whenever we can offer Internet connections for Nintendo 3DS with some reasonable costs for the company, we are eager to deploy these services.
By doing so, we hope to be able to make Nintendo 3DS a very unique and interesting device, and we will deliver a variety of different information to the owners without the need for them to do any special operations. Nintendo 3DS will hopefully be always connected to the Internet and change everyday. Above all, as I explained its concept today, we want Nintendo 3DS to realize “Something New Every Day.””
Iwata on Nintendo’s goal of appealing to all consumers…
“The impressions you expressed right now are not consistent with our thinking. Whenever I talk about “gaming population expansion,” I make a point of adding, “regardless of age, gender and past game-play experiences.” We hope as wide a range of people as possible, from the avid players who have plenty of game-play experience to even the people who have never thought of or been interested in video games at all, will be our consumers.
The fact that our games can be played by children and by the entire family is our great characteristic, and we are proud of how our products have been appreciated in that way. However, we have never designed our products solely for children or only for family use. We have been strongly hoping that our products can be enjoyed by any and all people. In other words, we have not changed our policy at all. We are intensifying the communication capabilities so that we can create an environment where those who until now had no interest in and had never cared about such wireless communications can have meaningful experiences through StreetPass or SpotPass. We are hopeful that they will feel, “It’s actually fun,” and make new discoveries.
About the users who have already been playing video games actively, a number of them have enjoyed the games with communication capabilities, but even such game players must have hardly experienced something just like what we are now proposing with StreetPass and SpotPass, with which a number of things can take place (through the communications) while Nintendo 3DS is in its sleep mode. We believe these users too can experience something unusual. Since the launch of “Dragon Quest IX” last year, its Tag Mode communications have become a social phenomenon, I believe. If we can make similar situations happen with a number of other games, if the communication capabilities can be used in a variety of different ways, and if an increasing number of people accept our offers, it could eventually lead to an increase in the number of people who are willing to enjoy games on Nintendo platforms.”
Iwata on 3DS to console connectivity…
“Home game consoles and portable handheld game devices each have their own advantages, so we would like to make the best use of each platform. While one of the possibilities is that Nintendo 3DS could communicate with our home console through SpotPass, I have nothing concrete to confirm today as to what Nintendo 3DS can do when it is linked with the home console. On the other hand, because we would like to aggressively pursue the concept of “always carrying around the handheld game device itself becomes an interesting entertainment experience,” it is very likely that we will consider a link with our home console.”
Iwata on whether Nintendo intends to create Nintendo Zone services outside Japan/how well Tag Mode has been overseas/if Nintendo is expecting a decent profit from network activity…
“Let me first explain about the Tag Mode communications in the overseas markets. As I said before (in my presentation), regarding Nintendo DS in Japan, a number of people were able to experience Tag Mode only when socially phenomenal software appeared. For frequent Tag Mode communications to take place, there needs to be socially phenomenal software with many users, and the users with that specific software need to have a reason to carry around their Nintendo DS. In addition, such players need to pass by each other within a certain distance at a relatively slow pace. When we compare the circumstances in Japan with that of, for example, the U.S., there are such issues as how much data can be communicated by the users who are in two separate cars driving on a road and, as a result, we are not aware that Tag Mode has ever become a social phenomenon in any overseas markets.
The “Dragon Quest IX” game was (already) launched in some overseas markets too. In Japan, we understand that the games in the “Dragon Quest” series sell massive volumes of the software in the launch weeks and that additional huge amounts sell within a short period of time afterward. For those who are accustomed to such Japanese sales trend, the overseas sales of “Dragon Quest IX” so far may not be highly appreciated. On the contrary, when I listen to the opinions from those who are in charge of the game’s sales in the U.S. and in Europe, or more specifically people at NOA (Nintendo of America) and NOE (Nintendo of Europe), my impression is that this Dragon Quest game is gradually increasing its consumer base. For example, when they held a Tag Mode event in Paris, I heard that those who experienced Tag Mode communications enjoyed this unique experience very much. Some may wonder things like, “In this age of the Internet, when you can communicate wherever you are, can anything which requires having to pass by each other physically provide any meaningful fun at all? The fact is, when two people who happen to have common interests are in the same place by chance and if they communicate with a total stranger in an unexpected way, they appear to feel very surprised and enjoy such an encounter. Accordingly, I hear that, each time we hold such an event, the number of the participants gradually increases.
The company has been executing a variety of marketing activities in order to make “Dragon Quest IX” one of its evergreen titles, through which we are feeling the gradual spread of its popularity. When we attend events with certain objectives, Tag Mode communications can take place more easily. Gatherings of video games or animation fans are being held in overseas markets as well. I hear that Tag Mode communications take place more frequently at such events.
I happened to hear a story of a person who has experienced Tag Mode communications of “Pokémon Black and Pokémon White” with more than 100 people just today at Nintendo Conference 2010. So, when you bring your Nintendo DS to events and places where people with similar purpose gather, this sort of thing happens, and it is taking place in the overseas markets as well.
It is important for us to provide relevant pieces of information gradually one by one so that our consumers can comprehend and appreciate the value of our new proposals. I discussed SpotPass communications today. We recognize that more careful attention must be paid to how we propose it in the overseas markets than in Japan. We must be able to offer clear-cut reasons for the overseas users to be willing to carry around Nintendo 3DS when they go out. Although we have not come to a conclusion on whether we should explore the possibility of the likes of Nintendo Zone or, like our collaborations with NTT East and NTT West, should deal with the entities which are offering free Wi-Fi access points, we are eager to proactively expand the access points so that an increasing number of people in the U.S. and Europe too can feel that it is fun to carry around a portable gaming device wherever they go out. If we can make this happen, more and more, StreetPass will happen naturally. Because the possibility of such unexpected interactions on the road can more frequently take place with Nintendo 3DS, we want the culture of StreetPass to be established in the overseas markets.
As for the aspect of profit, we are expecting that profits through the network activities will grow in the long run. However, as I have often said on these types of the occasions, we human beings do not change our habits very quickly. If this world was full of the so-called “early adopters,” who are highly sensitive to information and quickly respond to anything new, the world could change more quickly. The fact is, the majority of us are not in that category. Accordingly, for some time in the future as well, the packaged goods business will remain to be our mainstream business. On the other hand, network elements are very important in order to heighten the value of the packaged products or in order to offer unprecedented fun, which can be a topic in society. Our current thinking is that we would like to aggressively explore such usage.”
Mori (General Manager, Corporate Analysis and Administration Division) on the revisions to the financial forecasts and his factor analysis of them…
“By referring to today’s foreign currency exchange rates (on September 29, 2010), we made the revised forecasts for the former 6-month period of this fiscal year. I recall that the yen was traded at around 84 yen per euro and 114 yen per U.S. dollar today. On the other hand, since we are now estimating the U.S. dollar and the euro to be traded at 85 yen and 110 yen, respectively, against the Japanese yen during the latter 6-month period of this fiscal year, when we just focus upon the latter half, we are not anticipating significant impact from the foreign currency exchange losses or gains. As for the first 6 months of this fiscal year, because we have yet to close the account, I am not in a position to explain with concrete figures today, but in very general terms, the effect of foreign currency exchange losses on the former 6 months shall be close to the amount calculated by adding the non-operating income to the balance between the operating income and ordinary income.”
Iwata on the revisions to the financial forecasts and his factor analysis of them the lack of software titles as well as how piracy has impacted the DS and Wii…
“Regarding the differences between our original forecasts and today’s revisions on hardware and software of Nintendo DS and Wii, and first about Nintendo DS, because we have decided not to launch Nintendo 3DS by the end of this calendar year, the total number of Nintendo 3DS shipments that we now estimate for this fiscal year has decreased. This is one of the factors. Also, in comparison to the former half of last fiscal year, we are expecting fewer shipments of Nintendo DS during the first 6-month period of this fiscal year. We have come up to the new figures based upon these factors. Regarding Wii hardware, the small decrease in the forecast was a result of reassessing the forecast based upon the actual sales so far.
As for the software unit shipment forecasts, we are decreasing them for both Nintendo DS and Wii. Since availability of a hit software title or titles drastically changes the entire picture in this entertainment business, “a lack of hit software titles” may be the more appropriate term to be used here than “lack of software titles.” To put it another way, for this fiscal year, we are yet to find new software which can drive the entire software market, software which can encourage those who have felt a bit tired of games to feel like playing, or can attract those who have not played any games before to want to play. With the lack of such hit software titles, we had to come up with the unit shipment forecasts with the assumption of a slower sales pace than when we originally made this year’s financial forecasts.
For your information, the slower sales pace of games is not confined to Nintendo, but is now an issue the whole video game market is facing. I understand that it is because consumers are having a hard time finding something new among the proposals video game producers are making today. Nintendo has not been able to produce the titles which can be a great hit in the market, and I have the impression that there are fewer hit software titles in the whole market.
About the illegal software, or, I should probably use the term, “piracy” here, such acts as playing with illegal copies of software are happening for Nintendo DS and Wii. Of course, we are taking various countermeasures, but it has been like a game of cat and mouse, and no decisive solutions have been found yet. Relevant laws cannot completely stop piracy, either. We cannot deny the influence of piracy here. In fact I often hear such arguments as our software is not selling due to piracy. For example, it is said that in Spain it is currently more difficult than in other nations to take effective legal measures against software piracy and that, while the piracy devices are deemed illegal in other nations, it is still challenging to secure similar judgments in Spain. I hear people say that, as the result, Nintendo’s market there has shrunk significantly due to rampant piracy. In fact, Nintendo DS software could not make it to the hit software sales chart in the country for sometime. However, when we launched the Nintendo DS software “Art Academy” in Europe this summer, which shows you how to draw pictures, it was ranked No. 1 on the software sales chart covering all the video game platforms in Spain. If one software can attract many people and can become a social topic, that software can sell regardless of piracy. Of course, as a responsibility of the platform holder, we will tackle piracy. For example, when we launch new hardware, such as Nintendo 3DS, it is a good opportunity to beef up the countermeasures, and we are actually working on that now. On the other hand, I do not think we should attribute bad software sales solely to piracy. Even with piracy, as long as we can create products which can attract attention from many consumers and which can greatly entertain them, that software can make it to the No. 1 position of the hit software sales chart. So, we would like to consider it from both perspectives simultaneously. It is true there is always the influence of piracy, but it is important for us to increase the number of our consumers who are willing to shell out their money to purchase our products. So, we do not intend to think that slower sales are solely due to piracy.”
Iwata on the rapid expansion of social games/whether or not it has an impact on Nintendo…
“I’ve heard the concern that the rapid expansion of social games might have negative effects upon Nintendo’s business so often that we took some time in order to investigate the actual situation. Let me use the slides here.
Some media have reported that Nintendo’s business performance has gone down due to the boom of social games. Time-wise, Nintendo’s business rapidly expanded with Wii and Nintendo DS, and just when it was leveling off, the social games business for mobile phones in Japan showed rapid expansion. Newspapers seem to write articles by assuming that there may be a causal correlation between the two and that a number of Nintendo DS and Wii consumers may be drifting away because they can now play video games free of charge, unlike with Nintendo DS and Wii. If what they are writing is true, it is an issue Nintendo has to deal with in one way or the other. If it is not true, it is better for me to explain so. Accordingly, I investigated this issue.
If I may start from the conclusion: I couldn’t find any causal relationship. The two events happened at the same time, but it is not logically correct to insist that these two are directly related. First, let me talk about the number of users. Nintendo periodically surveys the game user population. Because Nintendo’s basic strategy is to expand the gaming population, it is very important to know how many people are playing video games. We have been conducting these surveys about twice a year. By continuing these surveys, we are checking where we are in terms of our gaming population expansion objective. If this goal is stagnating, we need to be aware of it, so that is why we are gathering quantitative data.
We conducted the most recent survey in July 2010, and according to the face to face interviews we conducted with 3,021 people in Tokyo and Osaka, we estimated that there were 36.78 million Nintendo DS users in Japan between the ages of 7 to 74, and there were 29.89 million Wii users. As for the social network service (SNS) game players at the bottom, 14.93 million users in Japan were playing with one or two of the two major service providers. Those who responded by saying that they used to play before but hardly do so anymore were excluded from this chart. In other words, what we call “sleep users” are not included as the users of SNS games, which is the same condition as the users for Wii and Nintendo DS here.
Let’s see how large an overlap can be found between the users of Nintendo DS and those of social games. About 21% of Nintendo DS users were playing both Nintendo DS and social games, and 79% were playing only with Nintendo DS. So, if there were the data which attest that those users, who were playing both Nintendo DS and social games, started to play with Nintendo DS less frequently or it became less likely that they would purchase Nintendo DS software, the assumption of a causal relationship between the two may be established. We checked this point.
This is the average number of Nintendo DS software titles purchased in the last twelve months. The number is per consumer, not per Nintendo DS hardware unit. One handheld game device is used by several people. Looking at a chart like this, it appears that, on average, those who play both Nintendo DS and social games are purchasing more software. In other words, those who are playing with both are more fond of video games. Looking at these materials alone, it appears to be rather weak reasoning to conclude that free social games are causing users to play with Nintendo DS with less frequency.
We have also been investigating the active use ratio of Nintendo DS, or how often the users are playing with Nintendo DS. We dug a bit deeper into the research in order to learn if there was any meaningful gap between those who were also playing with social games and those who were not. As a result, we couldn’t find a difference here either. As we have been periodically surveying the Nintendo DS user population, we know that it shows a slight increase immediately after the year-end, and that a slight decrease is found in summer. It’s because video games are most often played during the year-end and New Year period and less people are playing with them during summer. When we look at the survey results with such seasonality in mind, July this year once again showed a slight decrease in comparison to the survey we conducted in January this year, but it was not an unusual change. Accordingly, we could not find proof (of a causal relationship), either.
As a result, I cannot agree with the hypothesis which suggests that free social games are contributing to the decrease in Nintendo DS consumers. However, we understand that there is a large amount of software which is allegedly free of charge, so we strongly believe that we have to maintain an environment where our consumers appreciate that our products are fun enough to warrant purchases.”
Iwata on whether Mii characters could communicate with others through SpotPass…
“Mii characters can be created and used for Nintendo 3DS too. Including this function and the availability of StreetPass Mii Plaza (temp), the fact that the players are interacting in one way or the other with other human beings, not a machine, has always been one of the most important elements. Be it “Tomodachi Collection (temp; direct translation from the Japanese)” or the trades and competitions of “Pokémon”, what Nintendo has always been tackling can be considered as social entertainment. For that matter, “Wii Sports” and “Wii Fit” too have aspects of social play.
It was quite recently, when the term “social games” suddenly started to be used in public. When it comes to integrating social elements to video games, Nintendo has been doing so for a long time. When new technologies emerge, what we can do in this regard naturally expands. That the interactions between human beings are fun is the belief we have been holding, and we will simply expand what we can do with such a belief by taking advantage of the circumstances that we newly create. It is not something that we hastily have to deal with to catch up with the age of social gaming.
I said earlier that one person had experienced Tag Mode with more than 100 people today with Pokémon Black and Pokémon White. Isn’t this single experience demonstrating that we are dealing with sufficiently social play already?”
Iwata on whether it’d be possible for companies other than NTT and McDonald’s to advertise (in terms of increased access points and expanding Nintendo’s business model)…
“We have just announced that in our collaborations with TV broadcasters, they will distribute their 3D videos to Nintendo 3DS on a trial basis. Since a private TV broadcaster’s business is based upon ad income, they are going to investigate the potential of ad income which can be gained from short but attractive 3D images.
One thing which we are extremely careful about is that with SpotPass, while it is a new mechanism with the potential to explore an attractive future, Nintendo 3DS could become a platform which users consider as one for myriads of spam*-like ads to arrive if we were to handle it poorly. In other words, if our consumers think that the content delivered to Nintendo 3DS is unnecessary or even upsetting, SpotPass will lose its potential value. So, we must create a perfect balance between the value of the information to be delivered and whether or not our consumers will welcome this information. Once we can do so, and if we can establish a situation where our consumers can receive a variety of valuable information which is in line with their tastes, and without the need to proactively do anything in this busy world, SpotPass will be able to show its great potential. We’d like to pursue various possibilities with many companies.”
Iwata on whether Nintendo will increase their countermeasures against piracy thanks to the improved Internet connection environment/can the 3DS be automatically updated…
“As one of the functions of SpotPass, we are considering to automatically update the hardware through the network. Countermeasures against piracy are not the only purpose, of course. For example, so far, when we try to offer some new attractive function, our consumers first have to turn on the subject game system and go through a manual procedure in order to download and install the system update. As a result, not so many people were willing to update their hardware. This is the actual experience we have had. So, we want to make it so that Nintendo 3DS hardware shall be (automatically) updated through the network, but the prevention of piracy is a secondary effect. The primary purpose is for as many consumers as possible to be able to make use of the new functions that we propose.
For your information, Nintendo 3DS will also have a function so that, when a consumer purchases new (packaged) software, that software ROM card will be able to initiate the device’s system update. We expect a significant increase in the ROM memory capacity for Nintendo 3DS software, so much so that such programs can be added. With that, we can offer some new proposals to users and, at the same time, it can be used to prevent piracy.”
Iwata on whether Nintendo is exploring 3G/software prices for the 3DS…
“I explained today that we will construct a new infrastructure for Nintendo 3DS by using its SpotPass communication. I believe that this is a realistic solution which does not require further economical burden on our consumers and which can be executed by Nintendo with reasonable expenditure. I do not know if it will use the 3G network or not, but we are always exploring the possibility to provide new useful proposals in many different ways. Just as we always answer that we are making new game hardware all the time, we are always thinking about ways to make advancements in this endeavor. The big premise here is, how we can improve the circumstances for providing valuable offers to our consumers without asking them to pay monthly fees.
About the software development costs for Nintendo 3DS, I am expecting the dynamic range (the gap between the lower and upper limits) to expand, from similar development costs with Nintendo DS to far more expensive development costs in order to make very rich content. As the dynamic range (of the development costs) expands, so will software retail prices to some extent. Having said that, however, we do not believe that today’s market can accept a large number of expensive software titles. Accordingly, I do not have the perception that Nintendo 3DS software shall be retailed at very different price points with that of Nintendo DS.”
Iwata on whether he believes Wii hardware sales can increase with Zelda and the Wii Vitality Sensor, or if Nintendo needs something else to drive sales…
“About Wii, the current sales are not very strong as you pointed out. The hardware did not show immediate and rapid growth in the sales as soon as we launched “Super Mario Galaxy 2.” On the other hand, if we had analyzed that the current sales trend was too bad, we could not have announced the revised Wii hardware forecast. So, we do not think the situation is that bad for Wii now. When we see the current situation, and when we analyze the mindsets of people who have not purchased Wii yet, our understanding is that the sales will be much more concentrated during the year-end sales season than before. This is not an observation held by Nintendo alone. In fact, as we discuss with many retailers around the world as to what will become of this year-end sales season, most of them view the trend just as we do. Accordingly, when our consumers are ready to select what they want to purchase for a Christmas gift, how we can encourage them to choose Wii, has now become important. In other words, we do not have the mindset that our home game console business will not see any further growth so therefore, we have to do something to sustain the sales. Having said that, however, in that critical sales season, if everything doesn’t go ahead just as we hope, and if we do not do anything about it, our platform business will be in trouble. We will need to prepare for such situations. For your information, we announced “Wii Remote Plus” today. This offer is just one part of our endeavors.”
Iwata on why 3DS has higher specs than in the past/battery life/SD card support…
“First, about the specs, this time we have designed the hardware so that developers will not think that they cannot make the software that they would really like to make (on Nintendo 3DS) due to spec limitations. Another thing I’d like to discuss is about its capability of generating 3D images. For many years, Nintendo has been trying to make it happen. And the reason why we have come to believe we can finally make it with Nintendo 3DS is the availability or the good combination between the graphics capability of the 3D LCD, its resolution and the ability of the hardware to generate 3D images which can deliver the realism of the 3D world. More specifically, we needed a certain level or higher of LCD resolution. With the LCD, we needed a certain level or higher 3D projection capability. We needed hardware which could generate a certain level of the realism when it creates the 3D graphics. I understand that a number of you were able to have the hands-on experience of Nintendo 3DS today. The level of the 3D expression that you’ve just experienced has been realized by the combination of these factors.
The Tag Mode of Nintendo DS has already been fun, but there were certain limits as to what it could do with Nintendo DS. While we understood that it would be good if Nintendo DS players could easily pause game play at any time in order to do other things, the specs of Nintendo DS did not allow us to do so. Above all, we needed to improve the system, such as how we could add much more memory and what needed to be done on the CPU and so forth. We intensified the hardware so that a number of new ideas that were impossible before can now be the reality. For example, we shall be able to make new proposals about what you can do by easily pausing the game on play.
Another concrete example is AR (Augmented Reality). While 3D image production ability is suited to AR games, doing so requires a certain type of processing capability. So, taking into consideration various factors, we have come to the current specs.
As for the battery, it is inevitable that Nintendo 3DS will be a device which requires more frequent recharging than Nintendo DS. This is why we are going to include the cradle, which is a dedicated battery charger. Perhaps we may need to dispatch to our consumers a message, something like, “Please place your Nintendo 3DS on the cradle as soon as you return home with it.”
As for your final question, Nintendo 3DS, in fact, embodies storage (NAND memory). However, we’d like to use it mainly for the system. Our consumers’ needs widely vary depending on who plays with Nintendo 3DS. Some won’t need the expanded memory at all. Some will download much software onto Nintendo 3DS. If they download many titles, the SD memory card that we will include shall not be big enough. We wanted to make the system, so that, when Nintendo 3DS owners require additional memory, they could do so simply by inserting a new bigger-sized SD memory card. We have designed the system as if the hardware’s internal memory can be expanded simply by adding a new SD memory card. The owners can save the software on the new SD memory card and activate the software from the SD memory card. The ability to be able to do so can sometimes contradict with the maintenance of tight security. We would like to brush up on that aspect before the launch.”
Iwata on software development costs for 3DS…
“How to calculate the “average” costs is never an easy task. It is not confined to Nintendo DS, but for all platforms there exist very dynamic gaps between the costs for developing so-called big titles, for which each publisher stakes their prestige, and the costs for making experimental software, for which the developers won’t look for any big return. Having said that, the ceiling must be raised for Nintendo 3DS when we compare the software development costs for Nintendo DS. If we want to make something really big, the hardware will make that happen. Depending on the size of the development, as we try something bigger and bigger, the development costs too can potentially become more expensive. However, I am not saying that the development costs will rise for all Nintendo 3DS software, but you may want to consider that the dynamic range of the development costs shall be expanded.”
