Nintendo president Satoru Iwata responded to misreports by the media during the company’s investor’s meeting this week.
As of late, some publications have been misconstruing Iwata’s comments. Some outlets, for instance, had reported that Nintendo wouldn’t be attending E3 2013 when that certainly wasn’t the case. Those articles surfaced following the news that Nintendo decided against holding a press conference this year.
Regarding the media, Iwata said the following (summarized):
“Some media reports have, without asking or referring to official announcements, without confirming and reporting as if announced — that is, taking some of my words out of context and rewriting them to amplify animosity and reporting as if I had said it. So when considering media influence and the content of reports and whether they’d be misread, it may be refuted. So when ignoring such a report would be a big minus, I may actively respond. I cannot control information flow on the Internet. Because there may always be some very unfortunate or regrettable information transmitted, refuting would only help to spread it. I take great care in deciding how to respond so as not to upset stock holders. Nintendo Direct is most-watched not on PC, but eShop. In that way there can be a direct channel to customers. By distributing info reliably, even if there are bad reports, not as big a problem.”
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata tackled a question during the company’s investor’s meeting earlier this week about its approach to networking. He gives some interesting insight, and confirms what most had expected: the next Smash Bros. will offer online play.
A summary of Iwata’s response can be found below.
“Many ways to use networking, including online play, which requires being on at the same time. Miiverse shares exp. With further development, you’ll be able to send your play data to Miiverse for others to download and play against at a different time. This sort of feature will vary depending on network usage. NSMBU dev. efforts spent on tuning local multiplayer, Miiverse for strategy. Mario Kart and Smash Bros. will have online play to meet customers’ demands. Miiverse to enjoy games together at different times to feel moved by others’ play experiences, and to move others with your own experiences. Networking to be used to best match the game.
Third-party Wii U support was a topic discussed by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata during the company’s latest investor’s meeting. There isn’t anything too new, but Iwata’s response is posted below.
“There are few 3rd-party titles announced for Wii U, as was said. More support soon would be good, 2 things to do. First: release 1st-party titles one after another starting next month will revitalize the Wii U. Second: make hits out of 3rd-party titles.”
Nintendo released a document for its 73rd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, which features an up-to-date listing of subsidiaries. You’ve got the usual suspects like Nintendo of America, Retro, and NST. The list also includes 1-UP (formerly Brownie Brown), NERD (otherwise known as Nintendo European Research and Development SAS ), and more.
Head past the break for the full rundown.
The Virtual Boy would seem like a perfect fit for the 3DS Virtual Console. It was the company’s first 3D console, so its games could potentially see new life on Nintendo’s handheld.
One investor asked Nintendo president Satoru Iwata about the possibility of introducing Virtual Boy games for the 3DS VC service during the company’s latest financial meeting.
Iwata responded by saying that investor Q&As aren’t the place for new announcements. However, he did note that even though the Virtual Boy didn’t go so well, some consumers liked it for its uniqueness.
During Nintendo’s latest investor’s meeting, president Satoru Iwata fielded a question regarding the lack of new innovation with new consoles. The Q&A is only available in Japanese currently, but a summary of Iwata’s response has been translated.
Most of what Iwata said actually pertained to new titles for Wii U. Iwata said that additional, unannounced titles for the console are planned by 2014.
Why weren’t these games mentioned during Nintendo’s E3 2013 Nintendo Direct? First, the company felt that there was more information than could be shared during E3. And generally speaking, Nintendo likes keeping a minimal gap between announcements and the release of new games to keep consumers excited and prevent competitors from copying ideas.
“New consoles have always produced better graphics, but the work required may not be related to customer satisfaction. There are more unannounced Wii U titles coming by 2014. There was more info than could be released at E3. Wanted to ease owners’ fears. Don’t want to leave a long gap between announcement/release of new game types that would lessen the impact or allow competitors to copy.”
The second portion of Iwata’s answer focused more on the topic of surprising players:
“Nintendo has the job of both introducing video games to people who’ve never played before as well as satisfying existing fans. Looking for ways to surprise customers in other ways than just creating pretty graphics.”
Miyamoto then took over for Iwata to discuss Pikmin 3:
“We made Pikmin 3 with all of our effort. Beginners and fans alike can play. Game industry change comparable to manga to anime. Nintendo’s accused of having the same series again at E3, but that’s because they’re character-centered, which is a strength. You don’t have to start by creating new characters in order to present new ways to play or new ways to use media.”
Ubisoft is teasing Prince of Persia news that will be shared next week.
On Facebook, the series’ official page published the following message:
“Get ready for some news about Prince of Persia, starting next week.”
There’s no clue what Ubisoft is up to currently. It could be a new game. It could be something else. Either way, someone will be disappointed!
Yoichi Wada, former CEO of Square Enix, was made “Chairman of the Board” earlier this month. What is his role with the company, exactly?
Square Enix explained in a statement:
“Yoichi Wada has left the management of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd and no longer has any role in the parent company. Currently, he is overseeing a portion of the business within Square Enix Co., Ltd (Square Enix Tokyo), one of the subsidiaries of the parent company. These businesses include emerging markets as well as social and mobile businesses. He has no authority in terms of the management of the Group.”
Square Enix also clarified that Wada is Chairman for Square Enix Tokyo. Wada isn’t in much of a position of power, as he does not hold the right of representation for the company.
