It’s possible that most of you haven’t heard of Near Field Communication before. It’s included in devices such as smartphones and even the PlayStation Vita. The feature will also be added to the Wii U.
Iwata provided an elaborate description of NFC during Nintendo’s financial briefing, and also gave vague hints as to what will be possible with the technology.
“Already by now, the Wii U is known for its new controller with a screen, among other features. For this controller, please be advised that we have decided to install a NFC function.
“As many of you know, NFC is the acronym for Near Field Communication, which is a set of standards to establish radio communication in close proximity. The NFC I’m referring to here is the noncontact NFC standard that is compatible with FeliCa and MIFARE, and is expected to be widely used around the world in the near future.
“By installing this functionality, it will become possible to create cards and figurines that can electronically read and write data via noncontact NFC and to expand the new play format in the video game world. Adoption of this functionality will enable various other possibilities such as using it as a means of making micropayments.”
Sounds sort of like Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, doesn’t it?
Satoru Iwata gave a quick update about the Wii U’s presence at this year’s E3 and launch timeframe during Nintendo’s financial briefing. He once again said the company will “showcase the final format and discuss the details” about Wii U at the big expo in June. Furthermore, Iwata noted that the console will launch around the world “in time for the year-end sales season.”
“We are planning to showcase the final format and discuss the details at E3 2012, which will be held in Los Angeles in the United States in June this year.
“Also, soon after the E3 show, we would like to organize an opportunity in Tokyo where we can showcase the same to the Japanese wholesalers and financial analysts who cannot attend the E3 show.
“As for the launch timing, we have so far stated that it shall be sometime between the E3 show and the end of this calendar year, and…
“Today, I’d like to confirm that we will launch the Wii U in Japan, the U.S., Europe and Australia in time for the year-end sales season.
“For the launch of new hardware, it is, of course, regarded as a sort of requisite not to miss the critical year-end sales season. The company is aiming to firmly complete the development of the entire system and prepare sufficient software so that the Wii U will be at its best at the time of the launch. Needless to say, we have learned a bitter lesson from the launch of the Nintendo 3DS.”
Nintendo has shared a complete English translation of the company’s latest financial results briefing. I’ll be picking out a few choice excepts shortly, but you can read all five pages right here. I won’t bother posting about the sales since I’m sure most of you will find that portion of the discussion to be boring drivel and I don’t want to bog down the site with superfluous news!
Although Satoru Iwata was the main speaker at Nintendo’s financial results briefing today, Shigeru Miyamoto took some time to comment about his non-retirement and the Wii U.
Miyamoto stressed that the company’s upcoming console won’t just be about improved visuals. However, he did seem to say that there will be some titles in which visuals will be important – including Zelda.
We don’t have the official comment from Miyamoto, though an David Gibson was kind enough to provide a translation.
You can find more details from Nintendo’s investors meeting here.
Remember how Nintendo teamed up with Team Ninja for Metroid: Other M? It sounds like we can expect similar partnerships to be announced in the near future.
David Gibson has been live-tweeting from Nintendo’s financial briefing, and president Satoru Iwata said that the company will share news on “several alliances/partnerships with external parties”.
Might some of these partnerships/projects end up on Wii U?
