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?
Nintendo Network isn’t just a simple rewording of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection after all. There’s a little bit more to it than that.
President Satoru Iwata finally detailed the Nintendo Network at a financial results briefing today. It encompasses DLC, the account system for Wii U, and more. Iwata even said that the company is considering distributing packaged software through digital means and first-party DLC.
A full rundown of the Nintendo Network can be found below.
– Nintendo Network is the new network platform which will be used for Wii U and 3DS
– “aiming to establish a platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers.”
– Competitions and communication among users included
– Sales of digital content will also be covered within the Nintendo Network
– Nintendo will be pushing to make software work with the Nintendo Network
– Tobidasu Pricla Kiradeco Revolution is the first Japanese game in which users can purchase DLC
– “We will make available the downloadable add-on content for this Nintendo first-party digital download title in the near future.”
– DLC once again confirmed for Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
– “Nintendo, as a software maker, does not plan to deploy businesses where our consumers cannot know in advance which item will appear as the result of their payment and they have to repeat the payments and, before they know it, they end up spending a huge amount of money in order to obtain the items they originally wanted to purchase.”
– Nintendo considering the future possibility of distributing packaged software digitally
– The concept above was built into the 3DS and the necessary infrastructure is in place for this
– Same infrastructure will be built into Wii U
– “The decision must be made by taking into consideration such factors as the relationship with the wholesalers and retailers, and the best way to be embraced by consumers, as well as the environment surrounding the market and consumers, such as the required memory capacity on consumers’ SD memory cards.”
– Personal account system for Wii U will be compatible with the Nintendo Network
– It’ll make things easy for hardware that is used by multiple family members
During Nintendo’s latest financial results briefing, president Satoru Iwata announced that a brand new side-scrolling Mario game is in the works for the 3DS. It will be released during the next fiscal year.
This will be the first 2D Mario title for the system.
Iwata said:
“Although there is no logo here, we are planning to release a totally new side-scrolling action Super Mario in 2D as a key title for the Nintendo 3DS in the next fiscal year.”
Nintendo’s last 2D Mario for a portable system was New Super Mario Bros. The game has sold almost 29 million units worldwide.
Nintendo has updated its million sellers chart. New entries include The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Super Mario 3D Land, and Mario Kart 7.
The full listing is as follows (worldwide numbers):
Wii
Mario Kart Wii – 31.91 million
New Super Mario Bros. Wii – 25.47 million
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – 3.42 milion
Wii Sports – 79.16 million
Wii Sports Resort – 29.87 million
Wii Party – 7.68 million
Wii Fit Plus – 20.24 million
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land – 1.21 million
Wii Play: Motion – 1.12 million
Super Mario Galaxy – 10.40 million
DS
Pokemon Black/White – 14.42 million
New Super Mario Bros. 28.74 million
Mario Kart DS – 22.30 million
Professor Layton and the Last Specter – 1.19 million
Kirby Mass Attack – 1.01 million
3DS
Super Mario 3D Land – 5.03 million
Mario Kart 7 – 4.54 million
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – 2.49 million
For a full region breakdown, view the image above.
Interesting notes from the list:
– Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir coming to Europe this year
– Luigi’s Mansion 2, Animal Crossing, Paper Mario and Mario Tennis are all expected to arrive this year
– Culdcept/Calciobit 3DS hitting Japan this year
– Fire Emblem 3DS not listed for North America/Europe
– Third-party lineup for Wii looks dreadful (though that was to be expected)
Take a look at the images in the gallery for more listings.
