The following is a series of questions asked of Satoru Iwata in an interview with Nikkei:
Q: Nintendo in January downgraded its forecast group operating profit for fiscal 2014 to 20 billion yen ($165 million), half its original prediction. What is your latest outlook?
A: The improved 3DS (a hand-held game device with 3-D graphics) did not debut in the U.S. and Europe until after the start of the year, which meant demand did not increase as quickly as we expected. That does not mean that 3DS business itself has significantly declined.
The revised estimate already takes advertising factors including expenses for the new 3DS models into consideration. We do not expect our results to slide much further.
Q: Why have sales of the Wii U remained flat?
A: I believe the Wii U business still has considerable room for growth, as a number of software titles that are compatible with the console are slated for release in 2015.
The way Japanese gamers enjoy video games is different from their counterparts in the West. More and more Japanese gamers play on smartphones and 3DS hand-held devices. On the other hand, a majority of gamers in Europe and the U.S. still connect their consoles to TVs and play them on a bigger screen. In the global video game market, game titles for consoles are still dominant, and that market is much larger.
Q: What are you doing to shore up your console business?
A: Newer consoles are equipped with a function to process micropayments using Suica electronic money cards [in Japan]. Our service that allows people to purchase games online using those cards is popular.
It is also possible to turn smartphone games from other software makers into 3DS-compatible games and offer them for relatively low prices. We intend to pursue a variety of options. Only those products and services that receive strong support from customers will survive.
Q: The market for smartphone games continues to expand. What are your plans for this category?
A: In the past, I have opposed making smartphone and tablet versions of Nintendo titles. Prices for content aimed at smartphones and tablets are falling quickly. I am still wary of the category. We intend to develop products that will allow customers to identify with Nintendo products and make people pay attention to Nintendo games.
For example, some Nintendo game consoles incorporate Mii, which creates a digital avatar to represent players. It would be fun for players to use their Mii characters as icons on social media. We are currently developing an application that will allow users to do that. The app will be announced around the time our full-year results are released.
Q: What is Nintendo’s outlook for the next fiscal year and later?
A: We foresee improved performance for the next fiscal year, so long as we are not adversely affected by foreign exchange fluctuations. I have been saying we hope to achieve a profit suitable for Nintendo as early as fiscal 2016. My understanding is that an operating profit of 100 billion yen is the level the market and shareholders expect of us.
The Xenoblade Chronicles X official website has been updated with quite a bit of new images and information.
Check out the latest shots in the gallery below.
Over at Gamestop, you can now grab Mario Party 10 amiibo bundle with not only Mario but the rest of the Super Mario line of amiibo as well! It’s pricey, however. It’ll cost you $125.
Note that this isn’t to be confused with the standard Mario Party 10 bundle that only comes with the Mario amiibo.
You can check out the new bundle at Gamestop here.
“Of course, I thanked my friend. Manners are the finest dessert, as we in Yukuko say.”
System: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: February 13th, 2015
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Author: Austin
Monster Hunter, from outside the cult of its supporters, looks awfully intimidating doesn’t it? Just the phrases that come to mind when people bring it up– “gear grind”, “brutally difficult”, “extremely inaccessible”, “clunky”, “time sink”– don’t exactly do the series any favors in the eyes of newcomers, so it hardly comes as a revelation that the appeal of its extremely nuanced and strategic real-time combat system has remained limited outside of Japan. Something about that country seems to give them a higher tolerance for this sort of thing.
Nevertheless, Capcom seems to be enchanted with the idea of Monster Hunter’s ubiquity in the west, and so we’ve arrived on the doorstep of Monster Hunter 4’s release on 3DS.
\\\
Perhaps the most important thing to understand about Monster Hunter 4 up front is that it exists unapologetically; it’s easy to feel some sort of fundamental inspiration driving all of this game’s decisions. From the clunky (though, the word “nuanced” truly does fit it more appropriately) controls in combat to the feline-laced aesthetic, this game knows what it wants to be and it does not sully itself with watered-down mechanics or simplify itself for the sake of more instant appeal. It’s not for everyone, and it doesn’t try to be.
That being said: Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is easily as approachable as this idea has ever been.
Podcast Crew: Austin (Twitter), Jack (Twitter), Laura (Twitter)
Welcome to episode 106 I mean episode 108. How are you? I’m okay. I hope you’re okay too. Here’s an overview of what we’ll be talking about on this episode:
Segment 1, Intro: Our game of the week is the Tose-developed NES Play Action Football. We learn about Tose’s development philosophy, why this game came with a little slip of cardboard, and how it’s connected to Shrek: Hassle at the Castle for GBA.
Segment 2, What We Played: Two big games in what we played this week. Firstly, Austin has his review copy of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and he has some really interesting observations about how the game actually teaches you this time around, in addition to general impressions. Laura this week has been playing something of an oddity: Mario Golf: World Tour, the 3DS golf game from last year that nobody would’ve predicted Laura would love. But she does!
Segment 3, Book Club: This week’s A Link to the Past exposé has us getting into discussing the start contrast between the second and third temples of the game, how we all learned to pick up large boulders, and why getting the master sword in this one is actually somewhat different from more recent Zeldas.
Segment 4, Listener Mail: Just a bit of mail this week (we didn’t have much time after the book club), but we tackle a couple of key topics: Where is Nintendo going after Miyamoto and company pass on from the company (or life, I guess)? What are some of your favorite local multiplayer games? Find out.
Download this episode (click this link)
Subscribe via iTunes by clicking this thing!
Subscribe with Google by clicking this thing!
Subscribe with Yahoo something-or-other by clicking this thing!
