Cloud technology is something that Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has commented on the past, but he was asked to discuss the topic once more during the Q&A portion of the company’s financial results briefing last week.
In short, Nintendo isn’t planning on using the cloud and smart devices in direct relation to its video game business. There is, however, interest in using them in other ways. Nintendo is currently “moving ahead with a variety of preparations.”
Iwata’s full comments:
First, in regard to smart devices, the advantage of cloud servers is always being connected to consumers through the Internet. Thus, we can do many things with that connection. Another advantage the cloud offers is that the processing capacity of our servers can be readily increased or decreased in accordance with a rise or fall in consumers, enabling us to run cost-efficient operations. Of course, there are possibilities in the game business for utilizing these merits of smart devices and cloud services. On the other hand, as was previously said, our aim of utilizing smart devices is to create even stronger ties with our consumers. As I have stated before, we draw the line at using the cloud and smart devices to directly carry out our video game business. Therefore, if you are asking whether we plan to directly carry out our video game business using the cloud and smart devices as we will with QOL, the answer is, “No.” If the question is whether we are interested in utilizing them, naturally the answer is, “Yes.” We are actively considering utilizing smart devices to create ties with our consumers and use those ties in the world of video games, as well as examining how we can deepen consumers’ interest in video games to increase the number of participants in our platforms. At present, we are moving ahead with a variety of preparations.
One investor brought up an interesting point about QOL during Nintendo’s most recent financial results briefing. Nintendo will need to find ways to keep users engaged with the product, otherwise the business may not be successful in the long term, and it may not sell in the short term.
Satoru Iwata believes Nintendo will be able to tackle these potential issues in various ways. First, users won’t need to wear any device, and they’ll simply need to sleep in order for it to function. There are also plans to greatly lower the hurdle for measurements. And finally, Nintendo wants to “skillfully combine our video game know-how with the smart device notification functions that are already used in daily life.”
We received a translation of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s most comments about region-locking last week. Nintendo has now gone ahead and shared an official translation from its financial results briefing Q&A, so you can find the official translation below.
There have been various conditions at play in the game business, such as a history of localization taking an extremely long time, a variety of marketing constraints and circumstances in each country, and the fact that the license needed to sell games have not always been granted globally. In a sense, the region-lock has existed more for reasons having to do with the seller than the consumers. That has been the situation throughout the history of video game systems, and as for what should be done going forward, there may be advantages for the consumers and also for us if they were unlocked. Conversely, unlocking them would mean having to resolve different issues that would subsequently arise. While we have not decided whether we will unlock them or not, we do recognize that it is an issue that needs to be considered in the future.
We received a bit more information about Nintendo’s “Quality of Life” plans last week. However, there’s still quite a lot of information shrouded in mystery – such as what Nintendo’s plans are when it comes to pricing.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata didn’t share too many details on this front at the company’s financial briefing last week, but during the Q&A, he hinted at a subscription-based model. Iwata also commented on how QOL “has the potential for Nintendo to create a significantly large market that no one has ever set foot in”.
As usual, continue on below for Iwata’s full comments.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was asked to comment on the company’s approach when it comes to expanding into new markets such as China. Here’s how he responded:
To begin with, I have said this repeatedly about China, but when we have made comments outside China, the process of translating my statements into English and then into the Chinese languages alters the nuance of these statements and my words have been misunderstood. So, I’m not going to talk about our plans for China in specific terms today, because we feel it would be better to announce them in China. We are considering all kinds of things, and it is worth noting that the video game business can be conducted in China officially, thanks to the establishment of the special economic zone in Shanghai, so we are currently researching what would be best for us.
When the Wii U launched, there was a consistent focus on the console’s two screens. Gamers wondered about the new experiences that would be possible and potential asymmetric gameplay.
Even though it’s important to highlight the uniqueness of Wii U’s two screens, Shigeru Miyamoto admitted at Nintendo’s financial results briefing last week, “we might have focused too much on the unique uses of the two screens.” Miyamoto feels that the company “should have put more effort into using the NFC functionality much earlier”, though Nintendo is “now moving forward with projects that make use of NFC in a variety of unique ways.”
As previously mentioned, Nintendo is looking into amiibo cards. We’ll also be seeing “smaller and even more affordable amiibo figures in the future”.
Head past the break for Miyamoto’s full comments.
Nintendo was asked to comment on the capabilities of amiibo during the Q&A portion of its latest financial briefing.
President Satoru Iwata first addressed the topic and touched on how the Wii U’s NFC features have not been truly utilized until now. He also discussed the instantaneous speed of the read/write process for amiibo figures, and teased that Shigeru Miyamoto “has been considering multiple ways to use the GamePad, and using the NFC reader/writer function more aggressively is one area he has instructed his teams to focus on.” Nintendo could bring out some titles next year that focus on NFC functionality.
Head past the break for Iwata’s full comments.
This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
Wii U Retail
Disney Infinity 2.0
Planes Fire & Rescue (available Nov. 11)
Wii U Download
The Swapper
Pier Solar and the Great Architects
Sportsball
Shuttle Rush
SDK Paint
Flapp & Zegeta
Wii U Virtual Console
Super Mario Advance
3DS Retail
Planes Fire & Rescue (available Nov. 11)
nintendogs + cats: Golden Retriever
nintendogs + cats: French Bulldog
nintendogs + cats: Toy Poodle
* Get a free theme when you buy nintendogs + cats; supplies last and expire on Dec. 31, 2015
3DS Download
Kemonomix+
Safari Quest
3DS Virtual Console
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge
3DS Demos
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal
eShop Sale
Siesta Fiesta is more than 30 percent off (reduced from $5.99 to $3.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 13.
Price Reductions
Sonic Lost World for Wii U is now available for $29.95 (reduced from $49.99).
Sonic Lost World for Nintendo 3DS is now available for $29.95 (reduced from $39.99).
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed for Wii U is now available for $29.95 (reduced from $39.99).
Flowerworks HD: Follie’s Adventure for Wii U is being reduced to $2 (from $4) starting on Nov. 7.
Other
PIKMIN Short Movies for Wii U and 3DS
Source: Nintendo PR
