Krillbite Studio, developer of Among the Sheep, has expressed some interest in bringing its first-person horror adventure to Wii U.
Krillbite was asked by a fan if an eShop release would be a possibility. While it’s something the company would “like to do”, the team is focusing on announced platforms for the time being.
@Shashpant A Wii U release is something we'd like to do, but we have to keep our focus on our announced platforms for now.
— Krillbite Studio (@krillbite) May 13, 2014
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata closed out the company’s investor briefing last week by expressing continued dedication to Wii U. His comments came about when one investor questioned the console’s ability to reach a higher level of sales in future fiscal years.
In his response, Iwata recounted how the Game Boy was in a slump before the introducing of Pokemon. He said, “the Pokemon game singlehandedly changed the landscape of the system, which then started to show the strongest sales in the lifecycle of the system.” Iwata’s comment suggests that Wii U could experience something similar if a strong title is introduced.
Regarding Wii U, Iwata did mention that Nintendo “would like to work hard to make sure that we give sufficient momentum to the system so that we can expect good results in and after the next fiscal year”.
As always, you can find Iwata’s full comments below.
Over the past few months, we’ve heard Nintendo discuss plans to expand its business platforms. The company intends to branch out into other areas outside of video games – like health.
President Satoru Iwata explained why this is necessary during a financial results briefing last week. If its console or handheld platforms were to falter, “our business would become mediocre”. And if both faltered, “it would very negatively affect our business.”
“We have decided to establish new business platforms not for being pessimistic about the future of the video game business, but to prepare for a challenging situation,” Iwata explained. “Without other pillars, the faltering of the video gaming business would directly have a negative influence on our financial results and the market would respond with harsh criticism.”
Read on below for Iwata’s full comments.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata discussed two of the company’s new divisions during an investor briefing Q&A last week.
The first, as we’ve heard about previously, is the “Integrated Research & Development Division”. This was designed so that Nintendo’s console and handheld divisions could be tied closer together.
Nintendo also established the “Business Development Department” in March, which allows the company to “create a new business structure and execute a variety of new endeavors” like the use of character IP.
You can find full comments from Iwata about both of these two divisions below.
As always, Nintendo is working on the next round of hardware. Just don’t expect to see a new system anytime soon.
“Once we launch a new platform, we naturally start to prepare for the next one,” Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained to attendees during an investor briefing last week. He continued, “the most difficult question for us to answer in public in concrete terms is when we are going to launch our new hardware and what kind of hardware we are going to launch, and I am afraid that I cannot talk about this in more detail. However, I can certainly assure you that we are not at a dead end of any kind in which we are out of ideas for developing new hardware.”
Iwata went on to caution that launching new hardware could prove dangerous “unless we first make sure that those who have already purchased our platforms are satisfied.” Nintendo will strive “to work hard to ensure that consumers who already own our platforms are satisfied, and make sure that people will continue to see great value in our software”.
Iwata did end with one notable tease, stating “we already have a clear idea to some extent about the direction our next hardware is going to take.”
Satoru Iwata expects Nintendo to be able to experience “Nintendo-like profits from around the following fiscal year.” Iwata told investors during a briefing last week, “I would ask you to give us a bit more time and see how we do in the following two years.”
Head past the break for Iwata’s full comments, in which he mentions Nintendo’s character IP and Quality of Life plans.
During the Q&A portion of Nintendo’s investor briefing last week, president Satoru Iwata was questioned about the company’s Wii U forecast of 3.60 million units for the fiscal year ending in March 2015. He was also asked if Nintendo still maintains the idea that software drives hardware sales.
Iwata responded by saying that its forecast is based on the minimum target Nintendo should reach based on the release of Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros., “the pillars of our entire marketing strategy for this year.”
Iwata went on to discuss the GamePad-focused titles in development (heard about previously, now with direct quotes), and Nintendo’s NFP plans.
You can find all of Iwata’s comments below.
