Nintendo Everything

It’s that time again! Nintendo is once again hosting an investor briefing in Japan having reported its latest financial results just a few hours ago.

We’ll be keeping track of any news that comes through below, courtesy of analyst David Gibson. Expect updates in this post for the next hour or so.

Updates below:

– Iwata saying 3DS hit 43 million
– Helping is next Pokemon, Tomodachi Life in June internationally
– 3DS third-party titles to come include Monster Hunter 4G and Youkai Watch 2 in Japan
– Wii U: want to regain momentum with 2 signature titles in Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros.
– System update in June will speed up start up by 20 seconds
– First smart device app will be available by end of fiscal year
– This is called Mario Kart TV and will enable sharing of game movie and rankings
– In June, Japanese users will be able to use SUICA transport cards for payments on Wii U through NFC
– On IP licensing: nothing to announce today, but Nintendo is looking at a joint agreement
– Limited profit, so Nintendo is looking at non-games usage for licensing
– Will launch figurine business called NFP – NFC featured platform
– Nintendo showed Mario figure across many games being used including saves
– NFP game and figures will be shown at E3
– 3DS will also get IR NFP reader so figures can be used across Wii U and 3DS
– Wii U target of 3.6 million units will need more manufactured than in current inventory
– Nintendo not experiencing a loss from hardware anymore
– More Wii U games at E3
– NFP has been in development since last year
– Nintendo would rather make not just make a figurine, but something that does more
– Nintendo hopes to show related games in development at E3 for the NFC tech
– Iwata saying that for this fiscal year (through 3/15), the goal is to increase profits
– 3/16 fiscal year: not grow dramatically
– 3/17 fiscal year: develop pillar for growth with growth
– Iwata: we are preparing for next generation hardware as always, when will it release? Difficult to declare
– Iwata: not hopeless or at a loss in coming up with something new, but until existing users are satisfied, we cannot release next hardware
– Iwata: for Quality of Life, don’t think too narrowly of Nintendo, we can make fun, healthy services… we know how to get people hooked
– Iwata: developers will move into new building in Kyoto around E3; currently teams are separate so will share more
– Iwata: have established Business Development department with outputs like NFP, entering into new markets, use smart phone platforms etc
– Iwata: for emerging markets, $30-60 game prices are difficult. Need something new, but won’t be this fiscal year, studying China changes
– Iwata: the Wii U forecast of 3.6 million don’t think it is peak, wanted to be more conservative this year

And that’s it!

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Nintendo has issued its latest release schedule for both Wii U and 3DS (as well as products that shipped in the last fiscal year).

I can’t say there are any massive surprises, but we do seem to have confirmation that Yarn Yoshi and Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem are still in development. Also, Hyrule Warriors is classified as first-party in North America and Europe, but third-party in Japan. Lastly, “X” is due out worldwide – North America, Europe, and Japan – this year.

The Nintendo World store Twitter account is teasing some sort of exclusive news pertaining to Mario Kart 8. This announcement, whatever it may be, will “flip your world upside down”. Hmm…

Here’s the relevant tweet:

What might this be about?

Thanks to Brandon for the tip.

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When Adventures of Pip’s Kickstarter launched earlier this week, TicToc Games said the studio was aiming for Wii U support. Now that’s been made official.

Nintendo spoke with TicToc last night “to say everything is good to go and we can blast Wii U Support this morning.” If Adventures of Pip reaches its funding goal, we’ll be seeing it on the eShop.

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A new wave of downloadable content is now available for Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars. Players can purchase “Tricks ‘n Technique”, “The Enduring One”, and “Monokuma Strikes”.

As noted by Atlus on Twitter:

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This week’s Japanese eShop update is as follows:

3DS

Downloadable Titles
Star Series: 3D Darts – 500 yen
Dokopon Choice Ayakashi ?gi Vol. 1 1 – 6-kan Pack – 2,640 yen
Slice it! DEMO – FREE

Virtual Console
Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong and Dixie Kong (Donkey Kong Land III, Game Boy Color) – 617 yen

Wii U

Downloadable Titles
NA

Virtual Console
Wagyan Land (Famicom) – 514 yen
Pop’n TwinBee (Super Famicom) – 823 yen

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Analyst David Gibson reported on Twitter earlier today that Nintendo spent over $100 million on some sort of “mystery tech acquisition”. The move was made sometime in Q4.

No one seems to be clear as to what the acquisition was about – including Gibson himself.

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