Nintendo president on Next Level Games acquisition, not actively buying studios
Posted on 3 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
For several years now, Next Level Games has essentially been a Nintendo-only developer. The company committed to making titles for the Big N back in 2014. Their partnership goes back to 2005 with Super Mario Strikers, and has worked exclusively on Nintendo projects since Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon.
That relationship is about to take another step. Last month, Nintendo announced that it is acquiring Next Level Games. President Shuntaro Furukawa commented on the move in an interview with Nikkei, and also discussed acquisitions in general.
Here’s our translation:
More: interview, Shuntaro Furukawa, top
Furukawa on ensuring Switch has a long life cycle, approach to developing new hardware
Posted on 3 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Switch | 0 comments
Japanese publication Nikkei posted a new interview this week with Shuntaro Furukawa, the global president of Nintendo. The two sides ended up discussing Switch’s life cycle as well as console development in general.
According to Furukawa, Nintendo is “always doing technical and market research” when it comes to creating new hardware. He also said “the thing that makes an idea a reality is whether we can offer a new experience or not.”
We’ve gone ahead and prepared a translation of Furukawa’s remarks. If you’re interested in reading what he had to say, continue on below.
More: highlight, interview, Shuntaro Furukawa, top
Nintendo releases translated Q&A summary from February financial briefing – addresses questions on new hardware, plans to surpass the Wii in sales, Animal Crossing: New Horizons significance, and more
Posted on 3 years ago by Bryce(@brodee922) in General Nintendo, News | 0 comments
Nintendo’s February financial briefing gave a lot of insight into the sales of hardware and software during the past months. However, the official report they released only provided the more technical details of the company’s finances and not what was discussed between investors.
Well now, Nintendo has released a summary of the Q&A conference call that Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa had with investors, and it includes more general details of what was discussed.
Investors brought up questions relating to new Switch hardware releasing, the possibility of the Switch passing the Wii’s sales, and the impact of Animal Crossing: New Horizons on hardware sales. They also had questions about the Switch’s appeal in foreign markets (such as China) and how Nintendo will expand the Switch’s player count heading forward.
There is truly too much to recount in these notes, so the full transcript has been posted below to view.
Nintendo wants Animal Crossing: New Horizons players to be able to enjoy the game for a long time, will implement more in-game events
Posted on 4 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is Nintendo’s biggest success of the year. No one could have predicted that it would have sold over 26 million copies in just a few months. Nintendo wants that success to continue, with president Shuntaro Furukawa stating during the company’s financial results conference call that with its first year-end sales season approaching, “we hope even more people will take that opportunity to purchase the game.”
Those that already have Animal Crossing: New Horizons can look forward to more content in the future. Furukawa said Nintendo “will continue to implement in-game events and would like to create a situation where consumers will keep enjoying the game for a long time.”
His full words:
Nintendo says it has no plans for its own cross-platform games
Posted on 4 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Switch | 0 comments
When Pokemon Unite releases, it’ll support full cross-platform play. Switch and smart devices will be fully compatible, allowing all users to connect online together.
While The Pokemon Company is trying out cross-platform play, the feature is not something that Nintendo itself is pursuing at the moment. President Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed there are currently no such plans to integrate the functionality for its titles during the company’s financial results conference call last week.
He said:
More: Shuntaro Furukawa, top
Nintendo on rising sales in Asia, Ring Fit Adventure “off to a great start” in China
Posted on 4 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
When you think about Nintendo’s major markets, North America, Europe, and Japan come to mind. However, other regions of the world are beginning to have more of an impact, including Asia.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa spoke about sales in Asia during the company’s latest financial results conference call. As part of that, we hear that in China, “Ring Fit Adventure got off to a great start when it was released by them on September 3 and it continues to sell well.”
Furukawa had this to say about Asia:
More: Ring Fit Adventure, sales, Shuntaro Furukawa, top
Nintendo talks about Switch being in the middle of its life cycle and impact of Animal Crossing
Posted on 4 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
During a conference call stemming from Nintendo’s financial results, president Shuntaro Furukawa reiterated that Switch is in the middle of its life cycle. He also said that the company views this “as building a foundation for growth that goes beyond the life cycles of our previous hardware platforms.”
Regarding the future, Furukawa said that Nintendo “will continue efforts to extend the Nintendo Switch life cycle, while promoting initiatives that make use of Nintendo Accounts and pursuing our goal of motivating consumers to play our platforms for years to come.” Additionally, the massive hit that was Animal Crossing: New Horizons and causing many new hardware purchases “will continue efforts to extend the Nintendo Switch life cycle, while promoting initiatives that make use of Nintendo Accounts and pursuing our goal of motivating consumers to play our platforms for years to come.”
Furukawa’s full words:
More: Shuntaro Furukawa, top
Nintendo says Pikmin 3 Deluxe is often being chose as the next title from Switch players after Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Posted on 4 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a massive success. It has already sold over 26 million copies worldwide despite releasing this year, and has helped move a ton of Switch hardware.
While speaking about the game during a financial results conference call, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa shared an interesting tidbit. Interestingly, Furukawa said that “Pikmin 3 Deluxe has frequently been chosen as the next title after Animal Crossing: New Horizons by many consumers, especially in Japan.” It makes sense that Nintendo wants Switch owners who started out with Animal Crossing “to become aware of and play as many different titles as possible, regardless of whether those titles are new or evergreen.”
Furukawa had this to say when asked about how many of the previously released titles that hit the million mark in the six-month financial period were ones that people can enjoy playing together, and whether they were consciously recommended to Animal Crossing players:
Nintendo says Switch sales are “continuing at a good pace”, “looking to make this another big holiday season”
Posted on 4 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
During the conference call for Nintendo’s latest financial results, president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about the sales outlook for the next quarter and what can be expected for year-end sales.
Furukawa mentioned that Switch hardware demand has been strong into October, and “sales are continuing at a good pace.” Despite not having a major first-party title like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Pokemon Sword/Shield, Nintendo is still hoping for “another big holiday season”, which is “thanks to the many consumers, including those new consumers who developed an interest in Nintendo Switch because of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, picking up our new titles, titles released in conjunction with the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary and our evergreen titles.”
Furukawa’s full words:
More: Shuntaro Furukawa, top
Nintendo president: more games scheduled for release than what’s been announced, dependent on work situation
Posted on 4 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 0 comments
Nintendo is quickly running out of games to release on Switch in terms of what’s been announced. After Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition drops this month followed by Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics in early June, there’s not much on the docket with an official release date. That doesn’t mean Nintendo doesn’t have anything in the pipeline, however.
We know that Nintendo has games that are longer out such as Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 and Metroid Prime 4. As far as titles releasing sooner than that though, president Shuntaro Furukawa stated during an investor call Q&A this week that the company has “games that are scheduled to release during this period other than what’s been announced.” He was quick to caution that the current work situation, where employees are now at home, has the potential to impact plans.
Furukawa’s full words (as translated by our own Oni Dino):
