12/31/15 could be a potential date for either a replacement for Wii U or 3DS. If sales are still strong I don't believe they will replace the 3DS at that time.
Things I picked up from the Q&A.
Don't expect powerful hardware..... pretty much ever. They've fully embraced software over hardware and aren't going back. When asked to clarify the power to the market Genyo said, " Whether a machine is powerful or not only has meaning in the context of whether that can express itself in terms of gameplay to consumers, and I therefore do not intend to go into fine detail about the specific numbers. I apologize for not directly answering your question, but it is my personal belief that explanations of such a nature have little relevance to consumers."
So hardware power is not relevant to you. Stop asking for more powerful hardware.
Don't expect M&A...... for now. It seems the previous openness to M&A was due to keeping options open rather than any targets. Iwata, "Currently, our video game dedicated platform business is reaching a transition stage in several different meanings, and we would like to have the option of using our shares for M&A purposes. We will not cling to this option for a long time, and when the transition stage ends, retirement of shares would be one option. "
The buyback shares will probably be retired.
No hybrid.... rather lots of hardware under the same O/S. Iwata, "Still, I am not sure if the form factor (the size and configuration of the hardware) will be integrated. In contrast, the number of form factors might increase. Currently, we can only provide two form factors because if we had three or four different architectures, we would face serious shortages of software on every platform. To cite a specific case, Apple is able to release smart devices with various form factors one after another because there is one way of programming adopted by all platforms. Apple has a common platform called iOS."
There are two ways he could be looking at this. 1. They could have various handhelds (I.E. console level handheld, middle powered handheld, cheap handheld) or they could have an annual release of hardware like Apple does. So you have Nintendo console 1, Nintendo console 2 the next year will upgrades. The year after that Nintendo console 3. Software is interesting then. Would all software be playable under all models (scalable) or would they use an IOS model where Ipad 2 can play most games but you would need an Ipad 5 to play intensive games. I tend to think the latter. This is why 2015 could be the Wii U replacement since they are building off that O/S. The Wii U could still be applicable for a while after being replaced if only a few of the future games can't play on the Wii U.
Nintendo isn't going to say it, but I expect a reduction in the manpower at Nintendo. Iwata, "s for the QOL (Quality of Life)-improving platform, I made some slides which explain how Nintendo came up with this idea. These are examples of something ordinary turning into a hit product with the power of applications. In 1980, we released “GAME & WATCH,” which, I am told, was an idea that was born from watching people use calculators. “GAME & WATCH” was made by adding an application to a watch, and this is the origin of the current handheld games. "
This leads me to believe they are not entirely sure what they are doing with QOL, but just know they want to do something fitness related. But what is interesting is this was in response to manpower. It's well known Iwata doesn't want to lay off, but he hasn't committed to hiring additional people to support his QOL platform either which is supposedly a big future endeavor. So I expect that resources will be allocated to QOL, fewer games will be made, but they'll mask it by having those games playable on console/handheld hardware so it looks to console owners like at least as many games are being made.
Two other quotes that suggest Nintendo is convinced the video game industry is shrinking and they are inclined to shrink with it.
Miyamoto, " Therefore, I feel that we have managed to overcome the challenge of releasing enough first-party franchises on Wii U. "
The Wii U was well supported from a software perspective. Don't expect future iterations to get more support.
Couldn't find the exact quote, but Iwata said something similar to they were buying back shares because they couldn't give investors the types of dividends they had in the past.
Expect Nintendo software to become more basic (lowest common denominator). Iwata, "The reason we talked about such points today was because there are many consumers who are perhaps not so interested in games but are passionate about trying something interesting, and, in expanding the gaming population, we are considering how we can get our messages across to these consumers, create ties with them and develop an environment in which it is easy for them to participate."
Expect the focus to continue to be on non-gamers and somehow replicating the success of the Wii.
I know some people are taking snipets out to get excited about what they perceive as the new Nintendo. But it appears to me like they are going to amplify all the things that core gamers aren't excited about at Nintendo.
Topic: "A single game saved the GB (Pokemon), it could save the Wii U too” Iwata said (Read 90732 times)
