Nintendo's Fiscal Year investors briefing - details

[motherbra1n]

" Have learnt lesson of 3ds launch, as a result WiiU will have very rich line-up from the beginning, a few rich titles"

good, the lesson is to give Ubisoft the middle finger and say "stay the hell away from our console for the first month, then when the hype dies out you can shovel out all of your half assed ports, we can't have a fungus like you eating away at the positivity of the wii u launch."

[Chosenoneknuckles]

@Mirr0rR3flection What, you don't want it with any game bundles at the price?

I know I sure am expecting bundles for the UK launch...!

I don't mind really. I do have money afterall that needs wasting.

Crazy sausage - but hey, your money!

Never thought Nintendo could screw up digital downloads.... but I guess they did.

...how exactly?

Ignore him.

For a mod of this place he never does have anything positive to say [in general]!


Claimed overseas 3DS support was rising, will catch up to japan by E3 so not worried about jp v. international performance

Good good. Now just release Luigi's Mansion 2 and Paper Mario in the US, the UK, Europe and Australia before you let out NSMB2 and Pokemon BW2!

[t27duck]

@LegendofSantiago

I see nothing in there about downloading full retail games from the eShop. Instead I have to go to BestBuy or GameStop.

Then again, I could've read that wrong, but that's how I've interpreted it.

[FrenchFryGuy]

Sweet news about NSMB2 being both retail and digital! Now that all but confirms additional content via DLC in the future.

[Battlestriker123]

Wait... did they just confirm Monster Hunter and Fire Emblem for worldwide release? COOLSAUCE ;D

[Chosenoneknuckles]

@t27duck [FRE I refer you to a post I ctrl+v from the NeoGAF thread on this Investor's Meet @Chosenoneknuckles


Interesting thought from there too:

I think even if you're not into downloading games digitally that can be bought in store, this increases the chances of more games coming our way. Certain niche titles that might not otherwise come to our shores can no do so for pretty much zero risk.

[YoshiRider123]

Wait... did they just confirm Monster Hunter and Fire Emblem for worldwide release? COOLSAUCE ;D

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/120427/03.html

In addition, regarding “Fire Emblem Kakusei” (Japanese title), which was released last week in Japan, its initial sales figure reached the record-high in the series since the GameBoy Advance and we have received a lot of messages from the Club Nintendo members that they bought a game from the series after a long interval. Although we have not decided on a plan to release it overseas, we hope to further increase its sales.

[Chosenoneknuckles]

Demand for 3ds in eu/us has been been rather very weak, think 3rd year crucial and then if surge will achieve nintendo like profits

Well, for the UK and Europe side, you did leave the retailers to set our launch pricepoint - showing a lack of faith in us from the offset! >->

[J0RdAnN]

How much you want to bet the reason they won't announce the price at E3 is to gauge interest? If this is the case everyone needs to ignore the system then it'll be cheaper.

[ddddd]

@LegendofSantiago

I see nothing in there about downloading full retail games from the eShop. Instead I have to go to BestBuy or GameStop.

Then again, I could've read that wrong, but that's how I've interpreted it.

However, when it comes to how our consumers choose the candidates and make the final purchase decision, as well as how they pay for the software, we are going to enable consumers to go through these processes at both retailers and the Nintendo eShop.

So I think you can get it either way. You have two options when going digital, either nintendo's price, or retailers price if you got a code from them. The advantage is that retailers might give you a discount, and lower the price eventualy.

[Chosenoneknuckles]

Won't go all digital as it doesn't suit all users, want win-win relationship with retailers.

Digital wholesale price will not be the same as packaged as inventory risk is different

YES

Iwata doesn't think retail margins will be coming down as a result of digital. Finished

[void3953]

Never thought Nintendo could screw up digital downloads.... but I guess they did.

Actually, this is great news. It shows that Nintendo is the only one who gets it. Sony, MS and 3rd parties seem to think that they're going to go digital and cut retailers out of the loop. Problem is, who's going to stock your systems then? Retails don't make hardly anything on hardware. They make all their money on peripherals and software sales. You cut them out of the loop and who's going to sell your hardware? GameStop?

Sure it means higher prices for consumers but you'll be able to continue to purchase Nintendo hardware at retailers around the world. If Sony or MS go completely digital it will only be a matter of time before their hardware disappears from retails shelves as well. Where will you be buying their hardware from then? Their digital stores which require you to have their systems before you can even access them?

Trying to cut retail out has been one of the stupidest things this industry has been trying to pull off for years now.

Nintendo is the only one that's getting this right so far.

[FrenchFryGuy]

Never thought Nintendo could screw up digital downloads.... but I guess they did.

yea looks like they have. continued to be locked to hardware, fail. nintendo, I know digital is great for your margins, but we need the added value that it can provide. there is a huge opportunity for nintendo to lead the way here, with launching first, but it looks like they are going to pass on that opportunity to stay hidebound to the ways of the past century.

Am I missing something here? How are you guys not getting this? Digital buys will also "include" (meaning not limited to) retail as a place for payment and download.

And maybe juuuust maybe the Wii U price point isn't being divulged at E3 because everything won't be finalized until a few months after.

So much misinterpretation and jumping to conclusions going on in here.

[internet]

understood

[gtt]

Never thought Nintendo could screw up digital downloads.... but I guess they did.

yea looks like they have. continued to be locked to hardware, fail. nintendo, I know digital is great for your margins, but we need the added value that it can provide. there is a huge opportunity for nintendo to lead the way here, with launching first, but it looks like they are going to pass on that opportunity to stay hidebound to the ways of the past century.

Am I missing something here? How are you guys not getting this? Digital buys will also "include" (meaning not limited to) retail as a place for payment and download.

And maybe juuuust maybe the Wii U price point isn't being divulged at E3 because everything won't be finalized until a few months after.

So much misinterpretation and jumping to conclusions going on in here.

they already know how much the wiiu will cost to build and how much they are going to sell it for. It figures into their projections. I was complaining about the lack of an account system for digital titles. Can you imagine steam if it was tied to my hardware instead of an account, I wouldn't have a steam library of well over a thousand dollars that's for sure.

[ddddd]

@internet
And who the hell cares about that by now? Besides, the vita is not sold at profit, they get profit if you buy the mem card; and the 3ds was originaly being sold at a profit, had their launch library been good and e-shop fully working at day one the system wouldnt have gone down on price. Stop spamming that quote already.

[FrenchFryGuy]

they already know how much the wiiu will cost to build and how much they are going to sell it for. It figures into their projections. I was complaining about the lack of an account system for digital titles. Can you imagine steam if it was tied to my hardware instead of an account, I wouldn't have a steam library of well over a thousand dollars that's for sure.

That's my point though. You're jumping to conclusions. None of this has been confirmed as being something they are going to do or not do. You don't know yet. They could reveal this at E3. And they do not have everything nailed down in terms of actual price for the Wii U yet. There are a lot of things for them to figure out still that E3 will play a part in. Such as industry response and interest to what they reveal as well as third parties who are still not on board yet. They don't want another 3DS pricing scenario on their hands again. They want to make sure they get the price point right. Trust me on that. Just relax man and let the real facts come out in the next month approximately.

[gtt]

they already know how much the wiiu will cost to build and how much they are going to sell it for. It figures into their projections. I was complaining about the lack of an account system for digital titles. Can you imagine steam if it was tied to my hardware instead of an account, I wouldn't have a steam library of well over a thousand dollars that's for sure.

That's my point though. You're jumping to conclusions. None of this has been confirmed as being something they are going to do or not do. You don't know yet. They could reveal this at E3. And they do not have everything nailed down in terms of actual price for the Wii U yet. There are a lot of things for them to figure out still that E3 will play a part in. Such as industry response and interest to what they reveal as well as third parties who are still not on board yet. They don't want another 3DS pricing scenario on their hands again. They want to make sure they get the price point right. Trust me on that. Just relax man and let the real facts come out in the next month approximately.

Trust me. they know exactly the costs and prices they will charge. They are a huge business. those things had to be factored into their earning projections. the launch of a new hardware platform is a huge undertaking. at this point, everything (save things you can change via software) are set in stone, the hardware is final, etc. There is nothing left for them to figure out internally. there is only what they haven't not shared publicly.

Huge companies have to plan out well in advance, they can not change things on short notice.

[KittyFields]

Anyone else disappointed at the lack of the Fatal Frame/Project Zero 2 remake for the WIi in NA?

Also, I hope we get all those awesome 3DS titles Japan is getting. I wants me some Dragon Quest Monsters remake and some Rune Factory 4~!

[FrenchFryGuy]

Trust me. they know exactly the costs and prices they will charge. They are a huge business. those things had to be factored into their earning projections. the launch of a new hardware platform is a huge undertaking. at this point, everything (save things you can change via software) are set in stone, the hardware is final, etc. There is nothing left for them to figure out internally. there is only what they haven't not shared publicly.

I'm sorry but I don't believe that Nintendo has nailed down the final price point yet at all. Sure they know how much it costs to manufacture the hardware, but knowing the right price point to sell it at is and entirely different beast all together and after what Sony did with the PS3 at its launch and Nintendo themselves somewhat did with the 3DS, they are going to gauge industry interest and third party support interest in their decision on what price point they are going to settle at and how much of a loss, if any, they are willing to settle for.

Huge companies have to plan out well in advance, they can not change things on short notice.

Case in point. The 3DS price was cut just six months after launch. You've seen how that both helped and hurt Nintendo. Trust me. They don't want another pricing snafu. They don't want to over or under price the Wii U. E3 will help them put this into better perspective.

[gtt]

Case in point. The 3DS price was cut just six months after launch. You've seen how that both helped and hurt Nintendo. Trust me. They don't want another pricing snafu. They don't want to over or under price the Wii U. E3 will help them put this into better perspective.

I would have loved to been a fly on the wall in those meetings, I'd bet good money they made that choice 2 months into the 3ds. and still even at 6months, it threw a serious wrench into their plans. business does not function well in uncertainty.

They can't be so full of hubris to jack up the price based on reaction from a trade show, the average customer doesn't follow the video game news or watch e3 presentations. in the case of the 3ds all they saw was a handheld with no games that cost as much as a 360. they can not be so short sighted to repeat the same mistakes. They probably going to have to fight an up hill battle against the uninformed customer who thinks the wiiu is just the tablet controller and is simply another wii addon.

[V3N0M]

In short i think that what frenchfryguy is trying to say is this, even with all manufacturing costs nailed down, E3 is what will determine if Nintendo tries to sell this at a profit or go the 3DS route and take a loss on the first FY units in order to meet a price point that will jive with consumer reactions. Aka they know how much they WANT to charge us for it, but they don't know how easily they can get away with setting the price point. So keep your interest plutonic and hope for a console at $250.

[mmxforever]

Those are some crazy sales numbers for both New Super Mario Bros games and Mario Kart Wii. Without pack in numbers, I bet both NSMB games have now surpassed SMB3 as the best selling Mario titles of all time. Also good to see Galaxy get above that 10 million mark too.

Also was very surprised to see Skyward Sword has moved 3.5 million in 6 months. Not bad at all considering the Wii is on life support at this point.

[void3953]

They can't be so full of hubris to jack up the price based on reaction from a trade show, the average customer doesn't follow the video game news or watch e3 presentations.

You have quite a bit of hubris to talk about Nintendo's hubris when everyone and they're mother was telling them that they could easily get away with that price point. Certain high profile people were telling them that they could get away with an even higher price point. Hubris would be Nintendo deciding to charge $600 for it and telling gamers that they'd be willing to get a second job just to buy one.

in the case of the 3ds all they saw was a handheld with no games that cost as much as a 360. they can not be so short sighted to repeat the same mistakes.

No, that's what you saw. You're opinion is not fact. The early issues with the 3DS were with Nintendo giving 3rd parties the limelight and they squandered it and nearly ran the system into the ground. I'm sure Nintendo knew they were going to try and screw them but I don't think they realized by just how much. The price cut was forced by 3rd parties who, clamming they couldn't compete with Nintendo's own games, nearly tanked the follow up to the most successful handheld system of all time even when given everything they said they wanted.

They probably going to have to fight an up hill battle against the uninformed customer who thinks the wiiu is just the tablet controller and is simply another wii addon.

You forgot to mention this up hill battle was completely invented by the gaming media press in an attempt to sabotage the system. When was the last time you saw most of the gaming sites, knowing full well they just saw the reveal of a completely new system, go back to their sites and start spreading rumors that they weren't sure if they saw a new system of just an add-on for the existing one? That's never happened before. Ever.

But it happened with the Wii U. Even thought there's never been any confusion like that before. Not even when the new systems looked and/or play exactly the same to the last one. Some even have the exact same controller! Yet no confusion there.

Lay the blame where it really belongs.

[gtt]

They can't be so full of hubris to jack up the price based on reaction from a trade show, the average customer doesn't follow the video game news or watch e3 presentations.

You have quite a bit of hubris to talk about Nintendo's hubris when everyone and they're mother was telling them that they could easily get away with that price point. Certain high profile people were telling them that they could get away with an even higher price point. Hubris would be Nintendo deciding to charge $600 for it and telling gamers that they'd be willing to get a second job just to buy one.

in the case of the 3ds all they saw was a handheld with no games that cost as much as a 360. they can not be so short sighted to repeat the same mistakes.

No, that's what you saw. You're opinion is not fact. The early issues with the 3DS were with Nintendo giving 3rd parties the limelight and they squandered it and nearly ran the system into the ground. I'm sure Nintendo knew they were going to try and screw them but I don't think they realized by just how much. The price cut was forced by 3rd parties who, clamming they couldn't compete with Nintendo's own games, nearly tanked the follow up to the most successful handheld system of all time even when given everything they said they wanted.

They probably going to have to fight an up hill battle against the uninformed customer who thinks the wiiu is just the tablet controller and is simply another wii addon.

You forgot to mention this up hill battle was completely invented by the gaming media press in an attempt to sabotage the system. When was the last time you saw most of the gaming sites, knowing full well they just saw the reveal of a completely new system, go back to their sites and start spreading rumors that they weren't sure if they saw a new system of just an add-on for the existing one? That's never happened before. Ever.

But it happened with the Wii U. Even thought there's never been any confusion like that before. Not even when the new systems looked and/or play exactly the same to the last one. Some even have the exact same controller! Yet no confusion there.

Lay the blame where it really belongs.

yes, that's it. there is a massive conspiracy on the part of the third parties. they hate money, they don't want to make it all.