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Iwata on maintaining 3DS success, avoiding issues with Wii U launch and outside collaborations
Among the challenges you just mentioned, the ones involving the Nintendo 3DS are the ones which will affect the company’s future. For a new hardware system, the third fiscal year after the launch is a very critical year, the one which can be referred to as the “year of challenges” from some viewpoints. How we can expand the sales of the Nintendo 3DS in the third fiscal year will determine the total hardware and software sales of its entire lifespan. As for the Wii U, although this system is categorized in the general video game description of a home console system, the play styles the company is proposing with the Wii U are not limited to the ones which are available only in front of TV sets, so I believe that we will not use the term “home console system” for this hardware. Whenever we launch a new video game hardware system, if we cannot sustain the momentum during the launch period and a certain period thereafter, it can invite very challenging situations just like the one the Nintendo 3DS experienced. Doing our utmost to avoid such a situation is another challenge the company is focusing on. As for other things, to sum up, we will make efforts to effectively implement what we have already prepared.
I recall that I also heard a concern at one of these occasions in the past that the company may lack sufficient resources, and I was asked, “How will the company cope with it?” It is obvious that Nintendo does not employ so many people internally. If we look at the number of our own employees, we are not a so-called “resource-rich” company. When we view our company from a different perspective, on the other hand, it is an advantage because Nintendo has more freedom and flexibility to be able to collaborate with outside resources as long as we can find good partners. As a matter of fact, although many tasks used to be done only internally in the past, we are now working with people outside the company in several business fields. When we make any relevant announcements on such projects, we cannot just say we are working with this company on that project. Unless we can make more comprehensive announcements by discussing the details of the subject product, it may not make any sense to you. So, we would like to discuss this topic sometime later. There are several projects we will be able to talk about this year. I hope that I will be able to pick up examples which will show that Nintendo is taking care of the business fields in which it lacks internal resources. - Satoru Iwata
Link
I recall that I also heard a concern at one of these occasions in the past that the company may lack sufficient resources, and I was asked, “How will the company cope with it?” It is obvious that Nintendo does not employ so many people internally. If we look at the number of our own employees, we are not a so-called “resource-rich” company. When we view our company from a different perspective, on the other hand, it is an advantage because Nintendo has more freedom and flexibility to be able to collaborate with outside resources as long as we can find good partners. As a matter of fact, although many tasks used to be done only internally in the past, we are now working with people outside the company in several business fields. When we make any relevant announcements on such projects, we cannot just say we are working with this company on that project. Unless we can make more comprehensive announcements by discussing the details of the subject product, it may not make any sense to you. So, we would like to discuss this topic sometime later. There are several projects we will be able to talk about this year. I hope that I will be able to pick up examples which will show that Nintendo is taking care of the business fields in which it lacks internal resources. - Satoru Iwata
Link