Iwata: Nintendo magic comes from integrating hardware and software

by David Hinkle on Aug 8th 2013 7:45PM

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says the company's chief differentiator is its invention and introduction of hardware and software, and how having those different teams under the same umbrella.

"What I believe is that Nintendo is a very unique company, because it does its business by designing and introducing people to hardware and software – by integrating them, we can be unique. And because we have hardware and software developers in the same building, they stimulate each other," Iwata tells CVG.

This approach, Iwata says, has cemented fandom in Nintendo's lineup of franchises. And why not offer Nintendo games on competing platforms? With such a stable of system sellers at its disposal, Iwata thinks it'd be short-sighted for Nintendo to offer its games elsewhere.

If he wasn't "concerned about the long-term future of Nintendo at all," Iwata says putting Nintendo games on other systems may lead to "some short-term profit." Ultimately, it's Iwata's responsibility for the long-term that prevents him from ever "providing our precious resources for other platforms at all."

Iwata, who this year took on the role of Nintendo of America CEO in addition to his duties as company president, got his start at Nintendo as a programmer for HAL Laboratory, the outfit responsible for creating Kirby, the Mother series (Earthbound) and the Super Smash Bros. franchise. He has served as president of Nintendo since 2002.

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Iwata: Merging hardware teams could result in more hardware

by JC Fletcher on Feb 5th 2013 1:00PM

Speaking to investors, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata elaborated on Nintendo's aims regarding the merger of its console and handheld development teams. Iwata takes the surprising stance that putting the two teams together in Kyoto will result in more potential platforms, not fewer.

"What we are saying is that we would like to integrate software development methods, operating systems, and built-in software and software assets for each platform so that we can use them across different machines," Iwata said. "This means that if we manage to integrate our platforms successfully, we may in fact be able to make more platforms." Iwata explained that the ability to share development resources and assets between teams will allow them to work more efficiently, and that they would be "spread too thinly" if they tried to work on more than the current console and handheld platforms.
As usual, it's impossible to guess what Nintendo is up to in specific terms. "We feel that we are nearing a saturation point in terms of simply improving performance or enhancing graphics," Iwata said. "What is far more important for the future of video games is whether we can make new propositions in other aspects and create games out of something that people never expected to see in the form of a game." The problem with things we never expect to see is that we don't know what to expect, and therefore what to tell you.

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Nintendo cuts hardware sales targets after shipping 3M Wii U consoles in 2012

by Sinan Kubba on Jan 30th 2013 4:30AM

Nintendo adjusted its annual net profit outlook from ¥6 billion to ¥14 billion (around $154 million) on the back of a weakening yen, with the company posting a nine-month operating loss of ¥5.8 billion ($63.7 million) compared to the corresponding figure of ¥48.4 billion for the last fiscal year. However, Nintendo's end-of-fiscal-year hardware targets took a big hit on the back of shipping 3.06 million Wii U consoles in 2012.

Nintendo now projects a figure of 4 million for Wii U by the end of its fiscal year on March 31, down from the 5.5 million the company predicted in October 2012. 3DS shipments are now expected to hit 15 million for the year, down from initial projections of 18.5 million.

Nintendo has now shifted 29.84 million units of its handheld since launch. Meanwhile, the Wii's life-to-date figures are up to 99.38 million, with 3.53 million units shipped across the nine month period.

Regards software, Nintendo shifted 11.69 million Wii U games since the console's launch on November 18, The best-performing games were the bundled-in Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U, coming in at 2.33 million and 2.01 million respectively.

On the 3DS front, Nintendo shipped 39.56 million units of the handheld across the nine months. Pokémon Black/White 2 soared to a total of 7.63 million on the back of almost 3 million sales in Japan alone, while New Super Mario Bros. 2 is at 5.96 million. Animal Crossing: New Leaf sits at 2.73 million, largely thanks to its popularity with Japan's female demographic. All figures are as of December 31, 2012.

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June NPD: Lego Batman 2 on top, hardware and software sales still down year over year

by Jordan Mallory on Jul 12th 2012 6:31PM

This year's overall downward trend in software and hardware sales continued through June, according to the latest set of data released by the NPD Group. The whole industry (hardware, physical software and accessories sales) brought in $699.8 million, 29 percent less dough than the $989.5 million earned in June of 2011.

Year over year, hardware sales were down a staggering 45 percent -- $201.3 million in 2012 versus $364.9 million in 2011. That being said, all platforms (except the PS2 and PSP) saw increased sales over May due to Father's Day and high-school/college graduation gift shopping, although the "Dads and Grads" effect was less potent than it was in 2011, according to the NPD Group's Anita Frazier.

Conversely, accessories were up year over year, if just barely, due mostly to sales of points cards (XBLA points, Steam Wallet cards, etc), which is indicative of a trend towards digital gaming spurred on by a lack of new titles at retail, says Frazier. The segment pulled down four percent more in 2012 ($169.8 million) than in 2011 ($163.00 million). Physical software sales, totaling up at $328.7 million for the month, contributed 29 percent fewer funds to June's totals than they did last year, when software equaled $461.6 million.

As far as specific software is concerned, a list of the 10 best-selling games in June is tucked away after the break, as per usual. List topper Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes sold 450,000 units across all consoles in June, which the NPD Group attributes to an increased amount of Batman mind-share in the public consciousness due to the impending release of The Dark Knight Rises. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and Diablo 3 came in second and third for the month, with the rest of the list being a mish-mash of the surprising (Pokemon Conquest? Batman: Arkham City?!) and predictable mainstay entries like Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (360, Wii, PS3, NDS, 3DS, PSV, PC)Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (360, PS3, PC)Diablo 3 (PC)Max Payne 3 (360, PS3, PC)NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC)Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)Pokemon Conquest (NDS)Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)The Amazing Spider-Man (360, PS3, 3DS, NDS, Wii)

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September NPD: Madden, Gears, Dead Island are hits (Updated with Nintendo hardware numbers!)

by JC Fletcher on Oct 13th 2011 8:25PM

It should come as no surprise that Madden NFL 12 beat everything else in NPD's software chart for the month of September, unless you're really not into sports games and forgot it came out. Second place is also pretty expected, with the massive rollout of Gears of War 3 massively rolling into people's homes. Third place, however, is a bit more interesting -- Dead Island, from semi-obscure publisher Deep Silver, outsold almost everything else based on the strength of that trailer and the word "zombies." Find the top ten after the break.

In hardware, Microsoft reported Xbox 360 takes the top hardware spot once again, touting 438,000 units sold in the month. Nintendo reports sales of 360,000 3DS units in the five week September reporting period, as well as 240,000 Wiis and 145,000 DS systems. Sony has not released official sales numbers for the PS3 or PSP.

In larger trends, total industry sales are down 6 percent year over year, with a mere $1.16 billion changing hands in September.

Top 10 best-selling games (US) for September 2011: Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP)Gears of War 3 (360)Dead Island (360, PS3, PC)FIFA Soccer 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, 3DS)NHL 12 (360, PS3)Deus Ex: Human Revolution (360, PS3, PC)Resistance 3 (PS3)Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC)Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, NDS, Wii, PC)Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine (360, PS3, PC)

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Plenty of close-up Wii U hardware photos

by Richard Mitchell on Jun 14th 2011 5:42PM

We got plenty of face time with the Wii U's fancy controller at E3 but, apart from some stock press photos, we haven't seen much of the actual console. That problem has been rectified thanks to Inside Games, which has posted a few up close and personal shots of the device. Overall, the Wii U bears a strong resemblance to its predecessor, albeit some extra ventilation grills, an HDMI port and more curves.

Speaking of curves, vertical orientation doesn't look viable, though we suspect the small tabs on the side of the console may be designed to fit into a stand. You can spot the tabs in the photo after the break, and find even more pics over at Inside Games.

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[Project Cafe] Nintendo's new hardware all but confirmed?

[Project Cafe] Nintendo's new hardware all but confirmed?
Gamers have uncovered another clue that could be further proof that Nintendo's next piece of hardware is indeed labelled as 'Project Cafe'. The discovery came from Wario World, which is the website where developers can order hardware or seek development support.

What was the discovery exactly? Well, entering in http://www.warioworld.com/cafe redirects you to the main Wario World site. If you try any other sort of word then it will give you a 404 page. Further more the following banner was discovered on the website:

Another picture was also discovered which is just a picture of a latte and it says 'Cafe'. It all seems like too much of a coincidence, also considering the thumbnail was added on the 5th of April and the banner came around ten days later (roughly the same day that the rumours started pouring out). Tomorrow is when Nintendo will be holding their investor meeting, so chances are something could be teased at tomorrow. How much we'll know about it unknown at this point, but this new development does give fans something to chew on while they wait for Nintendo to make their next move.

Written by: Kyran Morrison

(This post was last modified: 04-25-2011 09:06 AM by LemonManX.) WiiDaBest
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RE: [Project Cafe] Nintendo's new hardware all but confirmed?
i read from some websites that wii has brought the copyright for the name " Zii " , might related to the new wii everyone is talking about.

(i haven't posted enough to post links but go to google and search "Nintendo Zii" )

(This post was last modified: 04-25-2011 12:20 AM by WiiDaBest.) Kasaioni

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RE: [Project Cafe] Nintendo's new hardware all but confirmed?
or maybe they're just lazy......... WiiDaBest
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RE: [Project Cafe] Nintendo's new hardware all but confirmed?
Art and music counts as well!!!!!!!!!!! (just joking)

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[Project Cafe] Nintendo seemingly announces new hardware, premiere at E3

[Project Cafe] Nintendo seemingly announces new hardware, premiere at E3
Looks like E3 is where it will all be going down. Nintendo of Japan has been circulating a press release that lets know that E3 is where our eyes need to be. No name is mentioned in the release, but after Shigeru Miyamoto commented that where there is smoke there is fire.
What are your thoughts on the matter?

Written by: Kyran Morrison

RE: [Project Cafe] Nintendo seemingly announces new hardware, premiere at E3
This article seems to suggest that Cafe isn't as powerful as IGN is claiming:

Quote:There's also talk of an AMD GPU from the R700 family, which unfortunately tells us very little about what we can expect from Cafe's graphics. However, it does fit in with Nintendo's modus operandi in utilising cheap, existing hardware, most likely with console-specific refinements.

In terms of available power, R700 scales up from anything from a low-power Radeon HD 4350 with 80 streaming processing units all the way to the HD 4890 that utilises 10 times as many. Optimistic speculation zeroes in on the HD 4770 as the most likely candidate for inclusion in Cafe, but our sources suggest that the overall profile of the GPU is much closer to the Xbox 360 - and we've even heard that in some applications it may even operate at a deficit compared to Xenos.

The next six weeks is going to be a cluster**** of rumours and speculation. Hopefully it won't be more than that.

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RE: [Project Cafe] Nintendo seemingly announces new hardware, premiere at E3
Heard it was potentially confirmed by word of mouth, but still.

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NPD December 2010 – Hardware and Software Sales Detailed - RipTen

Nintendo led in the Hardware count with the DS selling 2.5 million while the Wii moved 2.36 million units. While this sounds good, both systems were down from their numbers posted last year.

The Xbox 360 saw incredible growth in December, moving 1.86 million consoles in its best sales month ever recorded by tracking firm NPD – the only console that improved it’s numbers when compared to 2009.

The PS3 came in third out of the major consoles moving only 1.21 million units.  The DS passed the PSP in total U.S. sales.

The NPD recognized Call of Duty: Black Ops, Madden NFL ’11, Halo: Reach, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Red Dead Redemption as the top five titles of 2010 in terms of sales volume.

Hardware
Nintendo DS – 2.5 Million
Wii – 2.36 million
Xbox 360 – 1.86 million
PS3 – 1.21 million

December 2010 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC)
01. Call of Duty: Black Ops** (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC) ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
02. Just Dance 2 (Wii) UBISOFT
03. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm** (PC) ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
04. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood** (360, PS3) UBISOFT
05. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii) NINTENDO
06. Disney Epic Mickey** (Wii) DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
07. Madden NFL 11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP) ELECTRONIC ARTS
08. Michael Jackson The Experience** (Wii, NDS, PSP) UBISOFT
09. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC) TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
10. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (360, PS3, Wii, PC) ELECTRONIC ARTS

**(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

Annual 2010 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC)
01. Call of Duty: Black Ops** (360, PS3, Wii, PC, NDS) ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
02. Madden NFL 11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP) ELECTRONIC ARTS
03. Halo: Reach** (360) MICROSOFT
04. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) NINTENDO
05. Red Dead Redemption (360, PS3) TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
06. Wii Fit Plus** (Wii) NINTENDO
07. Just Dance 2 (Wii) UBISOFT
08. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2** (360, PS3, PC) ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
09. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood** (360, PS3) UBISOFT
10. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, PC) TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE

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