14 DAY TRIAL // The lack of support from Western developers for the Nintendo 3DS is a sign that the handheld has not yet achieved maturity on the market and the attitude of companies will change in the coming months and link up with that of Japanese publisher like Square Enix and Capcom.
Satoru Iwata, who is both the chief executive officer and the president of Nintendo, told investors that “There may appear to be fewer commitments from the U.S. and the European software publishers than those of their Japanese counterparts.”
He added, “This is due to the different timing (between Japan and overseas) when they noticed that the Nintendo 3DS would surely expand widely into their markets and, thus, the different timing when they started the actual development of the Nintendo 3DS software.”
When it reported the financial results showing that it has lost money for fiscal 2012, the first time it has done so in its history, Nintendo mentioned that the 3DS had the potential for better sales both in the United States and in Europe.
Sales of the handheld edged up after August 2011, when it got a 30 percent price cut in order to make it more attractive to players, and the holiday season has seen another boost for the new gaming platform after the launch of the Nintendo made Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 and after Capcom introduced the 3DS version of Monster Hunter 3G.
No similar hits were launched by Western developers during the same period and this situation is unlikely to change in the near future.
Iwata believes that the solid relationship between Nintendo and other Japanese companies will continue.
Nintendo needs to continue to have a solid release line-up for the 3DS even as it shifts its resources in order to support the launch of the Wii U home console.