14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has shared some insight on his company's consoles, the Wii and the upcoming 3DS, and how he sees a bright future for them in the current market.
Nintendo's Wii home console is getting a bit old these days, and the fact that it doesn't have high definition graphics is resulting in a bit of a descending trend in terms of sales.
Nintendo's Iwata doesn't seem to think so, revealing that sales are still looking good and that developers have plenty of new ideas for the device.
"It's just four years since release," said Iwata to Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun (via Andriasang. "It's selling over 7 million units a year in North America, so we don't think it's at the limit. We'll make decisions about a successor system at the time when software developers cannot offer surprises (on the Wii)."
In terms of the 3DS, which has already launched in Japan and is getting ready for its North American and European debut, Iwata is confident that the new portable consoles will reach if not overtake the old DS console in terms of sales.
“We don't have a specific sales target, but we'd like to increase the number of people who experience it to beyond the DS. We've equipped it with a 3D camera and so-forth, which can also bring in those who aren't interested in games."
The Nintendo DS has become one of the best selling consoles in history, reaching over 140 million units sold since the launch of the original DS back in 2004.
Since then, the portable device has seen multiple hardware iterations, and is now finally getting a full replacement, in the form of the 3DS.
Nintendo bases its confidence in the fact that the console will be the first mass-market 3D device, essentially guaranteeing big sales and lots of innovative content.
The Nintendo 3DS has already sold out in its native Japan, and is getting ready to make its European debut on March 25, and its North American one on March 27.