14 DAY TRIAL // Apparently, the DSi was not the only handheld on which Nintendo worked after launching the original DS. At some point in the last three years, the company completely discarded another hardware prototype, an event that might have left a greater imprint on any other firm but Nintendo.
Satoru Iwata told CNBC that “In the history of Nintendo, there are several such examples, but when we are launching new hardware, the most important thing is to sustain the momentum. If introducing new hardware won't do anything to do that, well.”
Iwata also stated that “We have the greater potential to create the blue ocean market when people are skeptical. So when we realize that other people are coming into market… there are two things we do. One is try to intensify the fun nature of something we are already doing. The other is try to create a new blue ocean.”
Basically, Iwata is letting Microsoft and Sony know that his company is already working on something bigger than motion tracking. Nintendo revolutionized (and made a lot of money) the gaming industry by introducing working motion tracking with the Wii. Now, Sony is working on a motion-based controller, and Microsoft recently unveiled Project Natal at E3, aiming to take over a portion of the market that Nintendo created. The above statements suggest that Nintendo might be getting ready to make a huge announcement related to a giant innovation.
It might just be that the handheld that Nintendo scrapped was the new “blue ocean” concept and that the company decided that its market share was better served by offering an iteration on something that gamers already know rather than introducing something completely new. It would be great if the company talked about what it was developing, but there's little chance of that.