Nintendo Investors Meeting ( now in english )

The english slides/translation are out and about now.

HERE

I know there has been some discussion on this in the general Wii U thread but figured it would be best to have a dedicated thread for it.

Naturally, we are moving ahead with research and development efforts for future hardware as we have done before and we are not planning to give up our own hardware systems and shift our axis toward other platforms.

So, not going 3rd party. Like there was any doubt.

Nintendo is not a resource-rich company, with only a little more than 5,000 employees on a consolidated basis. We cannot achieve a strong presence by imitating others and simply competing in terms of size. We have often received advice on overcoming our weaknesses in comparison with other companies and have been questioned about why Nintendo doesn’t follow suit when something is already booming. From a medium- to long-term standpoint, however, we don’t believe that following trends will lead to a positive outcome for Nintendo as an entertainment company. Instead, we should continue to make our best efforts to seek a blue ocean with no rivals and create a new market with innovative offerings as a medium- to long-term goal.

I don't like this quote at all. They are essentially saying that they want a market to themselves, with no competition. You need competition to bring out the best in you and there's only so long you can dodge your competitors when you are fighting for the same market.

Obviously, under the current situation where the company has to report an operating loss, simply executing a price reduction as a way to defuse the situation is not an option. In the short-term, Nintendo will focus on thoroughly enriching the value of the most significant feature of Wii U, the Wii U GamePad.

No price cut and rather than ditching the GamPad they are going to double their efforts to create something unique for it, something that really should have happened by now.

Unfortunately, as the current situation of Wii U shows, we have not been able to fully communicate the value of the GamePad. We also realize that we have not been successful in answering consumers’ questions such as, “What is the difference between Wii U and the previous platform, Wii, and what is the benefit of upgrading it?” By looking at the current sales situation, I am aware that this is due to our lack of effort. What’s even worse is that there even appear to be not a small number of consumers who think the GamePad is one of the accessories for the previous platform, Wii.

 

It is more challenging to convey the appeal of the GamePad to consumers who do not engage with video games that often since they do not actively gather information about video games. Therefore, we intend to take on this challenge, and I would like to have this solved before the year-end sales season.

Good luck with that. It's been over a year and people just either don't get it or aren't interested.

Our top priority task this year is to offer software titles that are made possible because of the GamePad.

We have managed to offer several of such software titles for occasions when many people gather in one place to play, but we have not been able to offer a decisive software title that enriches the user’s gameplay experience when playing alone with the GamePad. This will be one of the top priorities of Mr. Miyamoto’s software development department this year.

Miyamoto is on the case. Should be interesting.

In addition, the GamePad is the only video game platform with an NFC (near-field communication) reader/writer function. “Pokémon Rumble U” has already taken advantage of this function, but aside from this title, Wii U has failed to make use of the full potential of this function so far, despite it being a built-in feature.

 

This year, we will make full use of this function by preparing multiple proposals, including the implementation of NFC payments with JR East’s “Suica,” which we announced on a previous occasion. We will showcase our detailed propositions for utilizing the NFC functionality at E3 in Los Angeles in June.

I've been harping on about this for a while now. Nintendo have the means for a Skylanders type product built into their own pd. It's about time that they use it effectively. Some type of Pokemon game or Smash Bros. could be used with the NFC.

Also, did he just kinda confirm they will be at E3 this year? Saying that, they were actually at last years event, they just didn't do a presser.

Also, one of the major benefits of the GamePad is that we can easily play video games without using the TV, and this has been well received. Unfortunately, however, after starting up Wii U, there is a wait of over 20 seconds before we can select a video game title, and hence it is not an ideal situation for users now.

 

To solve this problem, a quick start menu for the GamePad will become a reality after a future system update planned for early summer.

This new function is currently under development, and although we cannot show a demo with a real machine, we have made a video to show you what the function can do, so please take a look.

Loving the sound of this. I'm a big fan off off-tv play and this sounds great.

We are now sure that we can solve the technical problem of displaying Virtual Console software from Nintendo DS on the GamePad.

The dual-screen Nintendo DS, one of which is a touch screen, has a very strong software lineup, and so we plan to add the Virtual Console titles from Nintendo DS software to the future Virtual Console lineup for Wii U.

I kinda called this the other week, although I had it down for the 3DS rather than Wii U. I'm not getting excited yet as he said they would be adding N64 and GBA title to the VC. One year later and we are still waiting.

We will announce the specific release dates of each software title and the release of new titles in other opportunities such as Nintendo Direct, but today we would like to announce that a key title for Wii U this year, “Mario Kart 8,” is scheduled to be released globally in May (though it says on page 6 of the supplemental information that it will be released in spring 2014). To create huge momentum, we would like to ensure that the release of titles such as “Mario Kart 8” is not a one-off event.

I can't believe this is that far off. After DK in Feb nothing else has been announced. Hopefully there will be at least one big title to plug the gap.

On Wii U, we launched Nintendo Network IDs, which are abbreviated as NNIDs. This is the first step of our efforts to transform customer relationship management from device-based to account-based, namely, consumer-based, through which we aim to establish long-term relationships with individual consumers, unaffected by the lifespans of our systems. Our future platform will connect with our consumers based on accounts, not devices.

 

As a second step, Nintendo 3DS became compatible with NNIDs in December 2013. Nintendo 3DS was originally designed for a device-based management system, so making it account-compatible at a later time meant that not all of its features were perfect. However, we feel that we have taken a step in the right direction as we now have a uniformly managed system in which we are connected with our consumers on both handheld devices and consoles.

 

Of course, when we do launch new hardware in the future, rather than re-creating an installed base from scratch as we did in the past, we wish to build on our existing connections with our consumers through NNIDs and continue to maintain them.

This is exactly what I pointed out in the sales thread. Sony and Microsoft have been building their user base last gen and now that the new consoles are hit they are kind of tied to them and are happy to upgrade. Nintendo had none of this for the Wii U so it was never a factor many.

As we continue to redefine our platforms from a device-based system to an account-based system using NNIDs, we will also try to change the way in which dedicated video game systems as well as software are sold that people have come to take for granted.

 

The way in which dedicated video game systems and their software are sold has not changed significantly since the business model of dedicated video game platforms was first established 30 years ago. Dedicated video game systems are sold for two hundred or three hundred dollars, on which standalone software titles are distributed for 30 or 50 dollars. This simple model received widespread support from consumers that enabled us to create today’s market. The decision to change it is the manifestation of our recognition that we cannot expect this model to work forever amid dynamic changes in people’s lifestyles.

 

If we succeed in the redefinition of video game platforms that I speak of today, our account-based connections with consumers will become very clear. For example, until now it has been taken for granted that software is offered to users at the same price regardless of how many titles they purchase in a year, be it one, five or even ten titles. Based on our account system, if we can offer flexible price points to consumers who meet certain conditions, we can create a situation where these consumers can enjoy our software at cheaper price points when they purchase more. Here, we do not need to limit the condition to the number of software titles they purchase. Inviting friends to start playing a particular software title is also an example of a possible condition. If we can achieve such a sales mechanism, we can expect to increase the number of players per title, and the players will play our games with more friends. This can help maintain the high usage ratio of a platform. When one platform maintains a high active use ratio, the software titles which run on it have a higher potential to be noticed by many, which leads to more people playing with more titles. When we see our overall consumers, they generally play two or three titles per year. We aim to establish a new sales mechanism that will be beneficial to both consumers and software creators by encouraging our consumers to play more titles and increasing a platform’s active use ratio without largely increasing our consumers’ expenditures.

 

Nintendo aims to work on this brand-new sales mechanism in the medium term, but we would like to start experimenting with Wii U at an early stage.

Buy more games and get bigger discounts? I like the sound of this. If it's digital games of retail releases though i'm out as I prefer my boxed goods.

It has been a long time since people started to say that the console era has now shifted to a new mobile era, with wearable technology in the spotlight at CES this month.

However, as I said at the beginning of the presentation today, Nintendo is a company that sees the true value of entertainment lies in its individuality. Following others into the exceedingly crowded market of mobile applications or the market of wearable technology that is expected to become increasingly competitive and fighting with brute force is not our way of doing business. Yet again, it is our intention to go into a new blue ocean.

 

With that said, we wish to achieve an integrated hardware-software platform business that, instead of providing mobile or wearable features, will be characterized by a new area of what we like to call “non-wearable” technology. When we use “health” as the keyword, some may inevitably think about “Wii Fit.” However, we are considering themes that we have not incorporated to games for our existing platforms. Including the hardware that will enable such an idea, we will aim to establish a blue ocean.

So, Vitality Sensor returning then?

I don't quite understand the route he is taking the company with this QoL stuff but it will be interesting to see what the outcome is. Kind sounds like, going forward, if things continue the way they are they won't be able to sustain the company purely on videogames so they are looking at alternative sources of revenue.

So in summary:

No price cut

Once again trying to get the Gamepad message across

Not going 3rd party

Miyamoto sorting out compelling single player software for the pad

Looking into applications for smart phones

Mario Kart in May

NFC title to be shown at E3

Summer update

Quality of Life being a big target for the company going forward

There's a bunch of other stuff in the actual document and encourage everyone to give it a read. I just highlighted the points that stood out to me.

Iwata still continues to be a let down.

The fuck!? Well there's our 3rd pillar, just not in the way any of us expected!

Trust Nintendo to throw yet another curveball! Still, anyone have any idea what he means exactly by "non-wearable" technology? Camera based stuff? Leveraging the Wii Balance Board?

I imagine that it refers to ways of measuring and monitoring health through those kinds of technologies...

Me thinks that we could also be seeing a lot of that R&D from the cancelled Wii Relax project (and the vitality sensor) might actually be put to use here.

I also get that feeling that they'll be partnering with Konami in this sector quite extensively too, considering that health clubs now chiefly form the core of their business (proof that such an expansion can work)

This might end up tying into the idea of them moving "services previously released on dedicated video game systems that are, however, capable of improving usability and consumer experience when they are implemented on smart devices" over to smart devices. Stuff like Wii Fit or the touch generations games might be moved over there where it makes sense - so a game that measures your activity might actually be made for smart devices instead since you always carry it round with you.

Naturally it's worrying to see them take such a large leap into a whole new sector, but they do have a lot of competence & experience in this area (and some brand clout here too) so it's not a complete departure for them to make.

It is still a completely fucking amazing curveball though! Forget getting dragged back into the red ocean comic-book-industry that is the "core gamer" market, we're getting even further away from that!

It's great to see that they're not giving up and giving into market trends. They're sticking to their guns and sticking to what they're good at; delivering surprise and delight through the sound of their own drum beat!

New blue ocean?

Wind Waker HD 2?

New blue ocean?

 

Wind Waker HD 2?

Not quite. They're using their third pillar to be sort of away from games. Based on the slides, they'll be shifting their non-core titles such as Wii Fit U, Brain Training etc. to this device. It's what people want. Some of you always complain that Nintendo keeps releasing non "core" crap all the time, and now they won't on the Wii U/3DS. It's part of Nintendo's expansion and allows for them to put more focus on the core on the Wii U/3DS and their successor.

Overall, I'm happy. Nintendo have admitted the problem and plan to tackle it head on rather than just give up. Lots of GamePad features to come, DS Virtual Console is pretty cool (though I'm not that interested in it), glad to see they're going universal account too and the new pricing scheme is very intriguing...it's something that would truly benefit people like us

I also get that feeling that they'll be partnering with Konami in this sector quite extensively too, considering that health clubs now chiefly form the core of their business (proof that such an expansion can work)

 

Hopefully this move won't effect Nintendo in the same way.

Not quite. They're using their third pillar to be sort of away from games. Based on the slides, they'll be shifting their non-core titles such as Wii Fit U, Brain Training etc. to this device. It's what people want. Some of you always complain that Nintendo keeps releasing non "core" crap all the time, and now they won't on the Wii U/3DS.

Anyway, interesting times ahead.

Now where's that Nintendo Direct damnit!

and the new pricing scheme is very intriguing...it's something that would truly benefit people like us

Yeah true that. When I read that I thought that he was targeting that directly at me lol!

I already abuse the hell out of Nintendo Network Premium, so getting a similar program going across all of their consoles (hopefully for physical and digital games) would be simply brilliant for me!

Hopefully it'll also encourage other people to step outside their comfort zones and try other games thanks to these rolling discounts too!

I think it was a joke serebii. (Re: Guy)

I think it was pretty bad in all honesty and absolutely NOTHING that helps now.

He admitted marketing to 3ds and Wii u made them both suffer. Solution? Have a 3rd pillar to take even more resources away.

The desire for blue ocean is an absolutely losers strategy with regards to video games.

Using smart phones for a service which only benefits current users.

Abandoning the gamepad in all it's games, then saying they're goings of ull focus on it..

DS virtual consoles on the Wii u. Now this is just bizarre. It'll look awful for a start, but why not both. Why not GameCube?

It all felt really desperate, and nothing that the Wii u and Nintendo actually need.

But it also means those of us that do like Nintendo's "non core crap" will have to buy another device.

I don't think it'll be a standalone "Touch Generations" console, but rather that they'll release standalone products and services that embody the same ideas and concepts (so maybe they'd release something like the vitality sensor seperately that comes with a smartphone app that integrates with it)

Anyway, interesting times ahead.

Now where's that Nintendo Direct damnit!

True dat! Gimme something to munch on while I endure the gruelling wait till May Iwata!!!

Ah! So that's what happened to Konami. Interesting.

Hopefully this move won't effect Nintendo in the same way.

 

But it also means those of us that do like Nintendo's "non core crap" will have to buy another device.

 

Anyway, interesting times ahead.

Now where's that Nintendo Direct damnit!

True enough. You know I love Wii Fit U, afterall. 1,000km passed since November...aww yeah!

I think it was a joke serebii. (Re: Guy)

 

I think it was pretty bad in all honesty and absolutely NOTHING that helps now.

 

He admitted marketing to 3ds and Wii u made them both suffer. Solution? Have a 3rd pillar to take even more resources away.

 

The desire for blue ocean is an absolutely losers strategy with regards to video games.

 

Using smart phones for a service which only benefits current users.

 

Abandoning the gamepad in all it's games, then saying they're goings of ull focus on it..

 

DS virtual consoles on the Wii u. Now this is just bizarre. It'll look awful for a start, but why not both. Why not GameCube?

 

It all felt really desperate, and nothing that the Wii u and Nintendo actually need.

I disagree. What would be desperate is them dropping the GamePad, going third party or developing games for smartphones.

True enough. You know I love Wii Fit U, afterall. 1,000km passed since November...aww yeah!

 

 

 

I disagree. What would be desperate is them dropping the GamePad, going third party or developing games for smartphones.

But they're as good as doing nothing? A quick boot mode, VC games, slightly lower pricing and more game pad usage is not going to entice gamers, which I thought was the whole point. They're all good things for us, but were already there. Nintendo need to find a way to sell more wiius and games.

But they're as good as doing nothing? A quick boot mode, VC games, slightly lower pricing and more game pad usage is not going to entice gamers, which I thought was the whole point. They're all good things for us, but were already there. Nintendo need to find a way to sell more wiius and games.

This.

What exactly is the plan to get wii u sales out of the gutter?

I think it was pretty bad in all honesty and absolutely NOTHING that helps now.

This really stuck out to me as well, even more so with the May release date of Mario Kart. While the plans outlined look intriguing going forward, an immediate solution isn't really on the cards.

To be fair, what could they really do that would have a significant impact? It's pointless cutting the price and software is ready when it's ready.

If it wasn't for DK then it would be a VERY barren first quarter for the Wii U. I still think that game was delayed to plug a gap rather than to give it more polish.

What exactly is the plan to get wii u sales out of the gutter?

Short term? There isn't one. I think it's a question of riding the storm and hoping that they come out alright at the end.

But they're as good as doing nothing? A quick boot mode, VC games, slightly lower pricing and more game pad usage is not going to entice gamers, which I thought was the whole point. They're all good things for us, but were already there. Nintendo need to find a way to sell more wiius and games.

Those are things that will entice people to buy the console. Software pricing is something that is really holding people back these days (across all platforms, not just Nintendo's). The downwards pressure on software prices in general is damaging the entire industry and this is a way Nintendo intends to combat that.

And they're looking to further improve the Wii U's sales not by slashing hardware pricesm but rather by adding value through new services and games that really show what the only the Gamepad can offer. They're providing a value that no other platform or developer can; that is what made the Wii and DS the successes they were - they provided something that no other platform could,

If it wasn't for DK then it would be a VERY barren first quarter for the Wii U. I still think that game was delayed to plug a gap rather than to give it more polish.

It was probably both. They probably could've released it back in November, but decided to put it back in the oven for a little longer when they realised that MK8 wouldn't make it for this fiscal year. They probably have indeed been improving it further still these past few months, simply because they could afford to do so now.

After a disastrously barren 2013 you'd have thought they'd have known what they could release for the new year and put a plan in place. It's just weird... I guess this is what happens with no 3rd parties!

I'm just glad I'm in Paris and have stupid amounts of games to get through anyway. Come back for mario kart and then hopefully the wave of games.

This.

 

What exactly is the plan to get wii u sales out of the gutter?

Provide compelling software to convince people to buy it.

What more do you want? A price cut that would destroy Nintendo? Them to drop the major aspects of their hardware? These would be very damaging to Nintendo, both financially and with their image

Those are things that will entice people to buy the console. Software pricing is something that is really holding people back these days (across all platforms, not just Nintendo's). The downwards pressure on software prices in general is damaging the entire industry and this is a way Nintendo intends to combat that.

 

And they're looking to further improve the Wii U's sales not by slashing hardware pricesm but rather by adding value through new services and games that really show what the only the Gamepad can offer. They're providing a value that no other platform or developer can; that is what made the Wii and DS the successes they were - they provided something that no other platform could,

If they lower prices to retail then it will be a slight boost. But not that much. And people not care about the gamepad, it won't work. The method that sold the Wii and sd hasn't wormed for 3ds and Wii u. Only lots of great games will do, improving all their online and digital services will help too, but they'll struggle to even compete with the competitors never mind providing an attractive alternative.

I just expected Nintendo to do more...

Provide compelling software to convince people to buy it.

 

What more do you want? A price cut that would destroy Nintendo? Them to drop the major aspects of their hardware? These would be very damaging to Nintendo, both financially and with their image

If they had this compelling software then great. But the first game is in MAY. 5 months away. That's a joke! If they had a game a month while they slowly built up their digital libraries it'd be something.

Maybe we just don't know the details. Maybe they'll surprise us with another game before then. But I think things have been bleak. But they're going to get even worse until mario kart. By that point they could have lost any interest to Sony and ms.

It all just feels a bit clueless.

Just don't forget, this is their investor meeting. They wouldn't reveal software here.

Also, don't forget, the vast majority of huge 3DS titles last weren't revealed until we were into the year

I don't think it'll be a standalone "Touch Generations" console, but rather that they'll release standalone products and services that embody the same ideas and concepts (so maybe they'd release something like the vitality sensor seperately that comes with a smartphone app that integrates with it)

If they had this compelling software then great. But the first game is in MAY. 5 months away. That's a joke!

But that means I'll need to buy a smartphone.

 

There is no way it'll just be DKTF in Feb and then MK8 in May. There must be some eShop stuff or even another retail game coming out in that time... right? RIGHT?!

Absolutely. I have no doubt some digital games will be revealed in the next Direct and released right after.

Just don't forget, this is their investor meeting. They wouldn't reveal software here.

 

Also, don't forget, the vast majority of huge 3DS titles last weren't revealed until we were into the year

But will they come before may or after. I'm presuming (though I thought the same for the whole of 2014 after the lacklustre 2013) it'll be a gaming blitz from may! But then there's always a summer lull... What are Nintendo doing

Absolutely. I have no doubt some digital games will be revealed in the next Direct and released right after.

I mean if they don't, what the hell have they been doing...

Yeah, I'd be absolutely flabbergasted if Nintendo don't have other games (especially eShop wise) ready by now.

 

I mean if they don't, what the hell have they been doing...

Working on their health platform :p

Working on their health platform :p

Haha. It's funny because it's true. (Smashes face into his bowl of krave).

There's still Steel Diver Subwars that's due before the end of March for what it's worth...

Well I'M looking forward to it at least. The 3DS game was an underrated gem...