Posted 27 Jan 2012 at 12:40 by Aaron Clegg
Satoru Iwata promises that 2012 will be turnaround year for the platform...
Speaking to investors, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has moved to reassure shareholders that 3DS will perform consistently strongly in the next fiscal year.
Despite enjoying a drastic turnaround following a price cut, Iwata was cautious on celebrating the fact that it was outpacing the DS' first year, calling that system's pace "not very good" in 2005. However, he did cite a number of reasons why 3DS was only heading up in 2012.
Following a hefty price cut, the hardware itself will return to a profitable state in the first half of the next fiscal term.Strong sales over the Christmas period "changed the thoughts of third-party software developers for the better". Iwata said specifically that high-profile third party games to appeal to gamers in the US and Europe were on the way.Key titles will be released on the platform "seamlessly" throughout the year, to join already-established 'evergreen' titles like Mario Kart 7 and Nintendogs + cats. Around 200 3DS games are in development at the moment, including a new 2D Super Mario title.Expanded communication methods like StreetPass and SpotPass has a lot of potential among users. Iwata even hinted that this aspect of the system should be pushed more than the 3D images. He noted that StreetPass in particular would only grow more interesting as more people own the system.The digital side of the platform is already growing at a much faster rate than Nintendo's other systems. 60% of users in Japan and the US have connected their 3DS to the internet. Nintendo is still at the "first stage" of expanding their digital business, but is growing the foundation little by little.The Nintendo Direct briefings have been a particular hit, with the short web conferences attracting over 100,000 live viewers. Many people also watched these announcements on the 3DS eShop, and this is one way for Nintendo to direct users towards further promotional materials like 3D videos and demos.3DS will launch in Asia sometime after March.
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