Nintendo Intervuew From Reuters

Bad Religion · 01-23-2003, 10:17 AM

KYOTO, Japan, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd, creator of "Pokemon" video games, said on Thursday it planned to launch a next-generation home game console in 2005 or 2006 in a move to restore its clout in the lucrative home video game market.

"We are developing a new home video game console with a plan to release the new system around the Same time as rival makers do," President Satoru Iwata told Reuters in an interview.

Industry veteran Nintendo, which has fallen Well behind leader Sony Corp (JP:6758) and vies with newcomer Microsoft Corp (MSFT) for the number two spot in the console market, suffered poor sales of its flagship GameCube console during the crucial
holiday shopping season.

In contrast, Sony said this month it had sold 8.5 million PlayStation 2s during the shopping season, up 24 percent from a year earlier, and that accumulated shipments topped 50 million units worldwide.

Iwata, who took over in May from the charismatic Hiroshi Yamauchi, said the GameCube console would miss its sales target of 10 million units by
over 10 percent this business year and GameCube software sales would fall short of a 55-million-unit Goal.

"The PlayStation 2 debuted one-and-a-half Years ahead of the GameCube. If we had launched the GameCube at the same time as PlayStation 2, the result would have been different," he said.

"We will get ready for a (new) battle in 2005 although foreign game developers are now saying that rival next-generation systems won't come until 2006."

As a part of its effort to revamp its home console business, Nintendo plans to
release new Pokemon games for GameCube which will enable users to play the game on the Game Boy Advance, too, by transferring the data back and
forth between the two consoles.

"Our focus for 2003 is to offer new types of games which allow consumers toplay both on the GameCube and Game Boy Advance," Iwata said.
Iwata did not rule out the possibility of slashing the price of the GameCube console, which he said ranked number two in the global home console market, but he said action was not imminent.

As worries mount over the GameCube's outlook, Nintendo shares fell thisweek to 10,090 yen, the lowest in nearly four years. They have fallen 50 percent over the past year, underperforming a 15 percentIwata said that he was not satisfied with the stock price.

"Given the slumping Tokyo stock market as a whole, it's not only Nintendo'sproblem. But it's my duty to bring good results to investors," Iwata said.

Nintendo, which bought back 4.65 million of its own stock during theOctober-December period, would buy back shares when the stock fell excessively, but it needed to raise profits in its core business to shore up theprice over the long term, he said. Investors want to see new ideas before pushing the stock up.
"Nintendo's GameCube is way behind Sony's PlayStation and looks to lose outto the (Microsoft) Xbox as well, and with no new products in the pipeline, it'shard to see where the growth will come from," said Takehiko Takachio, senior
portfolio manager at Kokusai Asset Management.
"But Nintendo is still a company with great development capabilities, and I don't think the GameCube is going so bad that they will have to follow the road that Sega took in withdrawing from hardware," he said.
Iwata dismissed speculation that the company would eventually abandon home console production.
"When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business," he said.

(Additional reporting by David McMahon)

Dyne · 01-23-2003, 04:54 PM

Quote:

charismatic Hiroshi Yamauchi

What do they call these things? Hyperboles?

01-23-2003, 04:59 PM

oxymorons.

Dyne · 01-23-2003, 05:01 PM

Oxymoron get.

Perfect Stu · 01-23-2003, 05:37 PM

Quote:

"The PlayStation 2 debuted one-and-a-half Years ahead of the GameCube. If we had launched the GameCube at the same time as PlayStation 2, the result would have been different," he said.

Who cares, really? Stop making excuses and run your damned company effectively.

Bad Religion · 01-24-2003, 09:54 AM

I have to agree with Stu here, N comes off as pretty pathetic here, saying something like that, and also that last quote about getting out of the videogame business...so, if the next console fails miserably, that's the end for Mario, Zelda and the gang? Or they'll sell the rights to some half- assed developer? On the bright side, I just convinced my friend to get a cube, well Metroid Prime convinced him actually but at least I'm not the only one I know with a cube anymore

GameKinG · 01-24-2003, 10:25 AM

No, I think that implies they will never leave the industry, despite any final outcome.

Perfect Stu · 01-24-2003, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by GameKinG
No, I think that implies they will never leave the industry, despite any final outcome.

the term 'bankruptcy' may have something to say about that in the future

I think he said that mainly to ease Nintendo fans who think they're going third party within the next few years. I mean, they have to CONSIDER the option of going third party at some point. Business is business. Sometimes you have to leave some of your pride at home.

TheGame · 01-24-2003, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bad Religion
"When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business," he said.

(Additional reporting by David McMahon)

What the hell? That's just being a sore loser. They should at least concentrate on GBA

surfin4lifer · 01-27-2003, 06:29 PM

there just saying that they don't plan on leaving the console buisness unless Nintendo goes broke so there isn othing to worry about most likely.

Jason1 · 01-27-2003, 06:39 PM

I dont really see why we nintendo fans have anything to worry about...as long as their still making a profit(which they are) they arent going to stop making games.

Jonbo298 · 01-27-2003, 08:16 PM

Nintendo isn't going to go bankrupt anytime soon or anytime in the near future. They have been around for 100 years making cards. They have been in the hardware business for around 20 years or so. Nintendo will be around as long as there are Nin. Fanboys.

GameKinG · 01-27-2003, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Perfect Stu
the term 'bankruptcy' may have something to say about that in the future

I think he said that mainly to ease Nintendo fans who think they're going third party within the next few years. I mean, they have to CONSIDER the option of going third party at some point. Business is business. Sometimes you have to leave some of your pride at home.

Nintendo is far from it though and attaining good success. And with GBA to boot, they are at least the most dominant power in one industry.

Perfect Stu · 01-28-2003, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by GameKinG
Nintendo is far from it though and attaining good success. And with GBA to boot, they are at least the most dominant power in one industry.

I wasn't talking about the financial situation Nintendo is currently in.

I was replying to this (flawed) statement:

"No, I think that implies they will never leave the industry, despite any final outcome."

I can think of one thing that >could< prevent Nintendo from 'never leaving the industry': bankruptcy. Did I say they were close to that? No...going broke could, and in most cases would, take ANY company out of their industry. Agree?

Joeiss · 01-28-2003, 11:04 AM

Do you think that if Nintendo consoles really started to suck... and third party developers just basically said "**** you", that Nintendo would release a new piece of hardware, and just release sequals to ALL of its first party games? I think that would be sweet. Imagine like all these hits within a 6 month time period... That would be cool.