Shrygue
February 2nd, 2009, 20:52
via Games Industry (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/iwata-predicts-further-growth-for-ds-and-wii)
Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata has told investors that be believes there is room for the DS and Wii to grow beyond its current market.
Speaking at the company's third quarter financial briefing, Iwata predicted that the DS's total installed base in Japan, Europe, and the US could reach a potential 152.2 million units alone. He went on to attribute fears that Nintendo's sales had reached a peak to the past platform cycle theory, which tends towards a five-year lifespan for consoles.
"Especially in the case of DS, when you apply this five-year cycle theory to a platform that has been through its 5th holiday season since its 2004 launch, a concern that DS business may slow down in the next fiscal year may appear to be logical at first glance," he admitted, according to Gamasutra.
However, he went on to say that this slow down could be avoided due to the general "gaming population expansion", caused by the advent of casual games.
This is supposed by findings in a report from the market research firm Packaged Facts, which found that twice as many older gamers use Nintendo systems as use PlayStation.
"Over the last few years, the driving force behind the increasing diversity and the mass appeal of gaming had been Nintendo," said Bob Brown, the report's author, according to the New York Times.
"My wife's mother lives in a retirement community, and the last time we were there, everyone was excited because they were getting a Wii in there."
Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata has told investors that be believes there is room for the DS and Wii to grow beyond its current market.
Speaking at the company's third quarter financial briefing, Iwata predicted that the DS's total installed base in Japan, Europe, and the US could reach a potential 152.2 million units alone. He went on to attribute fears that Nintendo's sales had reached a peak to the past platform cycle theory, which tends towards a five-year lifespan for consoles.
"Especially in the case of DS, when you apply this five-year cycle theory to a platform that has been through its 5th holiday season since its 2004 launch, a concern that DS business may slow down in the next fiscal year may appear to be logical at first glance," he admitted, according to Gamasutra.
However, he went on to say that this slow down could be avoided due to the general "gaming population expansion", caused by the advent of casual games.
This is supposed by findings in a report from the market research firm Packaged Facts, which found that twice as many older gamers use Nintendo systems as use PlayStation.
"Over the last few years, the driving force behind the increasing diversity and the mass appeal of gaming had been Nintendo," said Bob Brown, the report's author, according to the New York Times.
"My wife's mother lives in a retirement community, and the last time we were there, everyone was excited because they were getting a Wii in there."