Shrygue
November 5th, 2007, 18:30
via Computer and Video Games (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=174975)
The typical four-year life cycle for games hardware is "too inflexible" for Nintendo, says boss Sotoru Iwata, who said that the company won't make a new console until it's needed.
Speaking at a recent financial briefing, Iwata said: "As we continue our research and study for new hardware, when we will be able to launch a new kind of hardware will actually depend on when we can change entertainment completely, and so have a strong impact on people around the world."
Nowadays, developers aren't restricted by the hardware as they used to be, and so the improvements that can be made to current hardware are limited. "There will certainly be a time when we have to say that we have done everything possible with the current machine, that we can never propose anything new," explained Iwata.
He added: "We long for a new weapon whenever we cry that we cannot fight anymore with the current weapons. But today's situation is such that we are not desperate for any new weapons at all.
"Scheduling for a rather fixed launch date 4 years from today, regardless of future changes in the industry and the market, appears to be too inflexible an approach to us," he went on to say.
"Also, since Nintendo's hardware engineers and software creators are always communicating closely, only when both teams agree that it is time to challenge the market with new hardware that we will launch it. So, it is not a correct observation that we are having any trouble deciding on the launch timing of the next hardware."
He went on to deny rumblings that new ideas for DS were running low. "We are not suffering from the shortage of new ideas for DS. I heard that some of the attendees to our October 10th conference were expecting to hear about a new portable machine announcement, but we never had that kind of notion in the first place," he said (via Aussie-Nintendo).
How will Wii visuals hold up in four years time, we wonder? A HD upgrade would sure be nice.
The typical four-year life cycle for games hardware is "too inflexible" for Nintendo, says boss Sotoru Iwata, who said that the company won't make a new console until it's needed.
Speaking at a recent financial briefing, Iwata said: "As we continue our research and study for new hardware, when we will be able to launch a new kind of hardware will actually depend on when we can change entertainment completely, and so have a strong impact on people around the world."
Nowadays, developers aren't restricted by the hardware as they used to be, and so the improvements that can be made to current hardware are limited. "There will certainly be a time when we have to say that we have done everything possible with the current machine, that we can never propose anything new," explained Iwata.
He added: "We long for a new weapon whenever we cry that we cannot fight anymore with the current weapons. But today's situation is such that we are not desperate for any new weapons at all.
"Scheduling for a rather fixed launch date 4 years from today, regardless of future changes in the industry and the market, appears to be too inflexible an approach to us," he went on to say.
"Also, since Nintendo's hardware engineers and software creators are always communicating closely, only when both teams agree that it is time to challenge the market with new hardware that we will launch it. So, it is not a correct observation that we are having any trouble deciding on the launch timing of the next hardware."
He went on to deny rumblings that new ideas for DS were running low. "We are not suffering from the shortage of new ideas for DS. I heard that some of the attendees to our October 10th conference were expecting to hear about a new portable machine announcement, but we never had that kind of notion in the first place," he said (via Aussie-Nintendo).
How will Wii visuals hold up in four years time, we wonder? A HD upgrade would sure be nice.