Iwata Answers All in Q&A

If you have a few dozen minutes, might we direct your attention to Nintendo's investor relations page? The page is now home to an English language transcript of a Q&A session that was held during a Nintendo financial briefing on March 8.

Over three pages, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata addresses a number of issues, giving some hints at possible pricing strategy, and some tantalizing teases at big things to come for the end of the year.

One particularly notable point is about pricing. Previous quotes from Iwata suggested that the Nintendo CEO might be dead set against price drops. This may not be the case, however. In the Q&A, he clarified: "I have never said that cutting the suggested retail price is not in the cards. However, price cuts in one country can certainly affect other countries. For example, when you say that we should cut the price in Japan due to the current domestic market situation, once the suggested retail price is cut in Japan, people outside Japan will anticipate the same around the world."

The pricing comment was specifically in reference to the DS Lite. The questioner suggested that Nintendo drop the older system's price in Japan in order to spur increase sales.

Regardless of the system, Iwata still doesn't seem too keen on price drops at present. "While the price cut is said to surely increase demand," he explained, "it must be clear from a variety of analysis so far that the effect cannot last very long. Accordingly, if we really do enact a price cut, it must be exactly when it can maximize the business. At least for now, I have no specific ideas about the price cut at all."

Iwata also addressed the topic of used games. "If it were illegal acts like piracy, we could criticize them. But, however hard we may express our concern about the secondhand market, as long as they are not illegal, it does not do us any good."

Nintendo's solution to the used games problem? Explained Iwata: "Nintendo must continuously craft ideas so that our consumers will feel like owning the purchased products or think about how to motivate the customers to purchase new products instead of used ones."

And, just to whet your appetite for what will hopefully be a busy few weeks of Nintendo announcements as E3 approaches, here's what Iwata said about Wii sales: "The reason why I said today that April, May and June sales of Wii will not reach last year's results but that the situation will change from the summer of this year was because the company has been preparing for several titles to be launched toward the end of this year that can drive the market."

Perhaps a few of those titles will be shown at E3? Be sure and check out the full Q&A, and speculate away in the comments area below.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/985/985433p1.html