GRcade

Have you ever run into an “innovation dilemma” – where the company’s past successes were too big, making innovation impossible?

Furukawa: We aren’t really fixated on our consoles. At the moment we’re offering the uniquely developed Nintendo Switch and its software – and that’s what we’re basing how we deliver the “Nintendo experience” on. That being said, technology changes. We’ll continue to think flexibly about how to deliver that experience as time goes on.

It has been over 30 years since we started developing consoles. Nintendo’s history goes back even farther than that, and through all the struggles that they faced the only thing that they thought about was what to make next. In the long-term, perhaps our focus as a business could shift away from home consoles – flexibility is just as important as ingenuity.

Do you expect fluctuations in business performance to continue from here on?

Furukawa: I’m thinking about little ways we can reduce that kind of instability. I’d like to increase the (amount of) games on smartphones that have a continuous stream of revenue. We’re also dabbling in theme parks and movies – different ways to have our characters be a part of everyday life. I’m anticipating a strong synergy like that.

NickSCFC wrote:They already have, Nintendo Switch is a handheld console that just happens to be bundled with a dock.

It's the successor to the 3DS, not the Wii U.

Poser wrote:I disagree. I think it's the convergence between the Wii and the 3DS. It does pretty much everything that both of those did, aside from twin screening, and has sold numbers to back that up. Plus, its price point, as well as the fact Nintendo still sells the 'handheld', shows where it fits in their line-up.

NickSCFC wrote:They already have, Nintendo Switch is a handheld console that just happens to be bundled with a dock.

It's the successor to the 3DS, not the Wii U.

Alvin Flummux wrote:

NickSCFC wrote:They already have, Nintendo Switch is a handheld console that just happens to be bundled with a dock.

It's the successor to the 3DS, not the Wii U.

It's an amalgamation of their handheld and home system businesses, and frankly a very smart move, as it nullifies the expectation of competing directly with Sony & MS that they've suffered with for a decade.

rinks wrote:Odious clickbait technique #1: Extract the most extreme possibility from an interview, phrase it as a fact, and stick a question mark on the end.

NickSCFC wrote:I think further Switch iterations will focus on handheld improvements too, including a more pocket friendly "Lite" version and a 1080p screen version.

captain red dog wrote:Hybrid systems are the way forward for consoles. I find it hard to believe the next gen Xbox and PS4 won't allow you to stream to any tablet. They are dabbling with that now on Xperia phones and tablets for example.

Nintendo have spotted the gap in the market and what they have done with the Switch is tremendous, but they need to keep on their toes as their rivals can easily add similar functionality.