Nintendo today held their 72nd annual shareholders meeting in Japan, head inside to see the questions Iwata faced…
Q: Third parties failed to show their strength on Wii. How will Nintendo better support the industry?
Iwata said that with Wii U Nintendo started sharing information with third parties at about the same time as its internal teams.
Nintendo also holds seminars and dispatches employees to other companies. Iwata also cited Smash Bros. as an example of cooperating with outside companies for both parties to grow.
Q: On the possibility of additional 3DS models outside of 3DS XL
Iwata responded that users would be confused if there were too many choices. There’s also the concern about mass production efficiency. So, there are no plans in the near future for new models. The 3DS XL was the result of there being great need for a large screen.
Q: Why aren’t there any female board members at Nintendo?
Iwata acknowledged that this is the case, but noted that Nintendo has many females in management positions. Nintendo also listens to its female employee opinions, which may be why Nintendo product has high female usership.
On the Wii U’s online service
Iwata said that he doesn’t necessarily reject the idea of a paid service that allows not just Wii U but various other devices to connect to Nintendo Network. However, when considering Nintendo’s users, a paid membership service is not the best approach. By having everyone use the Miiverse together, word of mouth will more easily spread. This will lead to greater hardware and software sales.
In the latter half of the event, Iwata said that Nintendo plans on announcing its Japanese Wii U plans in the Fall. Attendees were then allowed to sample the 3DS XL and view a mock Wii U system, although photography was forbidden.
