Iwata News, Iwata Features

Consumers don't understand the asymmetric gameplay of Wii U

When Nintendo released the Wii U last year it focused the majority of its messaging on what the all-new GamePad could bring to gaming. Of course, there's off-TV play but one of the biggest selling points is asymmetric gameplay, which allows one player to use the GamePad while others use Wii...

Looking to create experiences that can only be found on Wii U

While last year's E3 was focused on Nintendo's Wii U, this year's event will always be remembered as the year Sony and Microsoft revealed their new consoles to the world. Nintendo opted to do things a little differently this time round, going for a much smaller Nintendo Direct...

Reggie Fils-Aime remains as President and COO

As part of its financial results today, Nintendo announced some musical chairs among the directors, with quite a few planning to retire this summer. One move interesting enough to prompt a press release of its own, however, is a high-level reorganisation within Nintendo of America, with Satoru Iwata...

Another classic Nintendo Direct moment

Since the broadcasts began in late 2011, Nintendo Direct has produced a number of memorable moments, even prompting us to name ten of our favourites last year. It seems that Japanese viewers were treated to another example in the most recent broadcast on Valentines Day, which has now been posted by Nintendo UK...

Happy Birthday, Iwata-san

Today brings us another Birthday for one of Nintendo's most well-known figures, with President Satoru Iwata turning 53 today. It would seem that, should he want to, Iwata-san will be able to continue in his current role for many years to come. Satoru Iwata had a passion for video game development from a young age,...

Not what you'd expect

We, like many other Nintendo fans out there, were under the pretense that HAL Laboratory - the company responsible for our lovable pink hero Kirby and the Super Smash Bros. series - was named after the computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL 9000. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata even stated that the name was "very cool" during...

Simply strap two Wii consoles together

With the immense success of the Wii, the folks at Nintendo certainly had their work cut out when developing its successor. It was around 2009 - with the Wii well into its third year of service - that Nintendo’s top men got around a table and started to discuss what their next move would be. The first task...

Miiverse time, at last

So here we are, another Nintendo Direct broadcast to sink our teeth into, with the focus expected to be on Miiverse. The great news is that you can watch it right here: 11am UK time, 12pm Central European time, 6am Eastern, 5am Central and 3am Pacific. It'll be in Japanese, of course, but we'll be watching with you and...

Videos proving popular with both core and casual players

The investor Q&A Nintendo held recently is throwing up all kinds of interesting stories. We already know that Nintendo President Satoru Iwata is warming to the idea of smartphones and has intentionally held back Wii U launch titles, and we now have some illuminating figures relating to the...

"We realize the biggest challenge is to make sure that Wii U sells well even in the next year"

Talking in an investor's Q&A, Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata has revealed that the company has intentionally held back certain Wii U launch titles to ensure that sales remain robust well into 2013. He said: If you look at how pre-orders are...

Nintendo President addresses the rise of mobile in recent investor Q&A

Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata has spoken during an investor Q&A this week about the challenges Nintendo faces with mobile gaming on the rise. Iwata noted that devices like tablets and smartphones shouldn't be compared with traditional systems, as dedicated gaming...

NSMB2 DLC released today in Europe, NoA broadcast on the way

Last Friday, Nintendo Japan released a short Nintendo Direct presentation which featured Satoru Iwata's disembodied head chatting about the brand new DLC packs for New Super Mario Bros. 2. A slightly different version of that same presentation is now available in English, thanks to...

Breaking the language barrier

This morning, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata held a special Nintendo Direct Wii U Preview. It was, as you might expect, conducted entirely in Japanese. With this in mind, we're here to provide a comprehensive rundown on everything that was revealed during the broadcast, as well as an idea of the message that Iwata was...

Smartphones provide "different" competition

For Satoru Iwata, there are plenty of priorities and challenges to face. Nintendo is currently preparing to brings its next home console to the market, while also generating and sustaining momentum for 3DS. Both are important, but it's perhaps 3DS, and dedicated handheld gaming as a whole, that has been...

Plumber deal

The idea of Mario fatigue has been wafting through the air recently, thanks to New Super Mario Bros. 2 launching on 3DS this weekend as another 2D Mario, New Super Mario Bros. U, is being prepared for release in a few months at Wii U's launch. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata insists that this won't be a regular thing, however —...

Return to profitability not far away

With Wii U getting closer, and various opinions swirling around about the system's capabilities and even Nintendo's long term future in the industry, Satoru Iwata has spoken to Gamasutra to once again outline Nintendo's philosophy and plans. On the subject of profitability, Iwata has reiterated that the company...

10 minutes in hell with Demon Kawashima

Get out your diaries and Japanese dictionaries, as Nintendo will be hosting a 'mini' Nintendo Direct conference on 18th July, next week. The broadcast will only be ten minutes long and will centre entirely around the upcoming 3DS game, Dr Kawashima's Demon Training, a sequel to the hugely successful Dr...

Pirates beware

Most will agree that, when it came to online functionality and security, Wii and DS were both below par. Hacking and modding on both systems appears to have been widespread, which not only led to issues with some online games but, most importantly for Nintendo, cost the company money due to the extensive number of pirated games on...

Post-Holiday slump

When it comes to sales in Japan, 3DS has been the undisputed number one for a number of months, finishing top of the hardware charts and often out-selling all other consoles combined. The story elsewhere, however, isn't as rosy, and while we're probably not looking at poor sales of the level that prompted a significant price-drop...