kimishima

April 30, 2016

Why is Nintendo’s NX Being Released In March?

Peter Paltridge kimishima, nintendo, Nintendo, nx, video games, Wii U, Wii U 0

The world was baffled by Nintendo’s recent announcement that the NX will be released in March 2017 — not during Christmas, not during anywhere near Christmas or even anywhere near Kwanzaa. Instead the machine will make its debut at a point when many wallets will still be in recharging mode. It was pointed out that this strategy contradicts what Old Ruthless Yamauchi would have done — he once said in regards to the Gamecube, “It is absolutely imperative that we do not miss the year-end sales season.” Is it no longer imperative? Nintendo’s current president, Tatsumi Kimishima, spoke to investors and revealed it’s all about the games. “When launching hardware, ‘How much software can customers play?’ is important. Launch timing must be based on that.” In the past Nintendo has been burned by a lack of software within the first year of release. The N64 and Gamecube were especially dry in their inaugural years. “Customers having more money to spend during the holiday season is one big factor in starting

December 6, 2015

Nintendo’s New President Says The NX Will Be A Departure From The Wii

Peter Paltridge kimishima, nintendo, Nintendo, nx, video games, Wii, Wii U, Wii U 0

For nearly ten years, Nintendo has been riding the “Wii” brand through good times (2006 through 2009) and bad (2010 and beyond). They managed to hit the sweet spot of mainstream 2006 culture, but the world changes quickly, and the casual audience that bought over 100 million Wii consoles had little interest in upgrading, being amused by their phones instead. Nintendo’s new president Tatsumi Kimishima is aware of this, and in a new interview with TIME that went up three days ago, he mentioned among other things that it was time for Nintendo to move on from the Wii brand, and that the NX would be something different. “As far as NX goes, I’ve said it’s different and obviously a new experience,” he tells me. “If you look back to the beginning of our conversation today, we talked about the transition from Wii hardware to the Wii U hardware and how difficult it is to explain to the consumer base what is different and new about the new hardware. It’s