Investor Briefing (Apr. 2017): Kimishima on Nintendo 3DS outlook for the new Fiscal Year; E3 2017
During the latest meeting with investors, on April 28th, Tatsumi Kimishima talked at great lengths about the Nintendo 3DS, and its outlook for the new Fiscal Year. He also mentioned E3 2017, and confirmed the lack of global press conference this year again.
During the past Fiscal Year, the Nintendo 3DS found renewed momentum, and naturally, Nintendo plans on maintaining that momentum. Tatsumi Kimishima reiterated that they did not consider the Nintendo Switch a competitor (both in terms of playstyle and pricepoint), which is why they’re planning to keep running both businesses in parallel.
It’s for this reason that Nintendo plans on supporting the Nintendo 3DS with unique games, and is going to release the New Nintendo 2DS XL in July (June in Australia).
Tatsumi Kimishima points out that the New Nintendo 2DS XL is significantly cheaper than the New Nintendo 3DS XL:
- New Nintendo 2DS XL: 14 980 Yen + taxes / $149.99
- New Nintendo 3DS XL: 18 800 Yen + taxes / $199.99
According to the president of Nintendo, this new model broadens the options available to consumers (those looking forward to buy their first Nintendo 3DS, or those interesting in getting an additional system for the family).
With over 63 million units sold worldwide, the installed base of the Nintendo 3DS is pretty big, and Nintendo naturally needs to take advantage of it. And that’s exactly Nintendo is planning to do, with the infamous evergreen titles: those games that keeps selling on long period of time, and benefit from a large installed base.
Of course, Nintendo is also planning to release new first-party titles. Here’s those that have already been announced:
And here’s some third-party titles that Nintendo will distributed and/or publish in Europe and North America:
As for Japan, here’s some of the third-party titles announced for this year:
Of course, Tatsumi Kimishima didn’t forget to mention Dragon Quest XI: Sugisarishi Toki o Motomete, releasing on July 29th in Japan (a couple of weeks after the New Nintendo 2DS XL, which is actually getting a special bundle for that game).
To maintain momentum, Nintendo is planning to do the following:
- keep releasing new games
- continue offering evergreen titles
- launch a new model to expand the available selection of Nintendo 3DS systems
Regarding the mobile business, Tatsumi Kimishima didn’t have anything new to say. The company plans on supporting the games that are already available, while releasing new ones (2 to 3 every year).
For the full Fiscal Year, Nintendo will have three major initiatives:
- establishing the Nintendo Switch
- maintaining Nintendo 3DS momentum
- continue the smart device business
- (+ expand the number of people who have access to Nintendo IP).
Finally, Nintendo confirmed there would not be any press conference at E3 2017 (just like in previous years). Nintendo of American will announce plans for the event at a later date.
Source: Nintendo
