Hasta La Gadget!

Yesterday Nintendo revealed its new Wii U console was selling more slowly than it had anticipated, and today company President Satoru Iwata explained the issues to investors in more detail. What he made clear immediately, is that unlike the launch of its 3DS in 2011, Nintendo will not attempt to boost its sales by cutting the price anytime soon. So, how can the Wii U’s fortunes be turned around? According to Iwata, the problem is a software lineup that has “not yet fully communicated the value of our product.” The system updates we’ve already heard were in the works are expected to help in the short term. The plan is to earn 100 billion yen or more in the next fiscal year, with the 3DS already selling at a profit he hopes to return to a pattern of “Nintendo-like profits.”

As far as the Wii U, the plan is to strengthen its software lineup throughout the spring and summer, with more system exclusives arriving later in the year (announced last week on Nintendo Direct). The delayed Google Street View-powered Wii Street U update is expected to arrive in mid-February, and other demonstrations are planned for GDC in March as Nintendo attempts to capitalize on an internet connection rate of 74 percent. He also referenced the planned integration of its handheld and console divisions, intended to make software and apps more portable between devices.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Nintendo

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Source: ABC, Nintendo

Nintendo’s Q3 earnings report is out, and it’s sold just over 3 million units of its new Wii U console (at a loss) along with 11.69 million pieces of software. The other big news is that it’s adjusted sales forecasts downward — again, after it announced they were being cut back in October. However, since the flagship console is sold at a loss, while Nintendo is predicting 17 percent lower revenue, its prediction for net income has actually moved up by eight billion yen ($87 million).

It’s not all bad news however, as it’s showing about $160 million in net income for the year, compared with last year’s losses. The 3DS has jumped up to 29.84 million sold, while the original Wii is within shouting distance of the 100 million number. Need more numbers? Hit the source links to check out all the sales data firsthand.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Nintendo

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Source: Nintendo Q3 earnings (PDF), Financial Forecast adjustment (PDF)

Get ready, Super Smash Bros. fans, because it appears that Nintendo will be showing off the upcoming Wii U and 3DS Smash Bros. titles at E3 later this year. Iwata said during this week’s Nintendo Direct event that we would see screens from the games at the expo, but it seems that designer Masahiro Sakurai wants to show off more than just still images. Perhaps we’ll get to see trailers of the titles in action?

Sakurai took to Twitter to tell fans that there may be more to see of both games come E3 time. Google Translate always appears to have a rough time translating from Japanese to English, but in his tweets, he tells fans that even though some games were given trailers during Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct stream, Smash Bros. fans will have to wait. That wait will apparently pay off, however, as Sakurai plans to show something “better” at E3.

It’s impossible to say for sure, but it certainly sounds like Sakurai wants trailers on display during E3 2013. Nintendo revealed that its new Mario and Mario Kart titles will have playable demos at E3, so if Sakurai can put together some Super Smash Bros. footage before the expo kicks off, then it should be an exciting show for Nintendo fans. It should be an exciting show for gaming fans in general for that matter, as it’s been rumored that we’ll see new consoles from Sony at Microsoft there.

In any case, we’ve known about these new Super Smash Bros. games for a while now, as they were announced around the same time that Nintendo revealed the Wii U. At that time next to nothing had been done on them, as Sakurai was busy putting the finishing touches on Kid Icarus: Uprising. Now that Uprising is on shelves (and has been since March 2012), it sounds like Sakurai has more time to devote to these incoming Smash Bros. games, so don’t be surprised to hear new details moving forward. Stay tuned.

[via Joystiq; via IGN]

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, 3DS will make an appearance at E3 2013 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

As far as gaming devices go, Nintendo has both the Wii U and the 3DS, and unsurprisingly both belong to different divisions within the company. However according to a recent Nikkei report, they are saying that Nintendo is looking to unify the divisions into a single operating unit and that they will also be injecting about 30 billion yen (~$340 million) into a new Kyoto development facility which should be opened by the end of the year. This does not mean that either the Wii U or the 3DS is doing badly, but rather the merging of divisions is meant to help speed up development of their technology by sharing their knowledge with each other.

We’re not sure what this will mean for either console – is it possible that we might be looking at more iterations of the 3DS in the future? It is also possible that by merging these divisions and sharing the knowledge and technology with each other that Nintendo will better compete against mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, especially with the announcement of products such as NVIDIA’s Project Shield and the Razer Edge gaming tablet.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Final Fantasy: All The Bravest Coming To iOS Tomorrow, Temple Run 2 Debuts In New Zealand, Coming To The Rest Of The World Soon,

Nintendo is no stranger to rolling out limited edition consoles to coincide with major game releases, and we’re seeing the company do it again with Fire Emblem: Awakening. At one point we had no clue if this game would ever make it to North America, but now its release is just a couple short weeks away. What better way to celebrate than with a brand new 3DS that looks as good as the one in the picture below?

You’ll have your chance, but the cost of admission comes in at $200. That’s actually not a bad deal considering that buying a 3DS and Fire Emblem: Awakening will cost right around $210, but of course, this is a more valuable deal to those who don’t already own a 3DS. There’s one small issue with this package, though: the 3DS included in it isn’t of the XL variety, which is arguably the better 3DS model.

But no matter! Fire Emblem: Awakening should be a great game for tactical RPG fans (Fire Emblem installments of the past haven’t let us down, at least), and as far as limited edition handhelds go, this is one of the better looking ones. Relish it, North American gamers, because it isn’t every day one of these snazzy looking consoles makes it outside of Japan – in fact, we’re still disappointed that Nintendo’s awesome Charizard 3DS has remained Japan-only.

This Fire Emblem 3DS will be launching the same day as the game, February 4, 2013. We expect that Nintendo will offer it for at least a little while after launch, but considering how good it looks, you might want to pick one up sooner rather than later. At any rate, you could do a lot worse when shopping for a new handheld.

[via @NintendoAmerica]

Fire Emblem 3DS gets $200 price tag is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.