Nintendo Hints At An Additional Platform In The Future
What could he possibly have in mind?
Because Wii U and 3DS are not enough
Nintendo recently confirmed that it would be merging its handheld and console divisions into one single entity this month. The two departments have always run separately in the past, but Nintendo now feels the time is right to bring them together under one roof.
With the two departments merged, Nintendo's devices will have the same architecture, allowing for software assets to become more transferable.
During a recent Q&A session with investors in Japan, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed more interesting information about the reorganisation, saying if the integration is a success it will open the door for the company to make additional platforms on top of what it already has now.
In terms of our platform integration, as I explained to you a short while ago, we are not saying that we are planning to integrate our platforms into one. What we are saying is that we would like to integrate software development methods, operating systems, and built-in software and software assets for each platform so that we can use them across different machines.
This means that if we manage to integrate our platforms successfully, we may in fact be able to make more platforms. At the moment, we only have our current handheld devices and home consoles because if we tried to make more platforms, our development resources would be spread too thinly. The more we can share software across different platforms, the more development resources will be left for something else.
Iwata said no more than that, but it was certainly an interesting point. Could Nintendo have plans for another device to add to the Wii U and 3DS — not to forget Wii and DS? It's not known what kind of device Nintendo would look into developing; it currently has predominant home and portable consoles so we're not quite sure what Nintendo has up its hypothetical sleeve. Maybe the Nintendo Phone is just around the corner — surely not.
What are your thoughts on this interesting revelation by Satoru Iwata? Do you think Nintendo should release more platforms, or should it concentrate on the ones it already has? As ever, let us know in the comments section below.
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