Nintendo to make new consoles for ’emerging markets’
Could China and India be new focus areas for a Nintendo that desperately needs to achieve profitability?
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has revealed that the company plans to make new consoles primarily aimed at ‘emerging markets’. While speaking to Bloomberg, Iwata said that it was unrealistic to sell games at $30 to $60 in emerging markets and would require a complete reworking of both the hardware and pricing. On the other hand, Iwata dismissed reports that Nintendo planned to enter the smartphone gaming segment, stating that it had been involved in console gaming for far too long to suddenly shift into a new segment.
With the recent removal of the ban on foreign consoles in China, Nintendo has focused on making a mark in the country. However, the term ‘emerging markets’ also includes India and although Iwata did not make any mention of it, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to imagine that the Japanese company has plans for India as well.
India and China, along with Brazil and Russia, could be part of a new Nintendo plan to revive its flagging fortunes because of the failure of the Wii U console. The company also announced a loss of $329 million for the quarter ending March 2014.