Nintendo Investor Meeting 17.02.2015

Yesterday Satoru Iwata finally held the investors meeting, after it had to be rescheduled because of a fever on his part. While there weren't any big news (that's probably held back for the yearly report at the end of march) we still got some interesting tidbits. So let's talk about them.

Amiibo:


There where some interesting Amiibo news. Firstly the Amiibo cards will be available later this year. For anyone not knowing what I'm talking about. Nintendo plans to produce several cards which have the same effect as their figurine counterparts. So if you don't have the money or room for a figurine you can buy this cheaper alternative and receive the same benefits when playing a game.
I'm a big fan of this idea, because I really enjoy (good) Amiibo integration in my games, but I'm not loaded with money. So I'll most likely get around 4-5 Amiibos and for the rest I'll settle with cards.


Also the figures will soon unlock demos of NES and SNES games, much like in Super Smash Bros. If you, for example, place the Link figurine on the Gamepad you may be able to play a demo of the first Legend of Zelda. This demos will change every time you scan the character. They also come with a time limit, so you can't play the entire game that way. The application which enables this feature will be downloadable from the e-shop for free later this year.
I think it's a nice little feature and I'm looking forward to it. It's not a killer app for the Amiibo figurines, but it's one more thing to do with these figures and it all builds up the general appeal of them.




3DS:


3DS sales where pretty lackluster in the christmas period. At least in Europe and Amerika. This should surprise no one, as most interested customers probable held back for the New 3DS release. Iwata even mentioned this as a mistake on their part, because the wait during the Christmas period may have pushed some interested buyers towards other devices.


On the software side however they are more than happy. Super Smahs Bros. for 3DS and Pokemon ORAS have sold very well and Tomadachi Life surprised with strong sales across the whole year. Iwata also said that there are still a ton of third party games in development.
Overall this is pretty good news, now these third party games only have to be released in the West because around here it's also mostly Nintendo alone that keeps the 3DS afloat.


Iwata also announced that Tomadachi Life and Animal Crossing are especially well received by the female demographic and that the pink 2DS bundle was nearly 50% of the total 3DS sales in the later half of 2014. The game also sold more copies in France then in the whole US.
In this light I think it's safe to assume that Nintendo will strengthen their focus on such games in Europe. It may not be my cup of tea, but more variety is always welcome.




Wii-U:


The current problem child is still struggling, but it's fighting a brave uphill battle. Software and Hardware sales are up YoY and with a positive outlook towards 2015 they will probably increase further. Of course such an increase is not that impressive if you put it in the perspective that Wii-U sales (software and hardware) where pretty much non existent in 2013, but it's nonetheless a positive sign. Also digital sales have increased quite a bit and are a strong stream of revenue for Nintendo. 


So lets all hope that they'll release their next system with more than 32 gigs of memory.




Local Multiplayer:


Iwata also announced his intention to strengthen the local multiplayer in western countries. He set the 3DS as focus, but I also hope that they won't forget about the Wii-U. Nintendo is one of the last bastions of local multiplayer. Other Multiplayer games may be great, but for me they only represent ''Together alone''


There is nothing better than to see the humiliated face of your best friend after you beat him in Mario Kart, or experience the rage of a loved one, from which you just stole a star in Mario Party, or getting smashed while playing Smash. So for me this is a really positive quote and I'm looking forward to see actions follow those words.




Future Outlook:


The general outlook of this meeting was pretty positive. Nintendo reported growths and with the New Nintendo 3DS just released and many great Wii-U games on the horizon they hope to continue this momentum. And I don't see why this shouldn't be the case. They may not pull awesome Numbers and are pretty much set for third place in the console race, but they are on an upwards trend and at least profitable again.
Iwata also announced that at the next meeting he hopes to go in deepth with the Quality of Life Programm. He also plans to tell us the plans of the company regarding smart devices an the usage of their IP outside their traditional field. 
Do I hear Super Mario Movie by Sony and a major Metriod Motion Picture (one can dream), and Zelda Tv-Series on Netflix? No? Well I better hear something in around two months.

and as always

Thanks for reading