Early today, Nintendo released the English translation of their yearly shareholder meeting, an event which offers shareholders the chance to bring up concerns about the company and seek clarification on company policy and action. The whole thing is fascinating: Some of the shareholder questions show canny insight into the industry (and feature a sort of directness that we rarely see in press interviews). Others are... well, a little less informed. The results are incredibly interesting, either way.

Early into the proceedings, one shareholder mentioned that compared to other virtual storefronts where retailers often give big discounts to consumers for digital copies of games, Nintendo seems to keep digital and physical game prices largely in line with each other. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata first re-iterated the company's policy, stating that "Nintendo would like to offer these products to our consumers at the same prices given that their software value is the same,” before then offering potential hope for both fans of sale prices and of the (now gone) Club Nintendo:

We understand that consumers who buy many download versions may not be fully convinced if all of these products cost more than the packaged versions. In the new membership service that we are now developing to replace “Club Nintendo,” we are thinking about providing a system where Nintendo can give (individual) offers to each consumer. I would like to explain the details when we have everything in place for the new membership service, which is targeted to launch this autumn.

I'd love to see this new service actually integrated into Nintendo's storefronts instead of just living out on a website somewhere.

The most interesting thing about these sorts of meetings is that shareholders don’t pull any punches. One investor began a question by stating that they “have the impression that the launches of the two systems, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, were consecutive failures," before going on to ask how Nintendo would prevent the launch of the forthcoming NX from suffering a similar fate, and whether the company had better developed third party relationships to prevent that from happening.

While Iwata emphasized the 3DS' "recovery" from a weak launch, he did concede the lackluster reception of the Wii U. Nintendo's president then tried to contextualize why the previous, super successful generation of consoles was so anomalous. Describing the process of selling game platforms as a "momentum business," Iwata explained the importance of titles like Brain Age and nintendogs, which helped the Nintendo DS reach demographics who had never played games before. You could make a similar case for the Wii's huge numbers, which had a handful of accessible and intuitive games that really sold the console's potential to a massive group of people. And once you get consoles into hands and homes, it's a lot easier to sell games. The 3DS, and especially the Wii U, have simply lacked that momentum.

With regards to the NX, Iwata first explained that he decided to mention the console's existence earlier this year as a way to address rumors that Nintendo was planning to "give up on the dedicated game system business and concentrate on smart device application development." In effect, Iwata was re-stating Nintendo's general commitment to the game console business even though it was too early to share specific details about the NX project.

Iwata then addressed the shareholder's concern about NX's forthcoming launch with a statement that, frankly, I'm not sure I fully understand:

I will not share details on NX today but with regard to the launch of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U not necessarily having progressed well and not acquiring sufficient support from software publishers, we intend to offer NX through a Nintendo-like solution. Thank you for understanding that we are making various considerations and preparations in order to avoid what happened with the previous generations.

I'm not sure what a "Nintendo-like solution" is. Does that mean the plan is to have weak third party support and then a really dope Zelda game? Or is Iwata referring to "NX" as a software platform and the "Nintendo-like solution" is the console itself? Maybe something was just lost in translation here.

Elsewhere in the Q&A, Iwata confirms that the NX is "a new platform," and states that the company is working internally and with partners to decide "how to continue creating software for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS." I'm pretty sure this just means that there will be the usual transitional period between two console generations, with games releasing are released across multiple platforms, but who knows. Nintendo once called the DS their "Third Pillar" (with the GBA and the GameCube as the other two), so I guess it's possible to imagine a future where the company tries to support three platforms at once, but I have my doubts--both that they'd attempt this strategy, and that it would work if they did try it.

Another shareholder echoed the recent complaints of many Nintendo fans, asking the company to explain the thought process behind their E3 showing. Iwata deferred to Shigeru Miyamoto, since the Mario creator had actually attended the show personally. Miyamoto re-emphasized that the company's goal was to show off games that would release in the near future instead of titles still early in development. The two Nintendo executives did address the fan criticism directly, but even this came with a reassertion of Nintendo’s E3 strategy (and, as a bonus, a bit of a shot at Sony and Microsoft):

Miyamoto: As for future titles, since we only introduced the software to be sold early next year, we acknowledge the criticism from our fans that we failed to excite them with new proposals. On the other hand, when we looked at our booth at E3 this year, I had a solid feeling that our trade customers appreciated the very fact that they were able to play the software which soon would be released into the market and that many of them were Nintendo-like software titles. Other than Nintendo, the major hardware manufacturers, Sony and Microsoft, also had booths, and I got the general impression that they were showcasing not only the products for this year but also many products for next year or the year after and, because of that, introductions for many of their software titles were done visually, not with playable demos.
…
Iwata: One thing I should say about Nintendo’s E3 booth is that, unlike the other booths in general, most of the visitors to our booth were smiling and actually picking up the controllers and playing with our games. So, this was one big difference because a number of the visitors to other booths appeared to have spent a lot of time just watching game videos.

I get what they’re saying here: The most exciting, new games at Sony's and Microsoft’s press conferences weren’t playable on the show floor. But both of those companies did offer a huge collection of playable games from third party developers. For what it’s worth, Iwata does close this question off by stating that he is "listening to people’s opinions" and insists that Nintendo "will try to improve next year and beyond.”

There's much more in the full Q&A. Iwata touches on everything from Nintendo’s “free-to-start” mobile game strategy, the possibility of Nintendo-branded sneakers (and other licensed merch), the nitty gritty on stock information, the sales figures for Nintendo Virtual Console games, and even the likelihood that legendary Seattle Mariner Randy Johnson will retire his jersey number… Listen, stock holders have a wide variety of interests. One strange absence, though: Not a single question about Amiibo. Huh.

You know what you get with Nintendo. Great games, mediocre hardware, zero third-party support.

Thanks for writing this up, Austin. This stuff is super interesting.

"Nintendo-like solution" is codename for "we haven't a clue."

I sure would dig it if Nintendo just got out of the hardware market.

Great article and summary - thanks a ton Austin!

I dunno, lately I've been feeling as if things described as Nintendo-likes are really just Nintendo-lites.

"dodges shareholder concerns" would've been more accurate.

"We intend to offer NX through a Nintendo-like solution". Perhaps simultaneously the most telling but most ambiguous statement we've heard regarding NX. I'm not quite sure what they are trying to imply by saying "Nintendo-like solution", they said it multiple times during the Q&A.

Are they going to use their new loyalty program to subsidize NX consoles for the most devoted Nintendo fans? Is the NX some kind of software portal designed to run on handheld consoles, mobile platforms, and the Xbox and PS? Where does their quality of life initiative fit in to all of this? The next year should be real interesting for Nintendo.

Think about it, if Nintendo would make a Third-party supported hardware like the PS4 or Xboxone + a Nintendo gimmick and Nintendo games. Then they could sell a lot of consoles. To bad There Console Rotation is way off .

I'm positive "Nintendo-like solution" refers to the hardware. That is to say, the NX will be a unique hardware format like the Wii is, and will not cater to trying to be the same as the competitors in order ot make it easy for 3rd parties to port games.

This is something that is in Nintendo's DNA. While it used to just be the physical controller itself, Nintendo has always tried to re-invent the game experience with each hardware iteration.

It's smart, really. The only way for Nintendo to hit Wii or DS numbers is for them to provide innovative experiences that casual people will pick up just to experience novel fun. NIntendo is an amusement company, not a hardware/software company that just happened to get into games. People always seem to forget that.

It doesn't. It's a separate initiative.

A "Nintendo-Like" solution could mean absolutely anything.

One of the most exciting things about Nintendo is they're so unpredictable. It'll be interesting to see where Nintendo goes with the NX, I certainly hope they improve third party relations and modernize their OS and hardware.

They're still top notch on the software front.

I would sure like to see what Nintendo could do with games in a technologically viable VR space. Unfortunately that will only happen if they make a headset themselves, since they won't be on any of the others. NX = Virtual Boy 2.0

That would be terrible for pretty much everyone. At this point, Nintendo is the only company who is dedicated to making GAMES. Nintendo and SOny got into gaming purely for the money, and it's evidenced by how little adherence they have to traditional gaming. As their version of interactive entertainment drifts further and further away from traditional gaming, Nintendo will have a much stronger case for why their console is the console of choice for people who want an amusement machine.

this is such an interesting question. Part of me would think that someone like Miyamoto would JUMP at the chance to work with VR. But at the same time, a company like Nintendo lives on it's characters. Characters have yet to be shown to be of any use in VR. Do people really want to BE Link? Do they want to BE Fox McCloud?

I'm just really interested what Nintendo backed into a corner trying to find the next big thing looks like. Also want to see what the membership program looks like and if it does seem like a rewarding service.

Not necessarily.

One of the reasons the PS2 killed the Dreamcast and why the Xbox managed to gain any ground at all is by launching their consoles after their competition. It's shortcut to making sure that every port looks better on your console than everyone elses. YOu know how everyone is complaining about how much better PC games look than PS4 games? They are going to be doing that for the next 8 years. If NItnendo jumped in now with a better console..

I'm not sure what a "Nintendo-like solution" is. Does that mean the plan is to have weak third party support and then a really dope Zelda game?

Austin, I think I love you.

I feel informed but also entertained, I'm digging Austin's style. Keep it up duder!

A Nintendo-like solution: Parts for the NX will all be offered separately and in limited supply. Collect them all to assemble the NX!

"There are Amibo's under your chairs!"

Actually, Nintendo-like solution sounds like genocide. I guess it'll be an underpowered genocide with an unusual gimmick like a second screen of suffering or a controller with three analogue sticks.

Wait, the 3DS is a failure? What?

@bananasfoster: I agree with you that the Nintendo-like solution seems to be for the NX will likely aim to be different to their competition. At this point it sounds like, since they don't have the hardware production expertise of Sony, or the deep pockets and software R&D of Microsoft, they are decided to differentiate their products by some trait or gimmick that makes them, not only not care a if they are outclassed in raw power, but also make sure games that use it can't be ported to other platforms, not even PC. Which may be a good differential, but doesn't ease their pitiful 3rd party support.

What I don't know is why people (even them) would call this "the Nintendo-like solution", since it is a relatively recent approach. It only became prominent since the Wii days... In previous generations their products were technically way ahead of their direct competition (Gamecube vs PS2, SNES vs Genesis, or NES vs everyone else).

"Thank You but the processor is in another GameStop"

To answer your last questions, not necessarily, but controlling and army of Pikmin or taking a picture of a Pikachu running around in your backyard could be kinda neat.

Basically if I can jack into my idealized Nintendo VR world of bliss, I'd be pretty okay with that.

I don't want another PC-lite console...but then again I'm already saving $ for the VR future not the Nintendo future.

the launch of Nintendo 3DS and Wii U not necessarily having progressed well and not acquiring sufficient support from software publishers, we intend to offer NX through a Nintendo-like solution.

Doing away with any cynicism and snark that this is just a non-answer for shareholders to avoid the question or cover up a lack of a good plan, I have a few guesses on what Iwata may have in mind and in the works for NX.

Focusing on software, Nintendo has made various deals to bolster the weak software line ups. For the Wii U, they have contracted Koei Tecmo to make a Dynasty Warriors game featuring The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo is also lending the Fire Emblem series to Atlus to develop the Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem game, Genei Inbun Roku #FE. While it didn't make it beyond an initial pitch, Nintendo had hoped that Criterion Games would make an F-Zero prototype around the start of the Wii U. This approach to have third-party publishers and developers make exclusive games with Nintendo characters for Nintendo systems.solves multiple problems for Nintendo. First, it fills out the release calendar. Second, it maintains relationships with those publishers and developers. Third, on the assumption that Nintendo is averse to paying for third-party content or exclusivity, this gives Nintendo third-party games that are sure to remain exclusive to Nintendo platforms. Fourth, it helps Nintendo in keeping its series and characters fresh in the mind of the audience (one of Hyrule Warriors' and Metroid Prime: Federation Force's goals is so Zelda and Metroid fans wouldn't go too long without a game in the respective universe, mixed results to say the least).

Another possible Nintendo-like solution is the use of third-party publishers and developers to assist in developing Nintendo games. Whether it's because of avoiding overhead or whatever, Nintendo has lacked the raw numbers in employees to develop games. This is where we see Nintendo having Bandai Namco develop Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Nintendo has also roped in Platinum Games to assist in Star Fox Zero. Much has been made of the sheer amount of studios Ubi Soft has to make their games. Nintendo may be using a modified Ubi Soft Studios strategy to help in developing their games. While Nintendo already has Intelligent Systems and Monolith Soft developing tools and technology for multiple Nintendo systems and games (seriously, Monolith Soft has been popping up in Skyward Sword, Animal Crossing New Leaf, etc.), Nintendo might more heavily rely on trusted third-party publishers and developers in assisting on future game development.

My final guess is that Nintendo will look on the success of Splatoon and Animal Crossing in giving all of its games longevity in the minds of the audience. Animal Crossing locks its progression behind days and months of real time. The Animal Crossing team has influenced Splatoon by locking various modes, maps, and weapons behind a slow schedule of "free updates" (Splatoon has already been data-mined and it has been discovered that there are maps and weapons yet to be unlocked on the disc). While I doubt we'll have a Super Mario game where each world is unlocked over 8 weeks, we may see multiplayer or minigame oriented games such as Splatoon and Nintendo Land have their content slowly unlocked by a master server. This tactic serves to give false sense of longevity to the specific game and possibly the platform.

As an aside, Nintendo might straight-up cut deals for exclusive third-party games. You see this with Platinum Games and The Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta 2. We will see this later in the coming years with Bandai Namco and Pokken Tournament (the Pokemon fighting game) and Project Treasure (the free-to-start dungeon looting game).

Hey! "Nintendo-like solution" doesn't have to be some crazy out-of-the-blue thing. It can just be really boring business deals!

I'm not sure what a "Nintendo-like solution" is. Does that mean the plan is to have weak third party support and then a really dope Zelda game?

I laughed.

As for the NX being a kind of "third pillar", i think that would be a terrible idea. With their lack of third party support, Nintendo are already struggling to keep a steady stream of software going for both the Wii U and the 3DS. With a third platform, they'd have to spread that output even thinner. I don't see it happening.

I'd actually like to see the opposite: Nintendo going all out, focused on one platform (their coming mobile stuff aside) could be amazing. Oh well, at this point I'm just super intrigued as to what the hell the NX will wind up being. We'll have to just wait and see i guess.

Edit: As a side note, i would like to add that so far you have done a fantastic job at choosing and captioning pictures to go along with your articles. Keep up the good work :D

If nintendo made consoles just as powerful as Sony and Microsoft, I would definitely side with Nintendo for their exclusives.

The more i hear about NX , the more i get the feeling that it's a platform for their games that you can access from phones / handheld devices and 'a nintendo-like solution' ( A traditional game console)

You'll get a solid handful of good games, but not everything Nintendo spits out is gold. There's plenty of mediocrity and turds in there.

The problem is that, for any serious console game player, the Wii U is "the console you consider getting AFTER you've got one of the other two".

Wii U is the first Nintendo console I've not bought in ages, because I'm tired of supporting Nintendo's creaky old business model. They've got so many good development teams there - imagine what they could do on one of the other consoles? Or with the Oculus? Instead they are tethered to underpowered consoles with poor online implementations, for which Nintendo will never be aggressive enough to, say, announce compatibility for one of the VR headsets floating out there.

I both respect, but hate, the way Nintendo still behaves like it's 1995, while third parties have all but walked away from them because of it.

"Nintendo-like solution"

In other words, could be great, could be terrible.

Well, Iwata said today that this was exactly what they WON'T do. He explicitly said that he mentioned the NX back in March explicitly to kill this idea and restate Nintendo's dedication to the traditional console.

seeing this made me realize I forgot to redeem my remaining points...

@bananasfoster: It's pretty weird that you somehow believe Nintendo aren't in it for the bottom line.

I absolutely believe they are in it for the bottom line. But I believe that they are playing the long game where MS and Sony tilt at the wind.

"Oh, what? Motion controllers? I guess we're doing that now!" "TV! TV! TV!" "Uh... we have a camrera that looks at you while you read storybooks!" "VR!" "I DUNNO!"

Because they are hardware/software companies that got into the game space just for profit, they have no real identity.

NIntendo on the other hand has always been a games company. This is why they have been wholely resistent to getting into the
"interactive experiences" market, much to the chagrin of customers

@austin_walker:

With regards to the NX, Iwata first explained that he decided to mention the console's existence earlier this year as a way to address rumors that Nintendo was planning to "give up on the dedicated game system business and concentrate on smart device application development." In effect, Iwata was re-stating Nintendo's general commitment to the game console business even though it was too early to share specific details about the NX project.

I interpretated that more as a statement to stop the rumors about Nintendo focusing on mobile games with DeNA, and saying farewell to the traditional game console.
However, that doesn't exclude Nintendo for making games that are made for the new console, but have mobile companion applications for people that are at the toilet and want to check in /make some adjustments to their Animal Crossing game they're playing on their home console.

Maybe the new sprawling 3d mario on the home console comes with a super mario bros-lite companion on DS in which you can unlock costumes / artwork / powerups for the maingame.

Well, you have to remember that NIntendo has ALWAYS changed it's controller dramatically between hardware iterations. The SNES added shoulder buttons which became immediately necessary for F-Zero, and Pilotwings. The N64 added the analog stick which became immediately necessary for WaveRace and Mario 64. The gamecube just had a wierd controller for weird controller's sake, but the Wii revolutionized again.

I bristle when people call what Nintendo does a gimmick. It's not. It's the complete OPPOSITE of a gimmick. Strictly speaking, what Sony and MS do is a gimmick. That is to say, they make superficial and that don't really alter the experience in order to move new units. That's what the definition of a gimmick is. Nintendo drastically alters their hardware so that things that were previously able to be done are no longer able to be done and new solutions have to be invented. This isn't a gimmick at all. It's also why 3rd parties HATE Nintendo. Don't let them fool you, it has nothing to do with the hardware not being powerful enough. It has to do with companies that are risk-averse and profit minded not wanting to invent new things to work on Nintendo's consoles. THey want to churn out the same thing they have been doing on a yearly schedule like Assassin's Creed or Call Of Duty. When Nintendo invents a new controller or interface, all it reads to 3rd parties as, is "risk".

I know Nintendo is very firm on not leaking any information on the NX at this point in time, but from the way Iwata kept mentioning the NX in relation to both the Wii U and the 3DS I wonder if the NX is not going to be a 'third pillar' or a strict replacement of one system or the other so much as it will be a hybrid of some sort with the 'X' indicating a crossing or meeting of the two types of systems.

We've already seen Sony experimenting with similar ideas with the various ways in which the Vita and the PS4 interact (mostly with the Vita being treated more as an accessory than as an actual system at this point) so I don't think it would be too farfetched to think that Nintendo might be planning to wrap up portable and home gaming into a single console.

It's certainly too early to even remotely say anything with any real sense of confidence, but every time they speak of the NX I become more convinced that the X isn't simply an abbreviation and is instead an indication of their plans for the NX, whatever it actually turns out to be.

"...we intend to offer NX through a Nintendo-like solution."

Well, that sounds bad. I supposed "offer", "through" and "Nintendo-like" are open to interpretation and could mean anything given this is a translation. But _________, if none of that sounds encouraging

I'll say it: Nintendo is in a TERRIBLE position for lunching a console soon, as in the next two or three years. They need to lunch NX at the start of the NEXT generation and they need to have some competitive business plan...whatever that will be. That means sitting on Wii U and selling it cheap and giving away games to keep sales trickling



What won't work is an underpowered,overpriced system that seemingly only gets good games from Nintendo. If that is their plan, they are screwed.

Enjoyable breakdown of what was likely a boring hour or two. Go Austin!

I'm rooting for you, Nintendo.

That would also fit well with it coexisting with the other platforms, if Austin is wrong about that just being doublespeak.

this shareholder meeting wouldve went alot smoother if they used personalized hand puppets

I'm excited to see what Nintendo is planning, cant really say the same for Sony or Microsoft. Consoles have lost their cutting edge status, if pc's ever successfully move to the living room I cant see them surviving on their current path. I hope Nintendo continues to pioneer ridiculous and sometimes amazing new ideas.

The NX sure is starting to sound a lot like something that doesn't really exist, and perhaps a desperate play to engage shareholders while they scramble for the next mega fad.

I think they need to attach the vitality sensor, because Nintendo is flat lining *Mike drop*

Mario Kart 8 on Steam, make it happend Nintendo.

I still love Nintendo for not being like "the other two". Also once more the Treehouse stream proved that they had software up and running instead of the "playable" demos from Sony and Microsoft. You have to admire that they fearlessly showcase that stuff live.

Also would never have considered the 3DS to be a failure. Someone mentioned "mediocre" hardware earlier, but I'm sure that's based on specs rather than the function of the hardware. I love my 3DS and I feel it isn't mediocre hardware in any way at all. It does its job just fine.

It almost has to be just a special app that runs on iOS, Android, PC that runs their software with a Bluetooth controller. Im sure they'll sell their own hardware for it like a nexus reference build, but I'd think they'd have to be done with middling hardware sales like the WiiU.