Nintendo is already working on a Wii U successor, according to the firm’s boss-man Satoru Iwata.
“We are preparing for our next hardware system,” Iwata told investors. “In fact, we already have a clear idea to some extent about the direction our next hardware is going to take.
“Once we launch a new platform, we naturally start to prepare for the next one. As it takes several years to develop a single platform, if you ask us whether we are preparing for our next system, then the correct response will be that we are always developing new hardware.
“On the other hand, the most difficult question for us to answer in public in concrete terms is when we are going to launch our new hardware and what kind of hardware we are going to launch, and I am afraid that I cannot talk about this in more detail.”
This won’t leave current hardware owners out in the cold though, as Iwata promised the company will continue to make sure those users remain “satisfied” with the “great value in our software.”
“I can certainly assure you that we are not at a dead end of any kind in which we are out of ideas for developing new hardware,” he said. “I of course believe that launching new hardware will not produce good results unless we first make sure that those who have already purchased our platforms are satisfied.
“[T]he idea I mentioned about redefining the definition of video game platforms will also require approximately two years. This is how we would like to talk more about our mid-term measures and lead them to actual results. However, we will not be able to create a good environment for the company unless projects are undertaken simultaneously, so this is the kind of timeframe that we have in mind.”
