Running scared?: Nintendo chief thinks iPad is lame
That’s Satoru Iwata up there, top dog at Nintendo and now iPad naysayer. Iwata-san has dismissed the iPad in the Japanese press, arguing that Apple delivered “no surprises” in its latest creation, and suggesting the tablet computer is merely a “bigger iPod Touch.”
Obviously, it’s impossible to report these comments without speculating wildly what Iwata’s true motives might be for making such remarks. Does he, one wonders, see the iPad as a genuine threat to Nintendo’s DS family of gaming handhelds?
The iPhone has already grabbed itself a chunk of the portable gaming market, its gaming apps are dirt cheap, the quality of iPhone games is getting gradually better, and there’s about a gazillion of them to buy. On the other hand, there are still far more owners of Nintendo’s more game-focused handheld, and sales continue to be healthy. Furthermore, the iPad will be almost three times as pricey as a Nintendo DSi when it launches in March.
Truthfully, I can’t see the two being such direct competitors myself, but maybe future, cheaper iPad hardware revisions will change that. Obviously, Iwata might just be speaking his mind, and genuinely believes the iPad is a bit rubbish. That’s the more boring possibility.
Iwata also denied that Nintendo is prepping a new DS with a motion-sensor similar to Wii’s controller, or a Wii upgraded for high-definition TVs. ”I question whether those features would be enough to get people to buy new machines,” he said. With sales figures like these, I’m not going to argue with the guy.
[Via NY Times]
