Nintendo had previously confirmed that Wii U would be debuting in 2012, but today, Satoru Iwata stated the system would indeed launch in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia…thus being a complete global launch. Now what wasn’t said is whether or not one territory may first see a release first in July for instance, followed by other countries in October and November. Nintendo did have a June release with the Nintendo 64 in Japan back in 1996, followed by a September US debut, so something like this is possible.
Come E3, we’ll definitely know much more on Nintendo’s plans, including what the final look will be of the console and the controller…and even if the system will in fact still be called Wii U when it’s all said and done (Nintendo said that it has a lot to consider with this new console and learning from any past mistakes from pricing to revealing to naming).
Iwata also revealed more details on the Nintendo Network service, which looks like it’s a great step forward in bringing Wii U and 3DS together in a more unified, online setup:
The Nintendo Network service is our network platform which will cover the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U.
Unlike Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which has been focused upon specific functionalities and concepts, we are aiming to establish a platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers.
For example, competitions and communication among users, as well as the sales of digital content, will be covered within the Nintendo Network.
For the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U, we will push forward to make the software compatible with Nintendo Network.
The “Community” matches of “Mario Kart 7” that I have just referred to is one example. As for the sales of downloadable add-on content, “Tobidasu Pricla Kiradeco Revolution” (Japanese title), which Nintendo has already started the download sales to the owners of the Nintendo 3DS, is the first title for which consumers can purchase and download add-on content. We will make available the downloadable add-on content for this Nintendo first-party digital download title in the near future. As for the download sales of add-on content for packaged software, it is expected that “THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY,” which is scheduled to be launched on February 16 by Square Enix Co., Ltd. is going to be the first software title for which applicable music will be sold by Square Enix as downloadable add-on content. While we are on this subject, when we discuss anything relating to add-on content, our remarks are very often reported by the media by their attaching such modifiers or notes as “the ones used for social games.” Please note that Nintendo, as a software maker, does not plan to deploy businesses where our consumers cannot know in advance which item will appear as the result of their payment and they have to repeat the payments and, before they know it, they end up spending a huge amount of money in order to obtain the items they originally wanted to purchase. As a software maker, Nintendo believes that its packaged software should be sold to our consumers in a form so that the consumers will know in advance that they can enjoy playing the software they purchased just as it is. We believe that our consumers will be able to feel more secure if we offer our add-on content as an additional structure in which those who love the game will be able to enjoy it in a deeper way for a prolonged play time.
For the digital sales of the content, we are also considering the future possibility of digital distribution of packaged software, which is often referred to as “software download sales.” This concept was built into the design of the Nintendo 3DS, and we already have the necessary infrastructure. We will prepare the same infrastructure for the Wii U. However, we have not decided the concrete timing of when we will start it. The decision must be made by taking into consideration such factors as the relationship with the wholesalers and retailers, and the best way to be embraced by consumers, as well as the environment surrounding the market and consumers, such as the required memory capacity on consumers’ SD memory cards. However, as an option for the future, the significance of this business field will increase.
Also for the Wii U, we are planning to introduce a personal account system compatible with Nintendo Network. With this, for example, the ease of using a video game system when the hardware is shared by multiple family members, which has been a challenge we needed to tackle, shall be improved, and we will also be able to construct and offer the system by combining a variety of different services and content.
Whether it’s our first-party titles or third parties’ titles, for a number of games, we will actively attempt to achieve compatibility so that our consumers can enjoy our online services that we will deploy under the name of the Nintendo Network.
Iwata also revealed that the Wii U controller (we call it U-control) has NFC (Near Field Communication) built into it for more gaming possibilities:
As many of you know, NFC is the acronym for Near Field Communication, which is a set of standards to establish radio communication in close proximity. The NFC I’m referring to here is the noncontact NFC standard that is compatible with FeliCa and MIFARE, and is expected to be widely used around the world in the near future.
By installing this functionality, it will become possible to create cards and figurines that can electronically read and write data via noncontact NFC and to expand the new play format in the video game world. Adoption of this functionality will enable various other possibilities such as using it as a means of making micropayments.
Visit Nintendo.co.jp for the full story.