Nintendo does not rest, Nintendo does not stop. Even with the success of the Wii and the DS, Nintendo keeps going.
"We do not think that Nintendo DS and Wii will last forever," Iwata told investors in a recent financial briefing. "Our internal hardware teams are always researching and working on new hardware so that we can launch them whenever we find a very interesting idea."
It takes Nintendo up to three years to churn out new hardware, but once the company developers new hardware, that doesn't mean Nintendo releases it. So when is new hardware released?
"[New] hardware is not needed until the time our software developers see the end in making new software with the existing hardware, or unless we have no more new market to explore and all the potential consumers have purchased our hardware," said Iwata. "The more decisive factor is when the software developers will start demanding for new hardware as they cannot create any more software with surprise factors with the existing one. Nintendo has always been making the hardware in order to prepare for that day to come."
And typically, right before new hardware is released, there's a price cut. The Wii still has not gotten a price cut — save for a few, unofficial nips and tucks at UK retail. "I have never said that cutting the suggested retail price is not in the cards," Iwata said. That price cut just hasn't happened — and who can blame them?
Investor Relations: Financial Results Briefing for the 69th Fiscal Term Ended March 2009 - Q&A [Nintendo via Eurogamer]