Nintendo had a big day today and just in case you weren't up in the Wii (pun intended) hours of the morning anxiously awaiting Iwata's golden words, we've got Iwata's speech in full as well as his slides. Some highlights from the transcript include Iwata discussing some of the different approaches Nintendo took regarding the camera on the DSi. While mobile phones keep improving camera resolution, the Dsi specifically doesn't focus on that at all. He also goes to explain some of the features the new handheld will harbor and why Nintendo made those specific choices. Of course, while the DSi was the star of the show, there was still plenty to talk about regarding the Wii and its future. Read the transcript of Iwata's full speech and check out the slides after the jump. Ooooh, slides.
Thank you for coming to "Nintendo Conference 2008 Fall" today despite your busy schedule. I'm Iwata, president of Nintendo. It was December 2, 2004, when Nintendo launched Nintendo DS in Japan with "The Expansion of Gaming Population" as its basic strategy. Exactly three years and 10 months have passed since then. As the first topic for today, let me introduce you to the new member of Nintendo DS family, ... "Nintendo DSi." ... and we have developed "Nintendo DSi" with the aim to further expand the Nintendo DS market. First of all, I'd like to talk about the background of how we came to start developing "Nintendo DSi." We have developed the original Nintendo DS with the basic mission to expand the gaming population. Together with a number of attractive software with different appealing natures, Nintendo DS has become the fastest selling video game platform in the Japanese video game market. The cumulative sales of Nintendo DS have already topped 23 million in Japan alone. Nintendo DS has become the best-selling video game machine in Japan as this sales number has already exceeded that of PlayStation2 from Sony, which used to be the most-sold video game machine here in Japan. According to data from MediaCreate, it took 6 years and 9 months for PlayStation2 to reach 20 million sales. In contrast, the sales of Nintendo DS reached 20 million in little less than three years, which can tell you about the incredible sales pace of this machine. nfortunately, from the start of 2006, the supply of DS could hardly keep pace with the accelerating demand and almost every single unit we shipped was sold through to consumers in the same week of the shipment. We realize this created great inconveniences for our consumers and retailers. The unprecedented phenomena or abnormal situation could not last forever. As everyone in the industry noticed, the sales of DS stabilized around the summer of last year. The common belief in this game business was that 20 million hardware sales was the limit in the Japan market, therefore many people appeared to believe the DS market had been saturated. While today's sales pace is not as active as in the past, it is also true that the current sales volume of DS can be compared with that of the past major platforms, just when they were significantly expanding the market share in Japan. Therefore, I believe if we can leverage the fact that DS has been supported by a wide range of consumers and if we can continue to demonstrate how an enriched lifestyle can be uniquely realized by the portable nature of DS, Nintendo DS still has significant potential for expansion as a video game platform. The most recent survey we conducted reveals a Japanese DS consumer composition just like this. The graph covers 7 years old from the left, to 74 years old to the right. People in the wide range of age demographics enjoy playing with Nintendo DS, w ith a very good proportion between male and female audiences. In this research, 54% of those who were touching DS were female. Besides the wide-spread user demographics, DS has another unique characteristic. It has the highest number of users per household as a portable video game machine. Though the number was slightly lower than when we researched the last time, the most recent research shows 2.8 people in one household use DS on average. As the number of users per household include the household with just one person, the high numbers attained by DS and Wii are a testament to the high ratio of the entire-family's involvement with them. s you know, portable game machines are played by multiple members within one family. While 2.8 people per household are touching DS, one household has 1.8 units of DS on average. Portable game machines are designed to be enjoyed regardless of time and where you are. The ultimate sales goal is not "one device per household" but "one for each person." For us to further expand the Nintendo DS platform when one out of every 6 Japanese citizens already owns a DS, we should focus not only on the households which do not own a DS yet but also on the households where one DS is shared by multiple members. This will help us create that stream from "one DS per household" to "one DS per person." This is why we now introduce you to Nintendo DSi as the new member to Nintendo DS platform. For Nintendo DSi, naturally, we have added a number of new functions. Also, we have made some enhancements on the existing DS by listening to our consumers voices. I will explain about the latter point first. First of all, so we can further improve the portable aspect that you can bring DS anywhere with you, we were challenged to make it as thin as possible without sacrificing its durability. As the result, DSi is 2.6mm or about 12% thinner than DS Lite. As the consequence of this effort, we have removed the slot for GameBoy Advance software. Even after the launch of Nintendo DSi, we will continue the sale of DS Lite as long as consumer demand continues. We will continue offering Nintendo DS Lite for those who enjoy playing GameBoy Advance software as well. Next, we have tried to comply with the demands for the bigger screens. Since DS has two screens, and the weight of LCD naturally increases as we increase its size, we were challenged to adopt larger LCDs while maintaining the weight of Nintendo DS Lite. As the result, we have made little less than 8% increase over the current 3.00inch LCD to make it 3.25 inches. In terms of the dimension, approximately 17% increase was realized per screen. We have also improved both the speaker volume and sound quality. They may sound unspectacular, but we recon that they are meaningful improvements. Among the new features, we have incorporated a camera function and an audio player function. You might have heard about this already through some media reports. And as you listen to me, you might share the impression that since many of today's cell phones already incorporate similar camera and audio player functions, this news does not sound Nintendo-esque nor does it seem to play any significant role in further expanding DS. While these functions for cell phones are offered as extra utility tools, we would like to propose with DSi the entertainment of playing with and enjoying visuals and sounds by using these functions in more proactive and fun ways in your daily activities. The Nintendo DSi will be a tool to enrich each of our daily lives. For cell phones and digital cameras, manufacturers have been increasing the number of pixels in order to appeal to consumers. However, we have taken almost the opposite approach. We cannot boast about the resolution as the camera for DSi has the 300,000 pixels resolution. On the other hand, the "DSi Camera" software included in DSi, of course, can take pictures and store them, but there are 11 types of special camera lenses included. This means DSi can take pictures by utilizing a variety of special effects on real time basis, change the whole picture to black and white images, color the portions you touch or exchange the existing color with new one on the area you touch, make a composite picture using preinstalled frames or make the frames for yourselves, draw variety of graffiti on the pictures, use the technology to recognize human faces and put glasses and mustaches on them, combine two people's faces with different degrees of one's features, and confirm to what degree two faces are resembling by utilizing face recognition engine. These functions can be enjoyed with the unique Nintendo user interfaces that you are familiar with. In other words, for DSi, we have tried to use existing camera functions fully for the entertainment purpose in unique ways, by taking advantage of unique double-screen and touch-panel features of DS. Nintendo would like to enhance your lifestyle in ways that enable you to enjoy playing with your photographs and bringing them with you wherever you go. The pictures will be automatically sorted by the dates they were taken. As you can see, Nintendo DSi can function as a photo diary and can also be a photo stand to run a photo slide show. For a number of small children, Nintendo DSi will be their very first camera. For the Japanese female junior and high-school students, DSi can be a digital photo notebook which contains the stamp-sized face seals that they can take with them when hanging out with their friends. It can also be a tool for college students and young-adults to have more fun at parties. For middle-aged and senior citizens, it may become a photo diary to keep pictures of their grandchildren and hobbies. Another new function, "DSi Sound" audio player, is not meant to be an ordinary audio playback mechanism. Since it is something Nintendo offers, we have aimed to design it so that people can "enjoy playing with sounds." Some typical functions include one that entables the user to change the pitch and the speed separately by using the touch screen As you can see, you can freely change the speed by sliding the touch-pen vertically and adjust the pitch with the horizontal move. The ability to be able to freely manipulate the audio pitch and the speed can expand how the audio player can be used in more practical way as well. You can fast-forward the recorded PodCast to economize the time. When you use the repeat-run function with touch-pen ability, it becomes easier to copy the music, to play a musical instrument or to practice foreign languages. Also, since Nintendo DSi has a microphone, we are incorporating the DSi Sound function to make use of it. I believe Nintendo DSi can be viewed as a toy with music, that also be played with. I'm sure some of us will enjoy using DSi Sound to create a fun performance during a party. Other than these, there are a variety of features such as the function to play back sounds with special effects and the reverse-run ability as well as an instrumental play back or a sort of Karaoke function which can erase the vocal data which are programmed to be generated at the center of two speakers. An SD memory card can be inserted into DSi and can be used for both the camera and audio player functions. To make use of Nintendo DSi Sound, you will need to store sound data on an SD card on the AAC format. As for the Nintendo DSi camera, if you have stored the pictures on an SD memory card, you can view them on Wii by using its Wii Photo Channel. I have just stated that we are aiming to achieve "one DS per person" as the ultimate ownership goal for this video game machine. To make DSi exclusive to you, or to make it "MyDS," Nintendo DSi has embedded internal memory just like Wii. After storing the data there, you can choose to activate this data from the menu screen. The "DSi Camera" and the "DSi Sound" will be included in this internal memory when you purchase DSi. To make it truly "your own DS," you can download and store new software through "DSi Shop." The software you download will be kept in an empty box on the screen you are watching now. It should be easier to understand this if I say that this is similar to Wii Shopping Channel mechanism. With these functionalities, DSi owners will be able to select and incorporate the software they would like to enjoy and carry around with them on their own DSi. For the software publishers, a new business opportunity can be created by the software download sales. As the means to settle the charges for software being downloaded to Wii console, we have been offering a prepaid card called Wii Points Prepaid Card. Now, we would like to rename it to "Nintendo Points Prepaid Card." Also, Wii Points Prepaid Numbers that are sold at convenience stores or by cell phones in Japan wil be renamed to "Nintendo Points Prepaid Numbers." When you charge Nintendo Points to Wii console, it will be used as "Wii Points." When you charge it to DSi, it will be used as "DSi Points." As the very first software title to be offered through "DSi Shop," Nintendo will start distributing "DSi Browser" free of charge simultaneously with the launch of DSi. The "DSi Browser" is an internet browser, co-developed by Opera and Nintendo and comprehensively tuned exclusively for Nintendo DSi. This tuning made the browser faster, and now that it can be incorporated into the device, the utility aspect has been significantly enhanced. Furthermore, when we enabled faster communications for DSi Browser and DSi Shop, we also achieved faster WiFi communications for Nintendo DSi. When you use the WiFi function of existing Nintendo DS software, the speed does not increase. However, for the software specifically made for Nintendo DSi, it is possible to realize faster communications. As the 2nd software to be downloaded free of charge through "DSi Shop", we will launch "Moving Notepad" this year. "Moving Notepad" enables users to create hand-written memos. Of course, I am not talking about an ordinary notepad. For example, you can create cutoff animations, and this cutoff animation can talk. You create this "talking cutoff animation" by utilizing the microphone to record voices . Even after watching this footage, many may still say, "forget about cutoff animations as I cannot draw a picture." I can relate to you, but, ... For some people like me, we will enjoy using the camera to create pictures. So, even if we cannot draw pictures, we can still create unique movie works. We are also planning to provide the framework so you can exchange your cutoff animations with your friends. We are not yet ready to provide all of the details of this feature but we expect to be able to do so in the near future. And, at the end of this year, we will begin offering the download sales service of "Nintendo DSiWare" through "DSi Shop." The "Nintendo DSiWare" can be categorized into roughly 4 categories: Other than DSi Browser and Moving Notepad and other software that Nintendo offers free of charge, there will be "DSiWare 200" that you can purchase at 200 Points, "DSiWare500" at 500 Points, and "DSiWarePremium" that requires 800 Points or more. For DSiWare200, we are planning to offer very compact utility types of applications and small games, and for DSiWare 500, simple puzzle games and other more sophisticated utility tool application. So that as many of our consumers can experience the DSi Ware download by accessing DSi Shop, we will conduct DSiWare trial campaigns to provide consumers with 1000 Nintendo DSi points when they purchase DSi and get access to DSi Shop. This special offer will run through the end of March 2010. We really hope you will experience the joy of creating your own or MY DS by downloading your favorite DSiWare to your Nintendo DSi, but we will announce the details at the next opportunity. As for the detailed lineup of DSiWare, we are planning to announce it in the near future, but I'd like to show some of them today. So that as many of our consumers can experience the DSi Ware download by accessing DSi Shop, we will conduct DSiWare trial campaigns to provide consumers with 1000 Nintendo DSi points when they purchase DSi and get access to DSi Shop. This special offer will run through the end of March 2010. We really hope you will experience the joy of creating your own or MY DS by downloading your favorite DSiWare to your Nintendo DSi, but we will announce the details at the next opportunity. As for the detailed lineup of DSiWare, we are planning to announce it in the near future, but I'd like to show some of them today. As you know, the two software titles from the Brain Training series for DS have created the "brain training" craze all across Japan. We have redeveloped these games as two DSiWare called "Small Brain DSi Training Everyday for Adults" Leterature Edition and Science Edition so that you can bring with you anytime and enjoy playing for a few minutes everyday. In addition to the Trainings which were popular with the past two titles, we are preparing new Trainings, some of which make use of photo-shooting and other new abilities of DSi. The software can be stored in the internal memory of DSi and it can tell you in advance approximately how long it will take for a training to be completed, so it is really handy for you to enjoy any spare time you have. Also, the popular Virus Buster mini-game from More Brain Training was included, and you can save the data even before you complete one game. By now, we have established Nintendo DS Stations in approximately 1000 retail outlets in Japan. As the 2nd step to establishing these WiFi connection points, we will start the new service called, "Nintendo Zone." As the first step, we have formed a collaboration with McDonalds and we will start the Nintendo Zone service at McDonald outlets in Kanto, Chukyo and Kansai regions. When you enter a "Nintendo Zone", the icon of Nintendo DSi flashes to notify you. When you use Nintendo DS or Nintendo DS Lite to use the same service, you will first need to download "Nintendo Zone Viewer." In the case of Nintendo DSi, that function is already preinstalled in the internal memory, so you can use the services more easily. When you are inside Nintendo Zone, no connection setup activities are required. Original content exclusive to the area will be provided through the Nintendo Zone Viewer. The trial versions of DS software are already provided. In addition, for each DS software, the publishers are able to make additional content available for the download. DS can also take advantage of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Nintendo DSi will launch in two colors: Matte White and Matte Black. The suggested retail price of Nintendo DSi is 18,900yen. We will launch it on November 1 2008 in Japan. As for the non-Japanese markets, this new product will be launched in 2009, and details shall be announced by local markets later. Well, I have so far explained about the new family member of Nintendo DS called Nintendo DSi. In addition to the hardware, I would like to explain about the DS software plan. In the most recent summer sales season, Dragon Quest V became a million seller soon after its launch. Rhythm Heaven is still selling more than 50,000 copies a week even today after more than two months after the launch. It is showing the typical sales trend of Touch Generations software, and reaching the one million sales mark in the near future appears to be almost guaranteed. Pokémon Platinum, which was launched on September 3, set a DS software launch period sales record by selling through 1 million copies within just three days, and 1.5 million copies were sold in 3 weeks. Pokémon Movie last year made the record by selling 2.16million presell tickets sold, but this year's movie renewed tht record by selling 2.36million presell tickets. We feel that their efforts to make premium Pokémon available for download to DS while fans with DS are watching Pokémon movies at movie theaters have been appreciated by the fans. Also, according to our Club Nintendo's data, older consumers who used to enjoy the past Pokémon series are enjoy playing with Platinum. As for the new titles to be launched, first of all, I would like to introduce you to the latest addition to our Touch Generations series. It's called (in Japanese), "Walking Can Tell Your Life Rhythm DS." As you can see, two units of the "Life Rhythm Counter" are attached to the software. This "Life Rhythm Counter" is similar to a pedometer, which does not have a display screen, but by communicating with DS, you can know what level of activities you were engaged in and during which time period. In other words, you can confirm your "Life Rhythm." By keeping the record everyday, it will visualize your weekly "Life Rhythm" and it keeps track of the number of steps you make everyday. This Life Rhythm Counter counts your steps per minute and can tell when in a day you were making steps. Also, your Mii appears for the very first time for DS with this software. You can transfer the Miis of your family from Wii. We will sell Life Rhythm Counter at 1800 yen separately as well. One software keeps the data for up to four people. From now until the end of the year, engaging software for DS will be launched one after another every week. Great numbers of people in different demographics already enjoy playing with many types of DS software. By the end of this year, our DS software lineup will be so rich that those existing consumers who have already enjoyed DS game experiences will feel that there are many more games that suits their tastes. What we are showing today is just a part of all the games scheduled to be launched this year, and as you know, many DS titles are selling for long periods of time, so the DS library is actually richer. A variety of titles are waiting for you including the titles which can be played by anyone regardless of age, gender and the past game play experience, the titles that can be played very quickly at a time and the titles that are challenging enough for veteran gamers, as well as the games which can be more fun when you are playing with your friends. We would like to show you the DS lineup that includes not just the software to be launched by the end of this year but the ones for early next year as well. You've seen the images of Nintendo DSi often during the footage, but all these games can be played on Nintendo DS and DS Lite. The next software can be enjoyed by connecting DS and Wii, or players can cooperate to play when connected with the net. The DS version and the Wii version of the software will be launched on the same day. And, there is one more important title. The first brand new Dragon Quest title for any portable game machine, eagerly-awaited "Dragon Quest IX" will be finally launched. So far, I have discussed DS. And now, I would like to overview our plan for Wii. Wii was launched exactly two years after the launch of Nintendo DS. One year and 10 months have passed since Wii was launched. Last year, at this conference, I showed you this User Composition graph for Wii as of July 2007, when its installed base was around 3 million. The most recent proportions are like this. Wii has been on track to steadily expand into the Japanese market and the user base in each age demographic is becoming wider. But on the other hand, we recognize that we still have a number of challenges with Wii. One is, while we are expanding the lineup of services for Wii Channel and increasing Virtual Console and WiiWare software lineup, ... ...we are facing the challenge to comply with users who are demanding more data storage capacity beyond the existing internal memory. Recently, SD memory cards have become inexpensive. However, how SD memory cards can be used when there is not enough room in Wii's internal memory is not convenient. We have been listening to the customers, and we have been trying to come up with the solution that will not sacrifice the security nature of Wii but will cater to our customers' convenience. We will need more time to tackle it. But the basic direction has been decided, so I would like to update you on this today. We will make it so that, when there is not enough room on the Wii's internal memory, you will be able to purchase and download Virtual Console and WiiWare software directly from the Shopping Channel to an SD memory card. We will also make it so that you will need to go through just one process in order to transfer Virtual Console or WiiWare software stored on an SD card to the Wii console and then be able to play it. We would like to deal with this issue utilizing two methods. Since the updates to realize these new structures will require significant revisions to the Wii system, and these changes need to be made by taking care of a variety of different angles, this method will become effective beginning next spring. For some of you, this may be considered late. But please know that we really appreciate your cooperation and understanding. We are working hard so we can begin the service as soon as possible. One more challenge is how to increase the net connection ratio. Wii is the hardware which can prove its real worth as "the machine to provide something new everyday" when it is connected with the net. Last year at this Nintendo Conference, I announced our effort with NTT East and West to increase the internet connection ratio of Wii, which is called, "Easy! Convenient! Wii Connection; You can leave it to us Pak" service. Ever since the service was started on November 29, 2007, many people have been using it. NTT East and West told us that about 35% of people who have used this service did not use PC in their homes. As new people — other than the traditional net users — are starting to use Wii to get connected with the Internet, I feel we are making progress in our challenge to construct "New relationship between family and TV set and the Internet." Ordinarily, those who purchase new video game hardware in the launch period are more familiar with the internet than the late purchasers. So, if we do nothing about it, the net connection ratio can go down as the hardware's install base expands. In the case of Wii, on the contrary, the net connection ratio is gradually increasing. However, we cannot say that today's ratio is sufficient. The first hurdle is that Wii owners do not fully understand what they can do or what kind of benefits they can enjoy when their Wii consoles are connected to the internet. While the total gaming population has been showing the drastic increase, Nintendo's efforts have not reached sufficient levels. To do this, a 30 second TV advertisement is not enough to convey all the messages. We cannot rely on many of our consumers to research this on the Internet. So, beginning this fall, we will incorporate a 3 and a half minute long video into Wii as a Wii Channel when consumers purchase Wii hardware. By doing so, we are hopeful that a number of consumers will review the video at least once. The contents of the video will be an introduction of Wii Channels, WiiWare, Virtual Console and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. We would like to undertake more of these types of efforts so an increasing number of consumers are able to understand what Wii can offer when it is connected with the Internet. Another hurdle is that people cannot tell which devices are necessary to connect Wii with the Internet. For those consumers, we have decided to offer "Nintendo Wi-Fi Network Adapter." This September we began selling it at our official web site. Beginning later this month, several retail outlets will offer this accessory. With the simple AOSS to realize the easy connection, DS and Wii can be connected to the internet with an appropriate level of the security. Even after we provide an easier tool, a technical hurdle still remains. As the internet has been coming through to each of your homes with different setups, for those who do not have some specific technical knowledge, it is always difficult to set up applicable devices to initiate Wi-Fi communications at home. So, we have come up with the idea that those who have already overcome the hurdle are more willing to help others who have not. Sorry for the long name for this campaign, but we would like to call this, "Those who can connect Wii with the Internet can help others who can't, and both can earn 500 Wii Points." In other words, we would like those who are already connecting Wii to the Internet successfully to help others around them or among their friends who have not done so yet. When they go through a certain procedure, we will provide the Wii consoles of those who helped and those who were helped with 500 Wii Points each. We will disclose the detailed information on our official web site. Next, I'd like to talk about "Animal Crossing; City Folks," which is one of the core titles to be launched by the end of this year. This is the latest addition to Animal Crossing series, the DS version of which has realized 5 million sales. Our developers spent a long time designing this Wii version so you are able to enjoy a relaxed life with enriched content in the world of Animal Crossing. If you have played the DS version, you can move to this new village and bring some of the play experiences of the DS village. And, we have a new "Town" for you to explore and to create new experiences. Go to the beauty shop, and you can put your Mii on your face. As I said, Wii proves its worth when it is connected with the Internet. To take advantage of the Wi-Fi capability, we have developed Wii Speak accessory that can be used with this Animal Crossing software. This Wii Speak can connect up to 4 individual locations, not just 4 individuals. Even when you are playing with your friends in far away places, you can enjoy chatting with them while playing Animal Crossing together as if they are sitting next to you. Also, when you enter a code that will be included in the Wii Speak package into the Shopping Channel, the Wii Speak Channel can be incorporated into the Wii console. In other words, even when you do not activate the Animal Crossing software, the Wii console can connect one living room with others. If your friend does not own Wii Speak, you can send a message with voices to their Wii consoles through the Wii Message Board. We will launch "Animal Crossing; City Folks" at the suggested retail price of 7800yen for the package with Wii Speak and 5800yen without Wii Speak. Both launch on November 20. It will not come this year, but we are developing a software called "Wii Sports Resort." This is the software which contains the essence of Wii Sports, a title that is most responsible for significantly increasing the sales of Wii when it launched in Japan. This software package will include the Wii MotionPlus accessory which can detect the movements and postures of the Wii Remote more precisely. To use Wii MotionPlus, it must be attached to the Wii Remote, and together it can enable certain play controls which are impossible with only the Wii Remote. We cannot reveal the details of the software as there is still time before the launch. However, we are making some trial version available for your test play today. Please touch and feel the potentials of Wii MotionPlus. Nintendo has also been engaged in new collaborations in order to expand the gaming populations from different angles. I would like to announce to you today that, with the approval from Japan Broadcasting Association or NHK, Nintendo has been collaborating with NHK Enterprise and NHK Educational in order to jointly develop game software that makes use of rich contents that NHK owns which can be appealing to wide variety of different people. NHK broadcasted the very first Japanese TV quiz program called "Gesture." Also, NHK used to broadcast the long-running quiz show in the past called "Word Association Game." With these programs as the motif, we are developing software with NHK Enterprise. We are also developing "English Conversation that you can start from 100 words(temp)" with NHK Educational. The software will introduce 100 basic words that are essential in daily English communications and explain how to use them. We are planning to launch these two Wii titles in 2009. And, the most important thing we have to do is to enrich the software lineup of Wii. It usually takes more time to develop a console software than a portable software due to its large size of software development projects in general. Wii needs more time than DS in order to enrich the software lineup from the third parties. In the case of DS, it took less than two years after the launch to see the enriched software lineup from the third parties. On the other hand, we sometimes hear the concern from the consumers that they do not see the same tendency for Wii. The software lineup for Wii will be richer than ever before from now toward the next year. Nintendo will offer software that can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of game skills. These titles can be easily understood and enjoyed by even game beginners, the ones for which Nintendo has shown a proven track record. At the same time, there will be the software that veteran gamers will find appealing, which can give them brand new surprises and play quality. In all, Wii will have a rich software lineup with a variety of different content for which anyone can feel, "Wii has the software for me." Also, Sega will launch "Let's Tap" this year. This is the very first game with a brand new feel, with which you can control the Wii Remote without touching it. As you can see, it features very unique controls. And on December 18, Hudson will launch KARAOKE JOYSOUND Wii with designated microphone, that can transform your living room to Karaoke box. When you connect your Wii with the Internet, you can sing songs from more than 30,000 titles. You can purchase a ticket from the ones in this chart, and you'll be able to sing as many songs as you like during the time period specified on the ticket. Furthermore, we are completely redesigning seven GameCube titles so that, starting from the end of this year, we will launch them as Wii titles. Our research has revealed that, due to the fact that the GameCube hardware had not sufficiently penetrated into the market, there were the applicable titles that many people were interested in but, in the end, did not purchase to play. In other words, such titles still have market potential. As the Wii hardware has the compatibility with GameCube, it can run GameCube software just as they are. On the other hand, among GameCube titles are the ones which are well suited for the new play controls using the Wii Remote. We now introduce you to "Play On Wii" Selection which were originally the GameCube games but we have thoroughly redesigned the play control to be adapted to the new play control of Wii. All the titles are the ones which can be loved by many regardless of when we launch in the market. We would like to re-launch them with the new play control. As the first Play On Wii title, we will launch "Play on Wii; Donkey Kong Jungle Beat" on December 11. And the 2nd Play On Wii title is, "Play on Wii; Pikmin" on December 25. There are other titles that we'd like you to see. From Koei, the very first mainstream title for Nintendo platform from Sengoku Muso franchise, which is known for exciting actions, is coming. And from BandaiNamco, Mothership title of their Tales' series will be launched for Wii next year. Here is one more video that I would like you to see. We announced this title at Nintendo Conference Fall 2007. This footage is scheduled to be shown at the Tokyo Game Show next week. They kindly allowed us to show it in advance only for this occasion. We will not end our quest until anyone and everyone who can play video games can say that Wii has a rich software library that can satisfy their demands. So that is the end of my speech. Now, I'd like Mr. Miyamoto to talk about Wii Music and how it has been developed with the theme of creating the emotional excitement of playing music for everyone. Thank you for your listening today.
Nintendo Conference 2008 [Nintendo via Multiplayer]