Console wars decided. A rival comes into view. Time to buckle down, because things seem poised for a shake up.
While Wii sales might have been down 21 percent last year, Nintendo still saw its third best year in the history of the company.
According to the Times Online, sources close to Nintendo's Japanese headquarters "describe a mood of concern as the hardware and software divisions race to restore the capacity to 'surprise'."
The Nintendo 3DS was supposed to be Nintendo's big E3 surprise, but Nintendo hastily issued a bland press release in order to head off Japanese reporters from breaking the news first. Nintendo has not officially shown the Nintendo 3DS. According to one report, the new glasses-free portable will be out this October.
What's more, the Times Online reports that Nintendo Satoru Iwata apparently told his senior executives to view the console war with Sony as won and to regard Apple with its iPhone and iPad machines as the "enemy of the future". The irony is that when Nintendo launched the DS Lite, the company seemed to take its design and marketing cues from Apple.
As the Times Online points out, Nintendo claimed two years ago that it had made Nintendo converts of high school girls and men aged between 30 and 40; however, those girls are now reported to be more interested in having an Apple iPhone than a Nintendo DS. You can call people on an iPhone. You can also email people. And watch feature films and television shows. And listen to thousands of songs.
You can play video games on an iPhone, too.
Rivals are invading its patch, but Nintendo is ready to go to war [Times Online]