Some interesting things:
About DSi LL/XL and cats:
Well, now a short answer after a long one... I strictly refrain from commenting on our future development. As for Nintendo DSi LL we have announced yesterday, we have found that a fair amount of DS owners are playing IN their home. Thus one of our ideas is an "in-house DS game play". Another idea is what I have been calling as a public space application. Currently we are focusing on DS as a game console that can be used outside of the home. Actually because Dragon Quest IX made Passing-By Connection much more popular, there has been an increase in people carrying around their DS, and we are trying to develop something unique around that factor. And, recently I have cats. That's all!
Internet connection ratio:
the connection ratio of Wii is around 35%, in the Japanese market
And that of DS is probably, 20% or so.
Iwata's views on digital distribution:
And regarding your question about the download sales including WiiWare and DSiWare, so-called digital distribution in English, there is actually a variety of views about how much it will replace retailers and package software. Most radical people even dare to say that retailers will be replaced by digital distribution in no time. But personally, I think it will still require a significant amount of time. In other words, it will require many years and months for the majority of video game purchase to become digital. In short, in 20 years or so I might say it will have probably changed. But in 5 years or so, I do not totally agree with opinions that no one will purchase titles at retailers by then. Habits of life do not change such radically and quickly.
Personally, what I believe is the most important factor for Internet connection is expanding titles' lifespan rather than replacing the packaged software to digital distribution. With the Internet connection, players can purchase additional features or receive extra services. As a result they will play a single software for a longer time without feeling bored and will not sell it to the used-game shops, which will then contribute to more software sales. I believe such a utilization of the Internet connection is one of the major directions we should aim for and we will continue to try and raise the connection ratio.
About WiiWare, DSiWare and demos:
And as for WiiWare and DSiWare, they have not established a notably large market yet. The current situation on Wii Shopping Channel or Nintendo DSi Shop is like a purchase with specific intent, where customers who already know the name and information of the game they want directly seek out what they want and bring it to the register to purchase. Internally we have been discussing that we have to engage customers with less information to purchase. And as an experiment, we will be offering demo versions of specific titles next month on a trial basis to see if it can widen the customers. But I don't think that the demo version is the final solution. I believe that until customers have a reason to visit Wii Shopping Channel or Nintendo DSi Shop without purpose, digital distribution will not become popular.
Notice that he did not state whether the demos are for WiiWare, DSiWare or both.
About Wii no Ma Channel:
930 thousand households or 2.48 million people have experienced it as of October 26th.
We are planning to update the Wii no Ma Channel within the year for pay contents, and thinking about some new measures for increasing the penetration rate.
About Zelda Wii:
And the new Zelda for Wii is beyond that. On developing the recent Zelda for DS, I found out that one of Zelda's core appeals is its uniqueness. Of course we are preparing gorgeous graphics for the sake of users' anticipation for a grand role-playing adventure. But what I believe is very important is the realistic, actual feeling players have experienced themselves; the feeling to have really been on an adventure, to have explored the unknown terrains, to have solved the puzzle through trial and errors, to have themselves grown through various experiences! In that sense, a personal sense of creativity is becoming important among us. We have assembled one of the most creative team for the recent Zelda for DS, and we want to be as creative as possible for upcoming Wii Zelda.
And on a more tangible note, we are utilizing Wii MotionPlus. What has been disclosed so far is that we are finding the most efficient way to utilize Wii MotionPlus to realize the realistic and actual feeling of fighting with the sword. As for targeting, we are utilizing the pointing system of Wii Remote on the previous title. This time we are planning a more convenient and comfortable pointing system.
About Wii Vitality Sensor:
Miyamoto:
And as for Wii Vitality Sensor, I think Iwata will explain later since he is hard at work on it. Based on my experiences, to measure something invisible and have it turn into something tangible like a number like weighing myself on Wii Fit, or to give a numeric value to something invisible in our daily life will be materials of new plays which will feel familiar to us or can improve our lifestyles. We are currently developing an efficient utilization around that factor.
That is all that I can say for today.
Iwata:
Please let me add some notes. If Wii Vitality Sensor is simply a pulsimeter, we did not need such a grandiose announcement. It is a tool to analyze various biological signals by scanning the pulse, in order to make something invisible visible. The point with that is you can figure out your current conditions. I believe many of you have figured out with "Wii Fit", by weighing yourself every day you could figure out how the weight would change according to what you had done. Personally I have figured out how dining-out exactly affects my weights. And there are still more invisible factors, which Wii Vitality Sensor can make into something visible, by putting your finger on that every day.
I have to refrain from disclosing too much to keep the surprises of announcement; but please note that Wii Vitality Sensor is not a simple pulsimeter. I have a strong feeling something fun will appear around this gadget, and am planning to put it as one of the next year's main topics.
