The Nikkei Says “June Will Be A Major Test For Iwata”

[Soundwave]

JGarret said:

Soundwave said:

gamemaster4747 said:
It will be a major test if his job is on the line.

He probably still has another 2 years on the job minimum even though his job rating with investors will probably take another big hit this June to sub 70% approval. 

If that Quality of Life thing flops, I think he will step down voluntarily then. I think he's betting his job on that gamble. 

Is there any indication on when QoL is supposed to be released?

They've said vaguely it will be released after April 1st 2015 (so it's for the fiscal year ending March 30th, 2016).

My guess is this is something primarily or initially targetted towards senior citizens. Nintendo dares not go after the young adult health audience, too much competetion, but the senior population in Japan in particular is huuuuuuge and has tremendous spending power. Also Miyamoto is getting to that age himself (soon will be 65+) so I can see him wanting to work on things for that audience. 

I suspect we are talking about an entirely new brand here too, the existing Nintendo name is too closely tied to kids and video games, and that doesn't really work for them in this different market. Probably better to start with a clean slate. 

We'll see how it plays out I guess.