'Gamers houden behoefte aan handhelds'

Satoru Iwata, president van Nintendo, heeft in een interview met Kotaku aangegeven dat hij nog steeds een toekomst ziet voor handhelds, ondanks dat de markt veranderd is door de komst van smartphones en tablets. Handheld-games kunnen een betere game-ervaring bieden dan smartphones of tablets.

"I don't think there's not a bright future for handheld devices but I understand that the competition, again with the rise of smart devices is different, and I do recognize that," aldus Iwata. "Previously we had to think, ok, 'How are we competing with Sony?, How are we competing with Microsoft?, How do we compete with all the other software titles and all the other publishers out there?' That environment has changed. And the games available for smartphones, I'm not saying that none of these are interesting, rich or fun experiences, because I know that there are some. And one way we can ensure that there's a market for handheld gaming devices is by continuing to bring out entertaining and engaging software that will provide users experiences that they cannot get on these other devices."

Iwata verwacht dat gamers behoefte blijven houden aan "rich and deep" games die handhelds ze kunnen bieden. Dit zal niet veranderen door de opkomst van tablets en smartphones.