Iwata still sees vast market for current DS hardware

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has dispelled rumblings that the global games market has become over saturated with the DS Lite, hence the roll-out of the DSi. In an interview with Japanese paper Daily Yumiuri, Iwata pointed out that, for example, only 18% of people in Japan own a DS.

"Some say the market for the DS is saturated, but I disagree. In Japan, a country with a population of 127 million, we've sold 23 million DS units," he told the paper. "The United States is inhabited by over 300 million people, and there are more than 490 million people in the European Union. Sales of the product could grow further in foreign countries considering their populations." That's a big blue ocean.

So then, DS won't die until every last man, woman, and child on Earth owns one. Or something like that. Oh, and a DSi. Iwata's dream is of a world where "each family member will have his or her own DSi with their favorite software installed." That's a big dream.

[Via Edge Online]