Iwata still sees vast market for current DS hardware

by Randy Nelson { Jan 9th 2009 at 4:53PM }

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]

Tags: ds, dsi, iwata, nintendo, satoru-iwata

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

NaeemTHM @ Jan 9th 2009 5:01PM

This man will not be satisfied until he has more money than Bruce Wayne, Bill Gates, and Jesus combined.

Jake B @ Jan 9th 2009 7:16PM

His dollar suit is so f**kin pimp!

finaldarklord @ Jan 9th 2009 8:25PM

Jesus hardly earned his money. I mean damn. They put his name in one book and he kicks back earning royalty checks for 2 millenia.

Sweet deal. A little TOO sweet, if you ask me.

(01) @ Jan 9th 2009 8:40PM

I don't think Jesus would have had a lot of money...

Anyway, I've purchased 2 DS's but never actually owned one...maybe someday.

Fraggy4 @ Jan 9th 2009 5:06PM

Read ("I will not rest until it's possilbe for the entire world to file a class action lawsuit against Nintendo.")

Superstar90 @ Jan 9th 2009 5:18PM

This is just like what The Riddler did in the Batman movie.

Damn, Nintendo just got more suspicious.

Levi @ Jan 9th 2009 8:32PM

IT"S ALL GONNA BURN!

Giroro @ Jan 9th 2009 5:20PM

I think this only emphasizes how the DSi is just a DS lite with cameras.

(You think Nintendo can do online right?)

nelson @ Jan 9th 2009 5:21PM

dude looks like Tracy Morgan in last night's episode of 30 rock

http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture2pn2.png

Wiinterfang @ Jan 9th 2009 6:05PM

Tracy morgan is so unfunny.

KeenCommander @ Jan 9th 2009 6:14PM

30 Rock is so unfunny...

Levi @ Jan 9th 2009 8:34PM

Fess up Wiinterfang, you laughed at Brian Fellows.

Mr Khan @ Jan 9th 2009 5:29PM

iPhone - Phone + DS = DSi

That's what it seems like to me, at any rate. Trying to counter the do-everything handheld, without the ability to call people (which is peripheral)

soviet chick @ Jan 9th 2009 8:56PM

So what you are saying is, the Nintendo DSi is an iPod Touch?

Adolph @ Jan 9th 2009 5:29PM

Homeless people, 3 moth old babies, prisoners, insane people are part of the 300 Million Americans. Nintendo can't sell to them.

Some people refuse to play games period. It's great they are reaching out, but a % of the population will never consider gaming a real past time.

By the way DSi is a fucken terrible upgrade. They really should make true successor.

my idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHFSuzs8nt8

Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Ryan Scott Defense Force, in honor of the Jan. 6 Massacre) @ Jan 9th 2009 5:47PM

hate to break it to you buddy, but nobody wants to watch your youtube video, especially one with the audio of a bad recorded telephone call from Al Capone to Alexander Graham Bell.

Also, how is the DSi a worst update than the DSLite? The DSi actually ADDED stuff, instead of being the petite cousin to the original

Wiinterfang @ Jan 9th 2009 6:07PM

The PSP has 3 revisions, why the fuck can't the DS have one?

HitNRun @ Jan 9th 2009 6:22PM

@Adolph: Yeah, Iwata is overestimating the potential market of his products juuust a bit. There's a statistically significant number of households without televisions and cars.

@Moptimus: They removed backwards compatibility, killed SP-slot peripherals, and decreased the battery life, to make an even more fragile system with a microscopic increase in screen size and peripherals that most people have better versions of in their cell phones.

Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Ryan Scott Defense Force, in honor of the Jan. 6 Massacre) @ Jan 9th 2009 7:02PM

what about all those people who dont have cellphones? You bring up the "significant" number of people who dont own TVs or cars, yet neglect those without cellphones

Quattro @ Jan 9th 2009 8:45PM

Lets see what the DSi has: Larger screen sise, two VGA cameras, 5 screen brightness settings, improved speakers, an SD card slot, internal memory, upgradeable firmware, and is 12% thinner than the DS Lite.

How is this not much of an upgrade? What do we lose, GBA support? I've never played a single GBA game on my DS and I'm sure many DS users are the same. I honestly doubt that the majority of people who would go to the store would actually care whether or not it had GBA support, in fact they probably wouldn't even notice.

It has a reduced battery life compared to the DS Lite. The new battery life is 14 hours (according to wikipedia). This is compared to the what, 7 hours or so the PSP gives you?

Given all the upgrades, I don't see how not having GBA support and only lasting 14 hours is a downgrade for most people.

JoeTheBlow @ Jan 9th 2009 5:46PM

The sight of a grown man playing with a DS on public transport is still incredibly sad.
Get a PSP, you anime-loving nonce.

Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Ryan Scott Defense Force, in honor of the Jan. 6 Massacre) @ Jan 9th 2009 5:50PM

yes, that way they can play such exciting games as.....um......well, you know, that one with the guy who does stuff. And who could forget....that other game that might've been released last year.

Yeah, PSP is TOTALLY worth the $200

Wiinterfang @ Jan 9th 2009 6:09PM

Don't forget that Ps2 game too.

Noshino @ Jan 9th 2009 6:26PM

Joe,
That is false, hell, even I use my DS at work (Damn you PSP and your short battery life).

Moptimus,

sigh, you again.

Since you don't seem to find a gem on PSP's library, I can say the same about the DS, hell, the library is older and bigger, yet I only have 5-6 titles...

"Yeah, PSP is TOTALLY worth the $200"

It is for over 20 million people out there...

Moptimus Slime (Leader of the Ryan Scott Defense Force, in honor of the Jan. 6 Massacre) @ Jan 9th 2009 6:55PM

Look! Up in the sky! Its a bird! Its a plane! Its...Devils Advocate!

few things:
1. what games do you own?
2. what type of games do you like?

Noshino @ Jan 9th 2009 7:24PM

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j197/noshino_ro/Moi%20o_o/UBOAVE0.jpg

(sorry for the quality, just returned my camera)

I don't have any interest on any other DS game, and I have tried many of them, including some that many praise such as MP: Hunters and Phantom hourglass....funny that to this day the game that I still play the most on my handheld platforms is Fire Emblem :P

I play pretty much any genre, I pick games based on whether they grab my attention or not....