“Most radical people even dare to say that retailers will be replaced by digital distribution in no time,” Iwata said at a recent Nintendo briefing. “But personally, I think it will still require a significant amount of time.”

By significant, Iwata means two decades. “In other words, it will require many years and months for the majority of video game purchase to become digital,” said Iwata. “In short, in 20 years or so I might say it will have probably changed. But in five years or so, I do not totally agree with opinions that no one will purchase titles at retailers by then.”

Habits of life, Iwata pointed out, don’t change such radically and quickly. “Especially for the expanded audience of various people,” he added, “to whom we are and will be trying to appeal, I believe their habits will change more slowly.”

Twenty years? Won’t we have flying cars then?

Investor Relations: Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Semi-annual Financial Results Briefing Q & A [Nintendo via GoNintendo] [Pic]

Nintendo execs were asked when the company plans to make the move to high-definition graphics, joining the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in pushing more polygons, more pixels and more everything else. Not surprisingly, Nintendo is taking things cautiously, trying to find the balance between SD and HD content.

First to weigh in is Genyo Takeda, general manager of Nintendo’s Integrated Research and Development Division. He says his group has been “reviewing and developing a number of hardware [options]… including HD and SD.”

“However, we have not come to the stage where we can announce which is the most appropriate means,” Takeda says.”Since an increasing number of the TV sets at home around the world are becoming HD today, it will be natural for a machine to be able to generate graphics that people will be accustomed to see on HD televisions.”

He adds that “moving to HD appears to me a natural flow”.

Famed game designer Shigeru Miyamoto also offered his opinion about entering the HD era, implying that the decision is game dependent.

“Regarding the question of SD or HD, it must depend on each software,” Miyamoto said. “For example, we have to ask ourselves if HD is really necessary to develop Wii Fit. Won’t HD be better for the games like Pikmin? The developers should choose the most appropriate graphical format depending on the software they make.”

The full response is an intimidating wall of text, from Takeda, Miyamoto and Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, one that may be designed to confuse rather than inform. If you can decipher it, let us know what their plans are, OK? Thanks.

Investor Relations: Corporate Management Policy Briefing / Semi-annual Financial Results Briefing Q & A [Nintendo]

That’s according to IGN’s translation of the oft-cited investor Q&A that Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto dropped minor details at last week — nuggets of news that range from Miyamoto’s acquisition of a real life cat, Wii MotionPlus support in the next Legend of Zelda game for the Wii, a cooling Wii market and the possibility of a 3G-enabled Nintendo DS in the future.

Hey, demos are a good idea. Maybe you’ll find the ArtStyle games like Cubello up there tons of fun. And maybe you’ll reconsider that purchase of Sexy Poker or Major League Eating: The Game, despite both sounding like excellent fodder for WiiWare games.

Nintendo to Offer WiiWare Demos [IGN]

Unlike today’s smart phones and mobile 3G cards, which require monthly fees to access the network, Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader figures in the price of 3G into the initial hardware cost, so the customer effectively pays one fee for the device and a lifetime of 3G access. Speaking at an analyst briefing following last week’s lowered financial outlook, Nintendo’s president called the Kindle’s price plan an “option for the future”.

“Only people who can pay thousands of yen a month [in mobile phone subscriptions] can be iPhone customers. That doesn’t fit Nintendo customers because we make amusement products,” Mr Iwata said. The Kindle’s one-off cost would better suit Nintendo’s customer base, he said. “In reality, if we did this it would increase the cost of the hardware, and customers would complain about Nintendo putting prices up, but it is one option for the future.”

I don’t see any problem with the handheld’s current Wi-Fi access, but then again I rarely go anywhere that doesn’t have an access point these days. I suppose if you want to be able to download new games nearly anywhere, 3G is certainly one way to go. Would you pay more for a 3G-enabled Nintendo DS?

Nintendo considers Kindle tactics for consoles [Financial Times]

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said at the company’s semi-annual financial briefing that the boost in LCD screen real estate is obviously easier on the eyes, but that “Nintendo does not offer such new product for such limited purposes only”.

“Many people see a portable video game device as the device that can be played by yourself wherever you are,” Iwata contends. “In fact, portable video game systems so far have been developed by prioritising the portable nature and single-player modes.”

Not the DSi XL! It addresses the lack of “a beautiful view from any angle,” Iwata says, offering a “new play style”.

“Nintendo DSi XL realises beautiful game screens even for those who look at them from an angle,” Iwata claims. “You do not have to peek closely into the monitor of another player’s video game to get a good view anymore. Nintendo DSi LL is going to offer a new play style, where those who are surrounding the game player can also join in one way or the other to the gameplay. When you look at the home console video games you can understand that the fun of great games can be conveyed to and shared by those who are watching the player play.”

Iwata pointed to the Nintendo DS Mii collecting game Tomodachi Collection—a bestseller in Japan—as an example of a title of which “whose appeal can by multiplied and enjoyed by bystanders”.

The Nintendo DSi XL, Iwata says, is the “first portable video game system aimed to be played with others in person”. In doing so, Nintendo expects DSi XL to accentuate the “fun feature” of software, potentially making the game “an unexpectedly huge hit”.

We’re ready to test this theory at Kotaku Towers, already planning our Nintendo DSi XL launch parties, in which we invite a wholesome group of culturally and ethnically diverse friends, tentatively scheduled for early 2010.

“The mood of the market got colder than expected,” said Iwata, “and there was a miscalculation.” This comes as Nintendo records its first decline in profits in six years.

Iwata disclosed that there were no extra resources in the company that can combat the slide in profits this year — Nintendo is aware of the weak software releases this year. Iwata did mention that the Wii Vitality Sensor will be out in 2010 and stressed that it is more than a simple heart rate monitor and that it will actually be fun.

“Now, we are preparing for next year and thinking about what to do the year after next,” said Iwata. “We’re thinking about our best chances for success.” For some this signals sequels and perhaps new hardware from Nintendo.

When asked if Nintendo was worried about increased portable gaming competition from the iPhone, he replied, “In the marketplace, our presence is growing.”

任天堂社長「見込み違いがあった」 [経済ニュース] [Pic]

Wii sales dropped by 10 million units during the six month period ending September 2009, and Nintendo has recorded its first decline in profit in six years. Iwata summed up the feeling at Nintendo. “Not being able to continuously release strong software has made a good mood grow cold.”

With upcoming titles like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Nintendo is feeling more confident about this holiday season.

任天堂：４年ぶり減収減益…「Ｗｉｉ」急減響く　９月連結 － 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞) [Mainichi]

Says Miyamoto: “I’ve always enjoyed guessing the lengths of objects, which is why I carry a measuring tape around with me.” To which Iwata replies: “Really? That one’s new to me too!”

Continues Shiggy:

For instance, I might guess that the table in front of us is about 1.2 metres long. Then I’d actually measure it with the measuring tape to check. If I got it right, I’d think: “I’m on form today!” But if I missed the mark by a long way, I’d think: “I’ve been slipping a bit recently!” … And it’s not just length: I also really enjoy predicting the weight and other measurements of things. So for instance, I’d pick up a chair and think: “I wonder how many kilos this weighs.” Or I’d wonder how many grams a weekly manga magazine weighs.

Iwata says he’d need a set of scales to satisfy that curiosity, not as portable as a tape measure. Iwata agrees:

That’s why I’ve always thought that using the Wii Balance Board to play a weight-guessing game would be great. For instance, we could make it like a school sports day. Get ten people together and hand out cards to each person. Then for instance, Iwata-san, you might get a card that reads “12 kilos” and I might get a card that reads “3 kilos”. Then we’d all split up and go around the school …

Iwata: … And we’d each have to bring back something which weighed that much.

Miyamoto: We’d each put the object on the scales and the person who got closest to their target weight would be the winner! (laughs) Doing something like that would be great fun, wouldn’t it? You don’t think it would be fun?

Iwata: Um … Sure!

And thus, “while it’s not exactly the same,” that’s why a similar weight-guessing game is included in Wii Fit Plus, Miyamoto says.

Iwata Asks: Wii Fit Plus [Wii.com via CVG]

That listing comes from an early version of a Walmart ad that loosely dates, but does not price a “rollback” for Nintendo’s console. While the ad is not official confirmation of a price drop, the timing makes sense, as the Wii is about to enter its fourth holiday shopping season at its original price.

Should Nintendo announce a price drop prior to October, it has a venue at which to do it. The company will be participating at the Kyoto Cross Media Experience 2009, a multimedia event that runs September 26th to October 4th, overlapping with the Tokyo Game Show.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata just recently said that the company is not planning on announcing a price drop. “Right now,” Iwata said at a recent investor Q&A, “there aren’t a lot of discussions going on about what exactly to do about hardware pricing.”

Of course, that “right now” was from early August and plans may have changed. Sales of the Wii in the U.S. are down by almost half from last year during the summer quarter. A price drop and upcoming marquee software releases like Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii may turn things around.

Due to the unofficial nature of the price drop info, we’re labelling this rumour for now. We’ve been in touch with Nintendo of America and Walmart to get comment, but have not yet heard back.

The concept for the sensor came about a few years back, around the same time Nintendo were working on their face training game for the DS. During those intervening years the company have sought the input of university professors, along with other people with experience with medial equipment, in getting it just right.

But just right for what? Just what kind of games – or programs – are Nintendo working on? While acknowledging the potential for horror titles, Iwata says the software the company “are trying to propose first” is:

…a video game with a theme of relaxation, which is completely opposite from traditional ones, to enrich the users’ lives. Especially among those who are constantly busy, I am sure you have experienced not being able to go to bed even when you are so tired after a busy day at work and coming home late at night… What if you were able to visualize how to unwind and relax, or check the condition of your automatic nerve by simply inserting your finger in the device once a day? We are conducting some tests internally at Nintendo, and found some patterns among our employees, like improving automatic nerve condition as the weekend nears or vice versa. Seeing what their condition is actually like, they can “visualize” how they are looking forward to weekend. And see completely different patterns on each individual person.

Sounds a lot like Wii Fit and Brain Training, only instead of jumping on some scales or tapping at your DS, you’re slipping your finger in the Vitality Sensor and measuring your stress levels. And when you look at Brain Training and Wii Fit’s sales, maybe you should get that laughter out of your system now…