Iwata: No new console before April 2012
Project Cafe will not release during current financial year; 16m 3DS sales expected over next 12 months
Nintendo's Satoru Iwata has confirmed to investors that the company will not be releasing a planned successor to the Wii before the end of the current fiscal year dated April 2012.
According to a report by Andriasang, Iwata said the new hardware is necessary because "it became difficult for developers to surprise customers with the current Wii."
The company officially admitted yesterday to the existence of Project Cafe - the codename for a new home console, which it will demo for the first time at E3 in June.
It became difficult for developers to surprise customers with the current Wii.
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo
Nintendo revealed yesterday that profits for the financial year ended March 31 were down 66.1 per cent to ¥77.6 billion, while net sales were ¥1 trillion, down 29.3 per cent.
Wii sales now stand at 86 million units, with 15 million of those sold last year. The DS sold 17.52 million units over the past 12 months.
Discussing the newly released 3DS handheld, Iwata said Nintendo is targeting 16 million sales over the next year and it will also release the system in China and other developing markets.
During the last financial year, Nintendo sold 3.6 million 3DS units, just short of the 4 million predicted.