De Engelse vertaling van de Q&A sessie met aandeelhouders
staat online. CEO Furukawa zegt daarin onder andere het volgende:
Over het engagement van de playerbase en eventuele nieuwe hardware:
The growth in annual playing users has become more gradual compared to three or four years ago and going forward, we expect to be at a point where we prioritize maintaining high engagement while also aiming to invite in new users.
[...] we will continue to release a steady flow of software. We also believe that we need to keep providing opportunities for consumers to play Nintendo Switch, rather than relying solely on new software releases.
[...] And in the case of future new hardware releases, the annual playing users will largely depend on how widely the hardware is adopted. From that standpoint as well, we believe that how we maintain a high level of consumers actively playing Nintendo dedicated video game platforms while transitioning to the next generation of hardware will be a very important topic going forward. However, at this stage, we believe that our top priorities are maintaining and expanding the utilization of Nintendo Switch, which has entered its seventh year since launch, and maintaining business momentum.
Over de prijs van hardware en software:
Currently, there are no plans to reduce the price of our hardware during this fiscal year. On the other hand, while we also have no plans to raise prices, the yen continues to be weak, and procurement costs remain high, so we will continue to monitor the situation carefully.
Regarding the price of software, the MSRP (manufacturerʼs suggested retail price) of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is ten dollars higher in the U.S. than its predecessor, but this does not indicate a general increase in the price of our software. Our approach is to determine the appropriate price of a product on a case-by-case basis.
Over de timing van het aankondigen van next-gen hardware:
Looking back at the release of information leading up to the Nintendo Switch launch, we announced the “NX” development codename in March 2015 during a joint announcement with DeNA Co., Ltd. regarding our business and capital alliance (as it related to joint development of smart-device game applications and its operation, and also the core system development centered around Nintendo Account). When we announced our entry into the mobile business at that time, we needed to let people know that Nintendo would be continuing to focus on the dedicated video game platform business as our core business. So, I believe that the timing of the Nintendo Switch announcement was a special case.
We will provide information about hardware and software at the appropriate time for each product and strive to reach a wide range of consumers.