Nintendo president refuses to comment on Sony NGP
But does say it appeals to different audience than 3DS
Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata has insisted that he will not be lured into a war of words over the newly announced Sony NGP, after a joke about the iPad was used against him last year.
Iwata's latest baby – the Nintendo 3DS – is due for launch this year, but some of the shine was taken off the launch by Sony's decision to announce its PSP2, or the Sony NGP, soon afterwards.
Iwata declined to comment on the NGP, however, because he feels journalists took his quotes out of context a year ago when he compared the new iPad to a large iPod Touch.
"You may feel that I should share at least my own personal impressions," he told investors."...my first impression [of the iPad] was somehow misinterpreted and spread as if the president of Nintendo had discredited iPad by calling it, 'merely a bigger version of iPod touch'."
"That incident made me realise that I must refrain from sharing even very frank first impressions."
A different audience?
Iwata did explain that he feels that the market will not be restricted to one portable gaming device, and that he was focused on making the 3DS great rather than worrying about other products.
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"Nintendo has been and will continue to be a company that does not think in terms of how to compete with other companies' products," he said.
"Our only focus has always been, 'What kind of new proposals from the company will be able to capture the attention of even those who are indifferent to video games?' and 'How can the company create entertainment which has the potential to be appreciated by people regardless of age and gender?'"
Surprise!
"In the end, the question we are always asking ourselves is, 'How can we surprise people in a positive way?'" he continued
"In reality, however, our products are sold on the same shelves as other products. But how each one of these products is to be sold in the market is up to the consumers who will decide which product seems more appealing to them, so I do not think I should comment on any other companies' products.
"The only thing I may be able to say here is that other companies are trying to appeal to consumers in quite a different way than we do.
"I am hopeful that several such products with different proposals shall be offered to consumers and that, as a result, the entire handheld game market will flourish more."
Sounds like a very sensible stance to us.
Via CVG
Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content. After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.