Iwata:

  First, I would like to answer from the perspective of whether it is technically possible or not. I will say that it is technically possible. However, there are some limitations: While the Nintendo 3DS is communicating with the Wii or the Wii U, the Wii or the Wii U will not be able to access the Internet, and this technical restriction will remain unless we add some special hardware.

  Also, as a second point, of course if we decide that using the Nintendo 3DS as a controller for the Wii U is the most obvious choice, we will do so without hesitation but, on the other hand, if software from Nintendo for the Wii or the Wii U system could not be enjoyed without the Nintendo 3DS, some consumers might feel that Nintendo is saying that consumers must buy both systems. So that consumers will not think of Nintendo as a company that made the Nintendo 3DS a controller because it wanted consumers to buy both hardware systems, we will not adopt this idea unless connecting the two systems is the most natural thing to do. As for connecting multiple gaming devices, we actually did this in the Nintendo GameCube era. We connected the Nintendo GameCube and the Game Boy Advance and called it "Connectivity." Over a period of more than ten years, Nintendo has proposed similar entertainment features several times, and we received a certain level of response, but we feel that something like this that has a high threshold will not really spread among consumers. At that time, there were other problems, like a cable sold separately was necessary to do this, so we would like to think of it as a possibility now that the communication can be done wirelessly, but even if we should do this, we would like to develop this service so that we will not receive comments from consumers saying, "Why does Nintendo force us to buy both systems?"

Iwata:

  First, I would like to explain a little because not all people here own a Nintendo 3DS. The Nintendo 3DS attempts to communicate with other Nintendo 3DS systems even when the lid is shut and, when it finds another Nintendo 3DS, it will start communicating with this system. This communication is called "StreetPass." There is a preinstalled application called "StreetPass Mii Plaza" in the Nintendo 3DS, and if you register your Mii, a portrait character which appears also in the Wii system, it will travel to other Nintendo 3DS systems. When a character from one Nintendo 3DS goes to another Nintendo 3DS, the user will be able to play two types of games using that character. One is a game to collect pieces of puzzles and complete some pictures by meeting different people. Another is an RPG-like game called "StreetPass Quest," and in this case, by communicating through StreetPass with the same person again and again, his/her Mii gets stronger and becomes your strong ally. So if I understand what you said correctly, you have already enjoyed almost all of what can be done in these two games, so you have nothing to do now. To tell the truth, inside Nintendo is a very unique environment. Because there are so many people who have the Nintendo 3DS in the company, most of the people finished "StreetPass Quest" in such a short time and, as a result, many people are saying, "We want something new!" Even Mr. Miyamoto has been asking, "Does anyone have a plan for 'StreetPass Quest 2'?" for several months, and several departments are currently considering such a possibility. Therefore, I cannot say when or what we can deliver, but we would like to change the minds of the people who are temporarily thinking, "I cannot see the point in carrying my Nintendo 3DS with me," to make them think, "Oh, I want to carry it around with me again." I believe we can proceed in a way that answers your request.

  Also, concerning the difference in the quality of stereoscopic images between Nintendo games and games from other software publishers, there are actually some games from the third parties that make me feel that "This 3D is wonderful!" I feel uncomfortable about drawing a line to separate the quality level between Nintendo and non-Nintendo software because I was originally a developer (working for an outside company), but I have to admit that some stereoscopic images are high in quality but not all of them are. With that in mind, it is a fact that consumers purchase games with expectations of attractive stereoscopic effects, and to realize this, a certain level of know-how is required. Even for Nintendo games, I have heard that there was some trouble in the beginning (of the development) because the stereoscopic effect did not work well. So I have talked about this with Mr. Hatano, one of our executive directors, who is in charge of contacting our software publisher partners, and we believe that if we could provide them with effective support, we would like to do so. Providing such support will raise consumer satisfaction and, in the end, it will help the Nintendo 3DS to gain momentum, so I would like to consider it in that direction.

Iwata:

  Recently, many people who have been purchasing new mobile phones seem to choose smartphones over conventional mobile phones. This is a stream which mainly Apple's iPhone created, and as a user myself, I of course understand what can be done on smartphones. I think that the reason why smartphones are highly appreciated is because they made it possible to do many things in the palm of our hands which could not be done without PCs in the past. On the other hand, if the Nintendo 3DS tries to compete with what smartphones can do or what smartphones are good at, Nintendo will have to compete head-on with the number of smartphones created and the numbers of the developers who are working on smartphones. Nintendo is not a company which has yielded results so far by directly competing with other companies in that way. On the contrary, we have made some achievements by finding new points which most people did not really pay attention to and showed that by changing only one condition, the value for consumers can change drastically, or by finding valuable things which only Nintendo can do, and by so many people all over the world accepting these ideas.

  If we try to tackle every ten functions a smartphone has, our power will be split, we will be in a difficult situation in each aspect, and as a result, we might be on the back foot without pleasantly surprising our consumers. Therefore, we have to think about how we can make consumers feel that, even if they have smartphones, they still want to carry around the Nintendo 3DS with them. So, it is theoretically correct that, for example, if you added a GPS function to the Nintendo 3DS, you could create a 3D car navigation system with the Nintendo 3DS, but rather than putting effort on creating such things, we have to develop things which are "only enjoyable on the Nintendo 3DS," things that can not be achieved on iPhone or other smartphones, and offer them. And, by the time smartphone applications take a part of the idea from, refer to or imitate such things, Nintendo will have had to have already proposed the next thing. A bright future can not be realized if things do not work in this way. I would like to strive to propose products or software which make even iPhone or other smartphone users feel that the Nintendo 3DS is worth carrying around with them.