Nintendo Intentionally Delays Release of New Video Games

We reported on the rather inauspicious fiscal numbers for Nintendo last week, with Nintendo reporting its first annual sales loss ever. Many Jace Hall Show fans clamored that they don’t have much sympathy for Nintendo and that the company’s “fickle ways” (not adapting to the times, not creating games for iOS platforms, etc.) are catching up with them.

Now comes news from Nintendo’s camp and President Satoru Iwata that the company is intentionally delaying and “stocking” their new titles to maximize the sales of new video-game releases. Some titles are even being pushed back into next year.

Iawata noted in his report:

For us to provide software titles one after another…one idea is, ‘Isn’t it possible for Nintendo to stock some of its software titles instead of launching them as soon as the development is completed?’

…[W]hen we look at the software lineup for the year-end sales season…it is so dense that, if we added any more software, the total sales would not increase. Accordingly, we have intentionally delayed the launch of some software titles to early next year.

Gamerz saw some rather dramatic delays with the drama that was Duke Nukem earlier this year, but Nintendo is delaying games that are reportedly already completed.

Obviously Nintendo doesn’t want to flood the market, but at the same time do they risk offending gamerz who have been waiting months, maybe years for games?

President Iwata said the delays pertain to the 3DS, if that’s the case, does it say anything about the device that just can’t quite take over the gaming world like Nintendo had hoped? Nintendo is also rumored to be pushing back the Wii U to 2012 at E3…

Are all these “pushbacks” or “delays” significant of something other than an oversaturation in the market, perhaps slower development at Nintendo or is Nintendo just taking its time to ensure quality of its products to prevent future mistakes?

Iwata recently confessed that Nintendo had learned a “bitter lesson” following the launch of the 3DS and has promised to take “every possible measure” to ensure that the Wii U launch will be a successful one.

It’s mainly conjecture at this stage, but what is relevant is that even after suffering some financial setbacks with their annual report, Nintendo doesn’t seem to be in too much of a rush to get their products to market. You can draw your own conclusions about that.

[via Got Game News]

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