Software development is becoming increasingly difficult, according to Nintendo. President Satoru Iwata told investors as part of the company's latest earnings briefing that selling titles for $50-$60 has been a "challenge" for the Mario and Zelda developer.
"These days it is becoming increasingly challenging to determine the minimum development resources required for customer satisfaction. The point I am trying to get across is that currently it is more challenging to sell packaged software for around $50-$60," Iwata said.
To combat this difficulty, Iwata pointed to digital games in "other formats." Still, he acknowledged that satisfying customers with a $50-$60 product has been no easy task, and breaking even requires millions of units to be sold across the world.
"It is true that it is becoming increasingly challenging to meet the expectations of consumers who are willing to pay $50-$60 for a game, and it is difficult to break even unless a huge number of units is sold all over the world, so it cannot be denied that software development is becoming more challenging," Iwata said.
A silver lining, Iwata explained, is that such games have a higher sales potential than ever before, thanks to the growing gamer userbase.
"Among such packaged software, however, the sales of popular games are much larger than in the past. Therefore, if we create more hit games, the software development business can still be very profitable," he said. "All games break even if they sell millions of copies worldwide, so we will continue to do our best to develop games which have high sales potential."
You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.
Click To Unmute
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD Wii U Announcement
How Alan Wake II Made Me Face My Fear of Horror Games
GameSpot's Top 10 Games of 2023Thompson: The Pop Culture Icon’s Strange Legacy - LoadoutFirearms Expert’s FAVORITE Weapons Of 2023State Of Gaming Handhelds In 2023How Lies of P Cracked the Souls GenreLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Ichiban Kasuga Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Saeko Mukoda Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Chitose Fujinomiya Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Eric Tomizawa Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Kazuma Kiryu Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Yu Nanba Character Spotlight Trailer
Share
LinkEmbed
Size:640 × 360480 × 270
Start at: End at: Autoplay Loop
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Sign up or Sign in now!
Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.
This video has an invalid file format.
00:00:00
HTML5
Auto HD High Low
Report a problem
Sorry, but you can't access this content!
By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
enter