We already knew that Nintendo was shying away from the traditional four/five-year console lifespan, but it comes as a surprise to learn that Nintendo sees the cycle being extended further, rather than shortening it.
Advertisement:
Speaking to investors President Satoru Iwata pondered over the current assumptions about console lifespans. "I have to wonder if it is all right to think that this current generation of hardware will have a four-year lifespan just because the past generation's lifespan was four years," he said. "I believe a different time cycle must be considered."
Iwata went on to say that he suspected customers reluctantly buy a Nintendo console just so they can play the software. Because of this, Nintendo owes its customers a longer lifecycle for Wii.
"Accordingly, we would like to offer new proposals one after another as long as that hardware can still provide fresh and pleasant surprises," he added. "If such efforts can be resulted in the prolonged lifespan of a hardware, that is good to us."
So can we expect to be playing the same old Wii come 2019, then? Or is this further evidence that Nintendo is looking towards adopting a business model akin to the iPod, where newer models are released without making former units obsolete? We suspect the latter.
