In a recent interview with Gamasutra, Nintendo 3DS project lead Hideki Konno has stated that Nintendo is not looking to compete with games currently being sold on the iOS at low prices. Instead of trying to match these prices, Konno indicated he is “just going to continually strive to not just maintain, but increase, the quality of the entertainment that we’re providing, and let it sort itself out.”
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata and Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime have recently provided their opinions on the rising popularity of these one-dollar or free games. With Iwata arguing in another recent interview that commercial game developers ‘are drowning’ as a result of these games, and Fils-Aime stating that Nintendo isn’t looking to work with the type of developers focused on creating these games, Konno simply argued that “because the content is valuable […] [3DS games are] still going to be a viable product at a higher price point.”
Though his colleagues may have taken a strong stance against these type of games, Konno remains somewhat more balanced in his view, by arguing that the two markets simply have a limited field of overlap: “I’m not trying to say that I think games on cell phones are a bad thing; I’m not trying to say that they’re worthless, or have no value at all. I’m just saying that they’re just different.”
Let’s face it, Nintendo sucks at releasing games via the internet. Their best title to date is a game you can find free all over the internet (Cave Story).