Iwata says change coming for Nintendo, hints at 'quality of life' product

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata
Nintendo head honcho Satoru Iwata has been doing a lot of thinking lately

It's not new news: Nintendo isn't doing so great.

The company had a rough year with lackluster Wii U sales. It shut down production on last-gen's best selling system. Heck, even President and CEO Satoru Iwata took a 50% pay cut. The "year of Luigi" was not one of the best for the big N.

This year, however, is going to be different. At least it will be after Iwata takes some parting advice from former head honcho and NES evangelist, Hiroshi Yamauchi.

So, not games?

"Yamauchi was one to always say, 'Nintendo is a company for entertainment, and it shouldn't be for anything else,' and he didn't necessarily think that 'entertainment [equals] video games,'" Iwata said in a recent interview with Diamond.jp, a business information site.

"I've been wondering how to express Yamauchi's feelings, and I've been thinking about it non-stop, even during the New Year's holiday break."

Entertainment outside of games? That's an interesting standpoint for Nintendo.

"Lately, the words 'QOL' [quality of life] have come up," Iwata said. "Entertainment is there to improve people's quality of life. After your basic needs, there's entertainment. At the start of this year, I finally figured that improving people's quality of life with fun - with emphasis to the 'fun' - would be perfect for Nintendo. And that's when I decided to use this as a focus during the financial results meeting in January and wrote the manuscript for the presentation."

Putting the DO back in Nintendo

So what exactly are these plans for quality of life improvement we keep hearing about? That's where it gets a little murky. It could be anything from more programs like Wii Fit U, to Nintendo's official entry into wearable technology that leverages the 3DS.

While the latter sounds unlikely given the company's track record, it's not out of the question for Iwata to unveil a new technology at this year's E3 digital show.

Via Siliconera

Nick Pino

Nick Pino is Managing Editor, TV and AV for TechRadar's sister site, Tom's Guide. Previously, he was the Senior Editor of Home Entertainment at TechRadar, covering TVs, headphones, speakers, video games, VR and streaming devices. He's also written for GamesRadar+, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade, and he has a degree in computer science he's not using if anyone wants it.

Latest in Nintendo
The Hori Split Pad Pro attached to a Nintendo Switch OLED and placed on a colorful desk mat.
I've used the Hori Split Pad Pro with my Nintendo Switch for years and it's still great, but there are some better options in 2025
An image of the Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 patent suggests you’ll be able to use the console upside down for some reason
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds producer discusses potential Nintendo Switch 2 port: 'we'd need to take our time to get to know the exact nature of the hardware'
Nintendo Switch 2 rumored mouse mode
I don't care what the haters say, the Nintendo Switch 2's rumored mouse mode is by far the most exciting feature coming to the new console
An image of the Nintendo Switch 2
Don't worry about the Nintendo Switch 2 price, Nintendo says it will follow the 'affordable prices customers expect'
An image of the Nintendo Switch 2
Leaked listing suggests the Nintendo Switch 2 could cost less than $400, but I don't believe it
Latest in News
Mufasa is joined by another lion, a monkey and a bird in this promotional image
Mufasa: The Lion King prowls onto Disney+ as it finally gets a streaming release date
An American flag flying outside the US Capitol building against a blue sky
Sean Plankey selected as CISA director by President Trump
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 on a table with its retail packaging
Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU spotted in Acer gaming PC, suggesting rumors of imminent launch are correct – and that it’ll run with only 8GB of video RAM
Indiana Jones talking to a friend in a university setting with a jaunty smile on his face
New leak claims Indiana Jones and the Great Circle PS5 release will come in April
A close up of the limited edition vinyl turntable wrist watch from AndoAndoAndo
This limited-edition timepiece turns the iconic Technics SL-1200 turntable into a watch, and I want one
A close up of Gemma sitting down in Severance season 2 episode 7
'I'm like Gemma – I'm in the dark': Severance star Dichen Lachman shares disappointing filming update for the popular Apple TV+ show's third season