Nintendo has made it official, Wii U games will be on a proprietary disc that is not Blu-ray or DVD.
The confirmation comes via Nintendo president Satoru Iwata following a week of confusion and speculation as to exactly what Wii U games would be published on.
In explaining the move, Iwata says:
We feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn’t warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies.
Furthermore, the Wii U will go “social,” says Iwata (via TR):
After examining the penetration and adoption rate of social networking services like Facebook, etc, we’ve come to the conclusion that we are no longer in a period where we cannot have any connection at all with social networking services.
Rather, I think we’ve come to an era where it’s important to consider how the social graph of the social networking services can work in conjunction with something like a video game platform.
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Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has given his response to last week’s iPad unveiling, calling the device “a bigger iPod Touch,” with “no surprises.”
Additionally, Iwata denied rumors that Nintendo was working on an HD-enabled Wii and a DS with motion control. “I question whether those features would be enough to get people to buy new machines,” he concluded.
Iwata also took a swing at 3D gaming, admitting he does not believe it will catch on, despite the success of films such as Avatar. “I have doubts whether people will be wearing glasses to play games at home. How is that going to look to other people?” he adds.
So far the main concerns critics have had of the iPad is the lack of multitasking, the continued lack of Flash-support, and lack of USB ports.
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According to an interview with Japanese site Asahi, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says a new DS handheld is in development, one that will include an HD resolution screen and a motion sensor.
The handheld is being developed in-house, will have a 1024 x 768 resolution screen, will have ability to download e-books via 3G of Wi-Fi, and will include the motion sensor, allowing accelerometer technology for gaming.
When asked when the next DS would hit the States, Iwata was careful to not say anything. Our guess? 2011.
