Nikkei has published a new interview with Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa! In the interview, Furukawa shares his thoughts on cloud gaming, AR and new technology coming at Nintendo. Here are excerpts of the interview courtesy of Nintendo Everything:
Thoughts on Cloud Gaming and Dedicated Hardware:
Q: With the rise in cloud gaming, do you think that expensive, dedicated video game hardware like the Nintendo Switch will become a thing of the past?
Furukawa: It’s possible that cloud gaming could capture the public’s interest in 10 years from now, however at this point in time, I do not think that dedicated hardware will go away. It’s a long way off before we’ll really know the outcome. With that said, it would be pointless to solely focus on methods of play that can only be had on dedicated hardware. Once your audience starts saying they can play on other consoles or smartphones instead, you’re finished.
Thoughts about AR:
On companies like Apple entering the market with a focus on AR, and American companies’ aggressive application of new technologies.
Furukawa: Something I do not want the public to misunderstand is that we are not turning our backs on new technologies – we are constantly researching and developing. Our hardware development teams evaluate all kinds of new technologies available thus far and consult with our software developers. If they determine that a technology can be used with a game, then they will utilize it. We will not be changing this fundamental approach moving forward.
As for AR, it is definitely one of the many aspects we are interested in. We are currently researching what interesting ways we can utilize it.
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