Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Nintendo Refers To Kindle Business Model For Future Consoles
Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, says the company is taking a look at Amazon Kindle’s business model for future portable consoles.
“I’m interested in it because it’s a new business model in which the user doesn’t bear the communications cost,” said Iwata in an interview with the Financial Times.
Amazon’s portable e-reader device connects to a 3G cell phone network to download new content straight to the device for a one-time cost included in the Kindle purchase price.
“We pay for the wireless delivery charges so you don’t have to,” says an advertisement on Amazon.com.
The Nintendo DSi currently relies on Wi-Fi for digital distribution. With the iPhone catching up on the competition that relies on a 3G network, is this the next step for Nintendo?
“Only people who can pay thousands of yen a month can be iPhone customers,” Iwata says. “That doesn’t fit Nintendo customers because we make amusement products. The Kindle one-off cost would better suit Nintendo’s customer base.”
While it is a great idea to be able to download games on the go without a Wi-Fi connection, it would also mean higher hardware cost to the consumer to make up for network fees.
“In reality, if we did this it would increase the cost of the hardware, and customers would complain about Nintendo putting prices up, but it is one option for the future.”
Readers, sound off. Would you pay more for a handheld if it meant you could download games from just about anywhere through a mobile network?
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
