So, Apple released the iPad this weekend and everybody got excited over it. While it’s evident that Steve Jobs wants to dominate in the handheld market, one company isn’t too worried as far as portable gaming is concerned. The DS is still king, and NoA president Reggie Fils-Aime doesn’t believe the iPad will usurp its throne.
“[Apple] is not having an impact on Nintendo when you look at our business, our volume, our hardware, our software,” claims Reggie, seeming to have no beef with the iPad at all. “I’ve seen data that suggests that while consumers are constantly downloading apps, they play with them for a few times and then they are moving on to the next thing. Clearly it doesn’t look like their platform is a viable profit platform for game development because so many of the games are free versus paid downloads.
“If our games represent a range between snacks of entertainment and full meals depending on the type of game, [Apple’s] aren’t even a mouthful, in terms of the gaming experience you get.”
Of course, public hubris does not disprove private concerns. While Reggie may laugh at Apple’s morsels right now, any smart businessman would be preparing for a potential coup. Of course, Nintendo’s over-confidence has been evidenced in the past, so I do hope they’re not genuinely writing off the potential of a company that has only grown as a game industry presence.
