Iwata rules out further iterations of Game Boy Advance

May 11th, 2006, 23:05 Posted By: wraggster

Via GIBiz

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed that the company does not intend to produce any further iterations of the Game Boy Advance, despite the success of the GBA SP and GBA Micro.

In an interview with Reuters, Iwata said: "I would have a second thought about using our resources on what would be the next generation of Game Boy Advance, considering the strong support DS is now enjoying."

"The Japanese game market is now evolving around DS. We don't need to do something that will pour cold water on the situation."

More than 74 million Game Boy Advance units have now been sold, a figure which includes sales of the original handheld, the more compact, backlit GBA SP, and the diminutive Game Boy Micro.

At the company's pre-E3 press conference earlier this week, Nintendo said that consumers have snapped up more than 16 million DS units since the handheld launched in the US on November 21st last year.

However, the company will not be focusing all of its attention on the DS over the coming months, since the Wii is due to launch this winter. Iwata promised that there will be a strong day one software line-up, stating: "I am aware that we cannot win user support by offering only a few titles at the launch like we did for Nintendo 64 and GameCube."

"We want to make it a double digit and we are able to do that." Titles already confirmed for launch include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, the Wii Sports compilation and Ubisoft shooter Red Steel.

Iwata said he believes Nintendo can be the market leader in the next-generation console cycle, despite the fact that poor sales of the GameCube have left the Japanese giant trailing in third place this time around.

"We are fighting not with Sony or Microsoft, but with indifference among our potential customers," Iwata said.

"We are the only one who has clearly made it a mission to lure those who don't play games and those who have quit playing games, and to break down a wall in a household between players and non-players. If that goal is achieved, there is a good chance that we can be number one."

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