After selling millions and millions of DS units, you'd think Nintendo president Satoru Iwata would be bracing himself for a decline in sales. Heck, no!
Iwata sees DS sales as something that will continue to grow. His logic:
Some say the market for the DS is saturated, but I disagree. In Japan, a country with a population of 127 million, we've sold 23 million DS units. The United States is inhabited by over 300 million people, and there are more than 490 million people in the European Union. Sales of the product could grow further in foreign countries considering their populations.
Emerging markets for the DS, according to Iwata, include the likes of Russia and India. The Nintendo exec isn't only optimistic about DS sales, but also the gaming industry as the global economy craters.
"However, the current economic recession is something that happens only once in 50 or 100 years. We have to monitor the market very carefully," says Iwata. "Nintendo workers who know only the good times of the company are increasing. I hope to give them a sense of the potential critical nature [of the economic situation]." Just tell them stories about the GameCube days. That should do it.