Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima held a financial briefing for Fiscal Year 2017, and in the conference he answered investor questions on whether Nintendo has any activities planned for the China region for Fiscal Year 2018.
Q4: I understand from your answers that you will continue to study business possibilities in China because it is such an incredibly huge and alluring market. But I’ve also seen observation articles in the mass media about Nintendo initiatives, so looking both the long-term and the next year, can you give us any hints about any activities that Nintendo might begin in the separate business areas of home consoles, handheld game devices, and smart devices?
Tatsumi Kimishima, president: “China has a huge population and I believe there are many people who want to enjoy the forms of play and games made by Nintendo, which is why we continue to study business opportunities even though our products are unavailable there at the present time. We would like to see the people of China also experience Nintendo’s forms of play and games that other countries enjoy now. How best to achieve this is a subject we are working through point by point, consulting with various other parties on aspects we cannot tackle alone. I would like to realize this as quickly as possible, but there is nothing I can say at this time about activities that will start within the year.”
“Regarding the expansion of our smart-device business in China, it would be better to collaborate with local carriers rather than go at it alone, but as of now there is nothing I can say on this topic either. That said, I hope that consumers in China in the future will be able to enjoy our games just like in other regions.”
While Kimishima said that there was nothing to announce for the region at the briefing, his answers are a bit more defined than during the previous financial briefing, where Nintendo were still investigating the possibility. Currently, Nintendo sells Traditional Chinese consoles in the Hong Kong and Taiwan regions.
