It wasn't all that hard to see a bit of a brouhaha erupting now that all three console makers are more or less firmly committed to motion-control technology, but it's still always notable when one of the big three throws a shot across the bow, and Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata did just that in a recent interview with the Financial Times. According to Iwata, Nintendo actually tried out camera-based motion control technology similar to what both MIcrosoft and Sony have now adopted, but found that it got better results with the accelerometer-based tech that ultimately wound up in the Wii remote. Iwata did also say, however, that "until they say when they're releasing it, how much it costs and what software it comes with, we won't know whether that is the route we should have taken," although he added that he thought "they couldn't choose to release exactly the same thing" that Nintendo did.

[Via Joystiq]

He's still not firmly committing to quite as long a console lifespan as Microsoft and Sony have, but Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has now dropped word that the Wii could be around in its current state for longer than some may have suspected. In a wide ranging interview with VentureBeat, Iwata responded to a question about console life cycles by saying that when it comes to timing for a new Nintendo console launch, "it may be three years from now, five years from now or eight years from now." Iwata further went on to say that, "if we have an opportunity to make a new console, it will probably support HD," although he disappointingly added that Nintendo has "not found a significant reason" to make the current Wii HD-compatible "at this time."

[Via MCV]

Incredible as it sounds, it looks like Nintendo isn't planning on slashing the price of the console it can still barely keep on store shelves. That word comes straight from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who's attempting to clamp down on recent speculation that a Wii price cut could be in the offing, which seemed at least a tad more plausible considering that the manufacturing costs for the console have supposedly dropped significantly since its launch. According to Iwata, rather than trying to drive up sales numbers even further with a price cut, Nintendo will instead be putting "more energy and time into making better entertainment so that our products are going to remain in the top position in our customer's wish lists" -- and now with Disc Dog, in the top position in our hearts.

Apparently not willing to let things get to the point that someone has to step in and say, "enough already," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently told The Wall Street Journal that the company will be easing up on the number of accessories it releases for the Wii. More specifically, he said that, with the upcoming release of the Wii MotionPlus and Wii Speak add-ons, "most of the ideas for accessories that we had initially come up with are out now," and that while they "might think up some more," they "don't have any plans to release a whole lot more." Of course, we're guessing that's not a sentiment echoed by third-party manufacturers, who we're sure we can count on to keep on cluttering up the living rooms of Wii owners the world over.

[Via Joystiq]

No need to phone in the shock police -- you had to know this was coming. After all, what kind of stockholder-pleasing company would Nintendo be if it wasn't already thinking about how to top the Wii? According to information in a recent Forbes piece surveying the field of gaming consoles, Nintendo is "already working on the Wii's successor." President Satoru Iwata shared that the Big N was "always preparing for the next hardware," though it would be unwise to expect said hardware anytime soon. With Wii consoles still hard (or at least not "easy") to come by in some locales, we'd say Nintendo is in no hurry to move beyond its current cash cow. Still, even Iwata admits that it "will be difficult" to exceed expectations now that the Wii has proven so successful. Not really, though -- throw in high-def support and you've got an entirely more lovable machine.

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

Waiting for a price drop on the Nintendo Wii or DS? Don't hold your breath. Nintendo's Satoru Iwata told analysts on Friday that there are no price drop plans for the hot-selling units. Iwata insisted this is because Nintendo doesn't want to annoy those who already paid full price, but it's pretty clear that there's also just no need to drop the price on something that's already selling like mad.

[Via Joystiq]

We can't confirm the statement, but if you're inclined to believe GoNintendo's report, apparently at a financial press conference Nintendo head Satoru Iwata invited Sony's departing Ken "PlayStation" Kutaragi to join up with the Wii-maker. The irony is, of course, rich. Besides being bloody rivals for over a decade, Ken Kutaragi was also the dude who hooked Nintendo into its fabled (failed) late-80s partnership with Sony to add CD-ROM capabilities to the SNES; the eventual demise of that business relationship resulted in the original PlayStation, and Nintendo's biggest single competitor since. So will Kutaragi join up with the 117-year-old upstart from Kyoto? Something tells us probably not, but man, would that first day of work ever be aaawkwaaard.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Update: Our Japanese bureau had a crack at this one, and they found the story is pretty wrong, to say the least. According to a Bloomberg report, Iwata-san was asked whether Nintendo would make a bid for Kutaragi; the answer, which we found to be a little more realistic, had Mr. Iwata saying, "I don't think that will happen." Sorry Ken, doesn't look like anyone wants you right now. Have you thought about Microsoft?

If, like us, you were curious as to how Nintendo's expectedly hard drive-free Revolution was going to be able to compete with Sony's and Microsoft's drive-toting next-gen consoles, let your fears be allayed. In a recent CNN Money interview with Iwata-san, the N-man divulged that the Rev would come with an SD slot (which we'd heard) to complement its 512MB internal flash memory (for, you know, downloading games n' stuff), but that it'd also have USB ports for external storage solutions, like flash drives and hard drives. That's not going to be a huge boon if the Rev isn't going to have crazy media features like the 360 has and the PS3 is expected to, but it's still nice to know we're not gonna be left in the lurch on the storage thing.

[Via Joystiq and PSFK]