James Delahunty
3 Aug 2011 23:59
Nintendo boss apologizes to Japanese early adopters.
Nintendo's Japanese website is hosting a personal letter of apology from company President Satoru Iwata. In the letter, Iwata explains that hardware prices fall eventually in every case, but that the company acknowledges the Nintendo 3DS price cut's timing is unprecedented in the history of the gaming firm.
"We are all too keenly aware that those of you who supported us by purchasing the 3DS in the beginning may feel betrayed and criticise this decision," the letter reads.
"If the software creators and those on the retail side are not confident that the Nintendo 3DS is a worthy successor to the DS and will achieve a similarly broad base, it will be impossible for the 3DS to gain popularity, acquire a wide range of software, and eventually create the product cycle necessary for everyone to be satisfied with the system."
Nintendo's "Ambassador Programme" provides 3DS owners with 20 free downloads games from the Nintendo eShop. Nintendo dropped the price of its 3D handheld console following disappointing sales of the system. It also posted a drastic reduction in Nintendo's annual earnings forecast.
Iwata took responsiblity for the decline in performance and took a 50 percent pay cut. "Those customers who purchased the 3DS at the very beginning are extremely important to us," the letter reads.
"We know that there is nothing we can do to completely make up for the feeling that you are being punished for buying the system early."