Nintendo denies letting down long-time fans (News)

Blake Snow, GamePro

28/08/2008 11:08:00

"We have never neglected our core gamers," an unnamed representative was quoted as saying in the October issue of Edge. "We still have developers working on popular core gaming franchises, but we need approximately two to three years to complete these games." The official added that said games will not be ready for release in early 2009, but sometime later in the year.

In July, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata offered a similar explanation, when apologizing for an underwhelming showing at E3, which lacked compelling first-party games intended for long-time Nintendo fans.

"If there is any perception that Nintendo is ignoring the core gamers, it's a misunderstanding," he told Forbes. "The fact of the matter is the so-called 'big titles' need a long, long development period."

Nintendo has been on the defensive in recent months, as it tries to balance the level of attention given to long-time fans, while reaching out to a highly lucrative group of non-traditional gamers, including estranged, female, and elderly players.