Satoru Iwata has revealed a significant shift in Nintendo policy by saying the company would be open to having social games on its platforms.
In an investor briefing, company president Iwata said that Nintendo would not forbid developers from selling virtual goods through microtransactions in a manner similar to social games on Facebook and smartphones.
"As a hardware manufacturer, or platform holder, it would be better to present thirdparty developers with as much freedom as possible," he said. "We plan to ensure a relative level of flexibility for 3DS and Wii U software compatible with the Nintendo Network as long as the developer has built a trusting relationship with consumers.
"If thirdparty developers would like to adopt [social games'] form of microtransaction, and if this kind of business relationship between developers and consumers is commonly accepted in Japan, we have no intention to decline it."
Nintendo's online strategy to date has, some argue, been dictated by fear - elsewhere in the briefing Iwata describes the internet as "scary". With the company's output appealing to such a wide spectrum of gamers, from core to casual, Iwata remains mindful of children playing games fuelled by microtransactions and unwittingly running up large bills on parents' credit cards. It's something he's keen to avoid.
"We have a belief that our games should be a trusted brand for a very wide variety of consumers, including children and casual users," he said. "Therefore, we would like to have regulations with a certain degree of strictness so that consumers will get a sense of reassurance from our games."
That caveat aside, this is quite a surprise, one which shows the extent to which Nintendo is relaxing policies to reverse the financial decline which has left it facing its first annual loss in its entire time in the videogame business. Iwata - who last year used his GDC keynote to slam social and mobile games - also said Nintendo was outsourcing development of firstparty franchises to external studios, and last week said the company was preparing to sell DLC, and even full retail games, through digital channels.
Source: Nintendo