Iwata promises surprises

Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has said the key to attracting fresh gaming audiences is to surprise them with new entertainment ideas, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

He was wording-off about how Nintendo could "do the easy" by making great games and sequels, but said that wouldn't necessarily mean reaching new customers.

"Our mission is to surprise people in a good way, and this became very clear as we made Nintendo DS and Wii. You can't open up a new market of customers if you can't surprise them," he said in an interview on Shigesato Itoi's blog.

"Even if we make great products, if the number of new customers doesn't increase, it won't reach people. That was clear to us, so doing the easy was not an option," revealed Iwata.

But Iwata held his hands up in honesty and admitted that if the Wii and DS hadn't been as succesful as they are, he would probably seek safety in sequels for easier money.

"I think we can say 'we won't do the easy' because we are currently making profit," he said.

"If we were having a hard time, maybe we will choose the easy, so that we can make profit for certain."

While talking about the world of sequels, the Nintendo boss said simply adding polish and a few new features wasn't the way to deliver new entertainment experiences.

"If you start making such decisions without thinking, you start doing the easy stuff. You disengage yourself with the pursuit of true entertainment," he said.

The Financial Times recently published a report stating that the Nintendo Wii was this generation's best selling console, despite the Xbox 360 having a one year head start.