Getting Inside Iwata's Head

Nintendo president set to offer a glimpse of Nintendo's future at this year's Game Developers Conference.

Last year Nintendo president Satoru Iwata set tongues wagging when he headlined the Game Developers Conference to talk up the DS and the Revolution. It's nearly a year later and the twin-screen portable is doing famously well, we're still waiting for Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and the Revolution is still enroute. This year Iwata will again descend upon San Jose for a second keynote address aimed at stirring up game makers' creative juices.

How much will he reveal this year?

Iwata keynote, titled Disrupting Development, is expected to use the DS as the starting point for a speech on how game designers can look outside of the box to solve the problem of bringing in more gamers.

Expect Iwata to roll out fresh number that build on those from last year's Tokyo Game Show, where he revealed how the DS and so-called non-games (such as Nintendogs and the Brain Training games) and rejigged franchises built around the core features of the platform (think Mario Kart DS and online play) have helped the DS displace its main handheld rival and get new people into games too.

There's no confirmation in what form the Revolution will show up, if it does at all, but the event organiser's press material teases, saying: "Iwata will also share his thoughts on the role Nintendo's video game systems will play in expanding the market and widening the possibilities for developers."

Expect massive coverage of Iwata's talk, which he'll deliver on 23 March.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games