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Iwata tells investors he does "not see a dark future for Nintendo"

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has stressed that he does not see a dark future for the company and has explained why he is unwilling to change the company's steep financial forecast for the full year. It comes as part of a new investor Q&A article.

Replying to queries over potential down-sizing in this investor Q&A, Iwata said, "We need a company with a lot of muscle, but a company that also has no excess fat -- one that makes smart spending decisions."

That said, Iwata repeated his stance that, "Restructuring the workforce is not the first option we consider even when cost cutting is required."

Iwata added, "I would like you to understand that this is because we do not see a dark future for Nintendo."

When asked how Nintendo hopes to meet its ¥100 billion operating income projection by the end of the financial year, he replied, "I believe that my ultimate responsibility is to maximize the long-term corporate value of Nintendo. That is how I view my role, but on the other hand, I am not saying that the current financial forecast has become unattainable. As I remarked just a while ago, the annual financial performance of a video game company rests heavily upon its success in the year-end sales season.

"There would of course be a significant difference between the most optimistic and the most pessimistic scenarios. This is the inevitable fate of any video game company, and even if one may hope it to be more foreseeable, we operate in an environment where it is impossible to know the outcome of a product we have produced until consumers have tried it for themselves.

"What is more, how players influence the value of our products and turn them into hit titles through interacting with each other, and thereby creating buzz in society, is simply beyond our reach. All we can do is offer the best entertainment that we can and do our best to motivate our consumers to talk about our products, but there is inevitably a fair degree of uncertainty in our performance. Therefore, I do not think that it is the right time to change our financial forecast."

The Q&A article follows Nintendo's most-recent financial report. It revealed that 300,000 Wii U consoles were sold during Q3, yet the company has decided to keep its ¥100 billion income prediction.

Can it be done? Let us know what you think below.

Via IGN.

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Dave worked on VG247 for an extended period manging much of the site's news output. As well as his experience in games media, he writes for comics, and now specializes in books about gaming history.

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