By Sophie Knight and Reiji Murai TOKYO (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd plans to introduce a new kind of games console and software for emerging markets as early as next year, to capitalize on higher entertainment budgets amidst a growing middle class, its chief executive told Reuters on Thursday. Satoru Iwata said Nintendo would develop hardware and games oriented towards consumers with lower incomes and less gaming experience than those in developed countries. Nintendo is searching for new business opportunities as it buckles down and seeks to stem losses on its latest home game console, the Wii U, whose flop has contrasted with blockbuster sales for rival Sony Corp's Playstation 4. Satoru said there were no plans to launch existing hardware such as the Wii U or 3DS in emerging markets, including China. "It would be difficult to enter those markets if we didn't create something new... For the mass market you need to provide something that most of the middle class can afford," he said in an interview following an analyst briefing on Thursday.
Iwata declined to elaborate on the design and specification of such a new device and did not specify the countries where it would be sold, saying only that "emerging markets" referred to those whose gaming potential had not yet been cracked. In China, Iwata said Nintendo would try a different tack to Microsoft Corp. The U.S. rival last month said it would begin selling its Xbox One console through a Chinese partner from September in Shanghai's free trade zone, after the government lifted a ban on the sale of foreign consoles there. "We think the Chinese market has a lot of potential, but I don't think the lifting of the ban has solved all of the difficulties in entering it. We need to study it more," he said, adding that Nintendo would adjust its pricing to fit consumers in emerging nations. "For us, Microsoft's approach wouldn't work." Iwata also said Nintendo will release high-tech figurines of some of its most popular characters in time for Christmas this year.
The company hopes the models, which will be able to send and receive data from games, will also stimulate software sales. But the chief executive said he could not give any more details on a new "non-wearable" platform announced in January that will be oriented towards improving customers' quality of life and encouraging them to stick to healthy pursuits. Nintendo released its full-year earnings On Wednesday, booking its third year in the red after disappointing sales of its Wii U home games console. It has pinned a return to profit this year on new game titles spurring higher sales of the hardware. Shares of Nintendo closed 0.7 percent lower on Thursday, compared with a 0.9 percent rise in the benchmark Nikkei index. (Editing by Christopher Cushing)Warner Bros. Television Group Celebrates "The LEGO® Batman Movie" With Super-Sized Studio Billboards, and LEGO Batman Crashes The CW’s Super Hero Lineup Warner Bros. Studios’ Iconic Billboards Get the LEGO® Treatment, While The CW’s DC Super Hero Series Get Their Own On-Air Lego Surprise!
But that’s not all. When it comes to LEGO Batman, it’s not nearly enough that his DC “wannabes” follow his style. WBTV’s hit comedies The Big Bang Theory, Mom, 2 Broke Girls and The Middle also join in the fun with their own LEGO billboards. There’s even a LEGO Ellen! More than 10,000 LEGO bricks were used to create the LEGO versions of each show billboard, building practical sets and characters to be photographed for the billboards. The creation process took more than 300 hours of building and compositing. Once printed, the billboards took an estimated 70 total hours to install, requiring more than 1,000 feet of aircraft cable and in excess of 4,000 feet of electrical wire. The billboards first appeared on Monday, February 6, in anticipation of the Friday, February 10, nationwide premiere of The LEGO Batman Movie and will be on display for two-to-three weeks. Monday’s official unveiling also featured special appearances by the costumed versions of LEGO Batman, LEGO Robin and LEGO Batgirl.
HEROIC LEGO BUILDS ON-AIR The CW’s DC Super Hero programs pay homage to LEGO Batman, Gotham City’s singularly sickest Minifigure, as Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow take a walk on the “Bat-side” with their own show-closing end-cards, inspired by the LEGO brand. From February 6–8, 2017, each of the four shows will feature its own custom LEGO version of their characters in the closing logo end-cards. In addition, LEGO Batman crashes executive producer Greg Berlanti’s signature Berlanti Productions logo at the end of every episode. LEGO Batman also pays a visit to The CW’s DC Super Hero Central with a series of hilarious (but in a cool, Batman-kind of way) movie spots, involving LEGO Flash, LEGO Green Arrow, LEGO Supergirl and LEGO Atom voiced by the stars of the hit series — and LEGO Batman himself, of course. (It’s not cheap to hire billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne, so you better watch!) Supergirl airs Mondays 8/7c on The CW.
The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW. Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW. In the irreverent spirit of fun that made The LEGO Movie a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble – LEGO Batman – stars in his own big-screen adventure when The LEGO Batman Movie opens nationwide on Friday, February 10. It stars Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson and Ralph Fiennes. Directed by Chris McKay, the film is produced by Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Roy Lee, with executive producers Jill Wilfert, Matthew Ashton, Will Allegra and Brad Lewis. The screenplay is by Seth Grahame-Smith and Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers and Jared Stern & John Whittington; story by Seth Grahame-Smith, based on LEGO Construction Toys and based on characters from DC Entertainment. Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger; Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. From Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group, in association with LEGO System A/S, a Lin Pictures/Lord Miller/Vertigo Entertainment production, The LEGO Batman Movie will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.