DS Teleconference Report

beginNintendo of America this morning held a 45-minute teleconference with regards to the Nintendo DS. Three Nintendo executives were in attendance: Reggie Fils-Aime, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing; George Harrison, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications; and Perrin Kaplan, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs.

Reggie Fils-Aime started the teleconference by pointing out that we are exactly 60 days from the launch of the Nintendo DS in the United States. Also, it was noted that this is the first time Nintendo has released a new platform in the United States before doing so in Japan. The reason for this change to the status quo is Nintendo’s desire to have the DS out on time for the start of the U.S. holiday shopping season, which begins the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Nintendo’s executives also said that Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt is being included with the DS to show the wireless multiplayer function. As GCA revealed earlier, Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt is not a full game, but a multiplayer demo.

George Harrison then said that Nintendo’s DS sales projections are up to 4 million units by the end of the fiscal year (March 2005). In order to push the DS, Nintendo is allotting US$40 million to North American marketing, including commercials, and 12,000 DS demo units at stores. In fact, Nintendo’s executives said that some stores may have multiple DS units to show off the DS’s multiplayer functionality. Nintendo will also be showing off the DS at the Fusion Tour and the Nintendo Street Team will be on duty during November and December to show off the DS.

Reggie said that Nintendo is “aggressively launching” the DS, and they aren’t targeting the same demographic and psychographic they targeted with the Game Boy Advance SP.

The remainder of the teleconference was based on a question and answer session.

Nintendo responded to a question regarding development business and lead times, stating that developing DS games is not significantly more expensive than for the GBA, with low-cost or even cost-free development kits being offered. Nintendo also said that DS software lead times will be about six to eight weeks, due to manufacturing taking place in Asia. Nintendo did say that they are planning to build manufacturing facilities in North America, so lead times should drop later in the DS’s life.

Finally, Nintendo brought on the bad news: The DS will not play Game Boy and/or Game Boy Color games. Nintendo said that only Game Boy Advance games will be playable on the DS, and the games will not have any enhancements by default.