Nintendo has announced it is focusing on improving the health of its customers with a new QOL (quality of life) platform.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata sent a letter to shareholders and investors, which is also posted on the Nintendo website, describing his plan for the platform, according to Gamespot. In the note, Iwata said for the past 10 years, Nintendo has focused on offering products that everyone, regardless of their age and gender, could enjoy in order to expand the gaming population.
"What Nintendo will try to achieve in the next 10 years is a platform business that improves people's [quality of life] in enjoyable ways," Iwata said.
While Nintendo has received criticism for its strategies due to low sales in the company's Wii U and software, Iwata said the company will maintain its current strategy, CNET reported.
"We believe that we can capitalize the most on our strengths through a hardware-software integrated platform business, and therefore this type of dedicated video game platforms will remain our core focus," Iwata said.
According to Gamespot, Nintendo's quality of life platform will not be a part of the company's video game business. Iwata said the QOL platform will "strive to further promote our existing strategy of expanding our user base, create an environment in which more people are conscious about their health, and in turn expand Nintendo's overall user base."
Iwata stated Nintendo has also been focusing on trying new things, Gamespot reported. Having started as a Japanese trading card company 125 years ago, Iwata said the QOL platform is the company's next step in innovation.
"Nintendo has continued to try new things, and with a history of experiencing many failures and small successes, we managed to pioneer the home video game market," Iwata said. "What has remained the same from the past is that we have always tried to create something new from materials and technologies available at the time, to position entertainment as our core business and to improve people's QOL in enjoyable ways. We will continue to value self-innovation in the line with the times and aim of growth."
Iwata did not provide any further details on the platform, CNET reported. However, he stated the company "will continue to provide products and services which pleasantly surprise people.
