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Nintendo is to develop a completely new console designed specifically to target China and other emerging economies.
Bloomberg reports that Nintendo has opted for a brand new machine rather than trying to rustle together a cut-down version of an existing machine such as the Wii U.
We want to make new things, with new thinking rather than a cheaper version of what we currently have,” boss Satoru Iwata told investors in Tokyo. The product and price balance must be made from scratch.”
The strategy is notably different to that outlined by Microsoft, which intends to launch the 400 Xbox One in the Chinese market. Indeed, the platform holder has already been criticised for failing to understand the economics of the region, with developer American McGee saying that the console’s target market will simply not be able to afford it.
"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," Iwata added to Reuters.
"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. For us, Microsoft’s approach wouldn’t work."
