Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told BusinessWeek yesterday that he has no qualms with Wii's name. "I have never thought the name was a mistake," he said. "Some people seem to have a problem with it now, but I think they'll grow to like it."
Similarly, Iwata explained that he was unconcerned about the thread of Microsoft entering the portable market. Microsoft has not announced any plans, though rumors are rife. "Whatever Microsoft does won't change what Nintendo will do," Iwata said.
Iwata also spoke a bit to financials as Wii is launched, warning of perhaps a small loss at the outset. "It is a strange notion that a game console always leads to mounting losses in the beginning," he told reporters. "We can't promise we won't even have a one yen loss, but we are not expecting an enormous loss." Regardless of profit or loss, Iwata expects little financial impact even if Nintendo meets its target for Wii.
Also talked about at the event was plans to boost DS production by 38% — 2 to 2.2 million units a month. Nintendo DS has been selling like crazy in Japan, and Nintendo hopes to replicate that success with the DS Lite in other territories.