Nintendo president says, 'social elements are nothing new at all'

In a recent call with investors, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata assured them that "Nintendo has been developing social entertainment in the field of video games for a long time," Gamesindustry.biz reports. What Iwata was referring to is the multiplayer features included in many of the company's previous devices such as the Gameboy Link Cable and four-player split screen on the Nintendo 64.

Gamesindustry guesses that the Nintendo president was referring to the rapid growth of social games like FarmVille, and we'd have to agree given recent comments by both Iwata and Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. Iwata went on to say, "When you hear the term 'social network,' it generally means a service taking advantage of social human relationships through a constantly connected network with smart phones and PCs. In contrast, Nintendo appreciates real human relationships among people."

The Nintendo 3DS, set to release March 27, will have a few features that will play a major role in Nintendo's social gaming strategy. Both StreetPass and SpotPass will work to arrange and even play games with surrounding 3DS systems even when it's closed and sleeping. Not to mention single-use friend codes and an eShop, which was just delayed to launch in May. But will these features be enough to compete with the rapidly soaring social and mobile gaming industries? All bets are still on for that and likely will be for some time.

[Image Credit: OneInchPunch]

How do you think Nintendo and the 3DS will fair against Facebook and mobile games in 2011? How do you think the company should approach competing with these types of games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.